44 artists will be represented at our fine inn. Yet, undoubtedly, the piece de resistance will be the outdoor sculpture created by Greece’s Costas Varotsos. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, his 104-foot sculpture (name TBA) will sit out on the front lawn of our hotel. To get a sneak peek via an artist’s rendering of the piece, check out the recent New Tribune article here.

Dale

The recently made-over Children’s Museum of Tacoma is doing its part to help kids understand themselves and live a healthier, active life. So they’ve added a yoga studio, a Learning Lounge with an “Emotions Matter” feature that helps kids get in touch with their feelings and a Smart Moves with Food and Fitness exhibit that teaches kids tips on eating and exercise. Good stuff. Maybe I’ll take the grandson on down….

–Dale

If you take time during the weekend to tour downtown Tacoma, you can experience these old buildings in their quiet, stately elegance. It’s like walking in the midst of a herd of sleeping elephants. Lacking the midweek frenzy of SUVs, hybrids and other post-modern means of conveyance, it’s easy to imagine that you’re back in, say, 1966. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a milkman come around the corner.

As I walk these streets I sometimes feel that I was born at the tail end of an era more refined than my own. In a way, I hope that feeling remains. If not, it could mean that something precious has been lost in the name of progress. With other cities, the future usually marches in to the clank of construction cranes bearing wrecking balls and steel girders. Harbingers of “revitalization.” So far, Tacoma has managed to do it right. For instance, when developers retrofitted Union Station into the Federal Courthouse, they added glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly that perfectly complemented the old while bringing in the new. And when the Washington State History Museum was added to Union Station, it was a beautiful match. Here’s to the future—and to not losing the things that are most important.

-J

There’s one thing you don’t see a lot of in downtown Tacoma: construction cranes. Not to say that the city isn’t thriving. It clearly is. Instead of tearing down older buildings and replacing them with McSkyscrapers, however, the trend here is to take existing buildings and retrofit them to current needs. As a result, the downtown area is like a museum of late 19^th to mid-20^th Century architecture. My current favorite building is, in fact, vacant. It’s the 1916 Elk’s Temple. All three stories and one city block of it. With its white Belle Époque façade and smallish windows, it retains an aura of inscrutability and intrigue. What goes on inside those walls? Currently the perimeter of the building is girdled with chain link fence; vagrants must go elsewhere for the night. It’s as if the old temple is being given breathing space to ponder its next move.

Josh

Here’s one of the coolest things you can do to get around Tacoma: hop on our very own light rail, a.k.a. the LINK. Right now, the line is only a mile or so long, but that’s all you need to get from the far end of downtown out to the Tacoma Dome. You’ll run right through the Theater District, past Hotel Murano (we’re only a block away from one of its stops), along the Museum District and on out to the Dome. The train runs about every ten minutes, and best of all, it’s FREE. Not a bad price for clean, convenient and easy travel.

-J