Tacoma Travel Guide

Tacoma is a city that, in the words of Rodney Dangerfield, just don't get no respect. For years its industrial image made it the brunt of jokes, many of which centered around the aroma of Tacoma. I'd like to be able to tell you that the skies over Tacoma are always clear and that the air is fresh and clean, but that would be stretching the truth just a bit. However, it is definitely time to forget the old jokes and take a new look at this city in the midst of a profound transformation.Things have changed quite a bit here since the days when the city's waterfront was lined with smoke-belching lumber and paper mills, and, with a newfound commitment to the arts, Tacoma now competes with Seattle as a city on the move. Tacoma has been making great strides toward reinventing itself, and the past few years have seen the opening of the Museum of Glass and the new Tacoma Art Museum. Connecting the Museum of Glass to the Washington State History Museum is the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, which spans I-705 in downtown Tacoma. Tacoma also beat Seattle to the punch when it comes to public transit. A new light-rail line now connects the Tacoma Dome with the downtown theater district and stops in the museum district as well. However, despite all these recent developments, Tacoma's downtown still becomes something of a ghost town after the office workers head home at the end of the day.To see the past and the future of Tacoma, drop by downtown's Fireman's Park. From this small park, you can look down on smoke-belching mills and commercial port facilities, but if you then turn around, you'll be facing a new, revitalized Tacoma where the arts are flourishing and historic buildings are being preserved and renovated.