Museum of Glass
Bridge of Glass and Hot Shop (glass blowing (cone) building)
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| Established | 2002 |
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| Location | Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°14′44″N 122°26′01″W / 47.24556°N 122.43366°W |
| Director | Debbie Lenk |
| Website | www.museumofglass.org |
The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m²) art museum in Tacoma, Washington dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the studio glass movement through nurturing artists, implementing education, and encouraging creativity.
The idea for the Museum of Glass began in 1992 when Dr. Philip M. Phibbs, recently retired president of the University of Puget Sound, had a conversation with Tacoma native and renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. Dr. Phibbs reasoned that the Pacific Northwest’s contributions to the studio glass movement warranted a glass museum, and just a few weeks later he outlined his idea and rationale for the Museum of Glass to the Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma. The timing of his proposal corresponded with the idea to redevelop the Thea Foss Waterway, and the Chairman of the Council, George Russel, concluded that the Museum of Glass would be the perfect anchor for the renewed waterway.
The site for the museum, directly adjacent to the Thea Foss Waterway, was secured in 1995, and two years later acclaimed Canadian architect Arthur Erickson revealed his design for the museum. Construction of the museum began in June 2000, and the steel frame of the iconic hot-shop cone was completed in 2001. Shortly thereafter construction began on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass to link the museum to downtown Tacoma. The museum opened on July 6, 2002 to thousands of visitors and worldwide accolades.
Since its opening, the Museum of Glass has become a collecting institution, and has introduced a mobile hot-shop.
The museum was recently featured in the "Tacoma Alphabet," a reverse glass painting by local artist Melinda Curtin. It was the letter M, cementing the museum's place as an enduring Tacoma landmark.
The Museum of Glass was designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and was his first major art museum in the United States. The museum totals 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) in area, featuring 13,000 square feet (1,200 m²) in gallery space and an 7,000-square-foot (650 m²) hot shop. This hot shop, shaped as an angled cone, is the museum’s most striking architectural feature. The cone, inspired by the wood "beehive burners" of the sawmills that once dotted the waterway, is composed of 2,800 diamond-shaped stainless steel panels and is 100 feet (30 m) in diameter at its base. Also featured in the Museum of Glass’ architecture are a sweeping concrete stairway that spirals around the exterior of the building, and three rimless reflecting pools featured on the museum’s terraces. Connected to the Museum is the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, designed by Arthur Erickson in collaboration with artist Dale Chihuly, to connect the Museum of Glass to downtown Tacoma.
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Wikipedia