You can always tell when an Oregon resident has arrived in town. They’re the ones who park their cars at the gas pump and wait… and wait… and wait… for an attendant to come out and serve them. Oregon is the only state besides New Jersey that has a law that forbids self-service gas.

After getting their fill-up, the Oregonians will often pull up to me to get their car parked. Usually they’re here to attend a conference or a convention at the Hotel Murano (we’ve got LOADS of space) or at the nearby Tacoma Dome. It’s about 2 1/2 hours from Portland to here (depending on traffic) which — due to gas prices — is just about as far as you might want to drive before you might start thinking about alternative forms of transportation.

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Josh

All right. One other thing. If I DID have plans for the weekend with this individual, these are some of the things I might want to take her to. Flipping through the pages of the Weekly Volcano, (Tacoma’s guide to all things hip ‘n’ happenin’) I might want to check out a little gypsy jazz with Pearl Django, down at the Narrows Theater. I’ve also needed to get down to Two Vaults gallery to check out Ashley Wells’ “prettification” of some of the seamier sides of Tacoma. Can someone please pass the Edward Hopper?

-Josh

Okay. There’s another reason why this job is so great. You know the official reason. Hotel Murano has all this cool glass sculpture (and I’m a metal sculptor), and the tips ain’t bad. There’s another perk. But she doesn’t know it yet. I’m gonna leave it at that.…..

Before the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that you see before you was built, there had been a previous one. This baby opened on July 1, 1940 and was the third longest suspension span in the world. Unfortunately, it also had the shortest life span. In heavy winds — common here in the Puget Sound — the bridge tended to buckle and warp. Driving on the thing was like trying to tap dance on a rubber band. And, then, one stormy day on November 7 — only four months after it was built — the bridge heaved and buckled. And then it snapped. Watch this amazing video of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, it was caught on film and documented by local news stations, who coined the term, Gallopin’ Gertie.

After that, the bridge became famous as the most dramatic failure in bridge engineering history. But now it’s listed as one of the world’s largest man-made reefs. Seriously. In 1992, its sunken remains were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. That’s going to make it a real pain to remodel the thing.

Josh

I should also mention the architectural marvel we’ve got near here. With its distinctive towering arches, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is another cool feature you should check out. One of the longest suspension bridges in the country, it links Tacoma to the city of Gig Harbor. It’s also one of my favorite drives, because, to get there, you’re driving through the trees, and then suddenly you’re in the air for about a mile, and then you’re back in the trees again. Gig Harbor is pretty cool, too.

This Tacoma Narrows bridge was built in 1950. And now, after five years of construction, a parallel bridge is slated to open in just a couple of months. It runs right next to the current bridge and it looks pretty much the same. Nice to see the architects got that right. Watch this space for opening celebration details.

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Josh

No, I’m not talking about Michael Jackson’s estate. One highlight of Point Defiance Park is a place called Never Never Land. This attraction once featured a half-mile long trail punctuated by life-size dioramas depicting scenes from Mother Goose, Disney movies and other fairy tales. Elaborately decorated statues were placed inside cartoonish miniature houses with impossibly canted roofs and crooked doors. Dr.Caligari for the wee folk. One space is occupied by a life-like Jack Sprat and his balloon-shaped wife. Another space hosts Jack Horner, his thumb permanently thrust into a plumb pie.

One of my parents’ photo albums contains a snapshot of me and my sisters standing in front of the 20-foot-tall statue of Humpty Dumpty that presides over the park’s entrance. Elbow to elbow, we’re all three smiling in ear to ear in unison, soaking up the last rays of our childhood bliss, our private gilded age captured like a diamond in amber, in Instamatic Kodachrome.

Due to age and vandalism, one by one, those statues have been disappearing from the park. Humpty Dumpty and about 9 other structures remain, but I would visit this attraction soon and often, just in case the Puget Sound weather continues to erode these childhood gems - and don’t forget to take lots of pictures.

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Josh

I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and just about every other year, we would travel north to take in the sights and cultural attractions of Western Washington and the Puget Sound. Those excursions often took us through Tacoma. And no visit to this area would be complete without a pass through the nearby, sprawling, Point Defiance Park. Hundreds of acres large, this park contains wooded trails, event spaces, a zoo and other attractions.

Maybe it’s because the towering, moss-bearded trees and dense undergrowth embody what is most compelling and mysterious about the Olympic Peninsula, or maybe it’s just because I visited this area during the most impressionable years of my childhood, but Point Defiance is where I enjoyed some of the most idyllic moments of my youth.

In my mind, this park is permanently wedded to thoughts of a primeval Arcadian wonderland, home to dragons and pixies, or, at the very least, a heroic woodsman or two. Sometimes, even if I don’t have time to stop, I’ll take the Five Mile Drive that winds through old growth forest, and that can be enough to restore my spirits.

cheers,

Josh

One of my first questions when I first started working here was, “why is it called Hotel Murano?” Seems a little far fetched for a hotel in the Pacific Northwest, but I have to admit, I get it now and they couldn’t have chosen a better name.

Just outside Venice lies another city on the water, Murano. Like Venice, Murano is a group of islands linked by bridges. About 800 years ago, all the glass makers in Venice were forced to move away and to settle in Murano, where their difficult-to-control fires wouldn’t threaten Venice’s many wooden buildings. Due to that high concentration of glass artisans, Murano quickly became famous for producing glass colors and shapes unlike the world had seen before. These craftsmen made everything from beads and mirrors to elaborate chandeliers.

Murano glass was such a valuable commodity that the Venetian government took measures to ensure the preeminence of that industry. They forbade anyone from Murano to travel outside the Republic. This ensured that trade secrets would stay where they belonged – at home. It also restricted local artisans from just packing up to set up shop outside Venice’s jurisdiction. In exchange, the men of Murano were given special freedoms like permission to carry a sword in public. Not a bad deal, really. Especially if you think swords are cool.

So there are a few similarities between Murano and Tacoma. (a) Both cities are glass art meccas, and (b) both cities are located on or near famous and beautiful bodies of water.

Hence, the name for Tacoma’s Hotel Murano. It’s a nod to the Italian city’s ancient glass making leadership, as well as a tribute to the Washington city’s vibrant and influential glass making community. Beautiful.