As we often do, dear daughter and I attended First Night to usher in the new year. And her friend, Z, came with us as she so often does. It was extra cold, but not raining, so we were happy and did all of our normal First Night things. This year we were offered long wooden sticks and a S’More packet (two marshmallows, a chocolate square and two graham crackers). It was such gooey sticky fun to make our own.
Finally I had a free day to snap a photo of the temporary art installation, Envision. It is easy piece to miss, especially on a sunny day. It is located on the pedestrian bridge (skybridge) that connects two buildings (the Keystone Building and the Science Building) on the University of Washington, Tacoma campus. Envision is one of the installations that make up the Temporal Terminus: Marking the Line exhibit which is in place through the end of November. The project’s website states:
SITE 7: UW-T Pedestrian Bridge
Title: Envision
Artists: Jeremy Gregory, Diane Hansen, Ed Kroupa
Gigantic eyes look down on the campus from the pedestrian bridge. Are they benevolent? Visionary? Judging? That depends. The eyes are those of Abraham Lincoln, the visionary whose dream it was to complete a transcontinental rail that would meet the Pacific. Is he overlooking his accomplishment or wondering about this particular route’s demise and our crazy modern lives? Walking over the ped bridge, one experiences a different viewpoint and inspiration for the endurance of vision.
(Drat, I should have walked over the bridge!)
http://tacomaarts.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/prairie-line-trail-public-art-tour-draft/
Look here for more on the UWT campus. http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/shopuwt/docs/walking_tour.pdf
Update: October 2016. I finally crossed over on the sky bridge so here is an inside photo. Also a photo taken from above.
The Water Forest outside of the Museum of Glass was flowing today and made a lovely noise. I was watching folks admire it and almost everybody had to touch the water. I also noted several photographers capturing the moment with friends and clients. I was just reading that the sculpture glows at night. I need to go see that! The artist is Howard Ben Tre’s.
A short, short video can be found here.
The Arby’s at 2612 South 38th Street in Tacoma has the traditional, original Arby’s sign which is shaped like a cowboy hat and says “Arby’s Roast Beef Sandwich is Delicious”. This sign was used between 1964 and 1975 and the logo changed to a more streamlined sign. Abry’s began selling roast beef sandwiches in Ohio in 1964 and there are currently over 3,000 restaurants.
And with that I am caught up with the blog 🙂
The Khmer Theravadin Buddhist Temple is located at 1420 East 44th Street in Tacoma. I was welcomed to look around a take some photos. In fact the monk that was there actually offered to take my photo 🙂 and told me that I’d have good luck because I had placed a donation in the donation box.
Swan Creek Park in Tacoma, WA is the largest community garden that I have seen and I’ve been to many. All of the plots except one (there is always one!) were full of produce and/or flowers. It was an interesting range of plants including tomatoes, squash on a lattice frame, corn, peppers and flowers. The entire garden is protected by a black chain-link fence and I had the sense that the gardeners would not suffer fools gladly.
There was also an environmental art show going on and had I more time, there would be more photos of that.
Stopped by the Tacoma Art Museum today to catch the Edvard Munch and the Sea exhibit before it slipped away on 7/17/16. While that was terrific and I learned a bunch about Munch, what I really loved was the Northwest Art Now Exhibit. There are some excellent, thought provoking pieces in that exhibit, included one of my favorites “Just be your selfie” by Dylan Neuwirth. I was at TAM on a brilliantly sunny day and this outside piece was difficult to see, so I did highlight it in blue in the photo (look at me learning Photoshop!) I need to go back in the evening to capture it glowing. More information on the Seattle based artist can be found here.
Below is the photo without my added blue box, Richard Rhodes’ untitled “stone wave” sculpture and a shot of the gallery (again playing with Photoshop).
While strolling through Tacoma’s Antique Row, I noticed this little store named The Little Road Said Go at 739 Broadway. Today’s the last full day of operation, but the owner assured me it was a good move for her and she was happy.
My eye was caught by a full side Police Call Box on the stairs going up. And of course we all know that a Police Call Box is really a Tardis, a time/space mechanism for Dr. Who. I did peek inside, but sadly it did not appear larger on the inside. Probably a clever disguise.
The other interesting part of the store was the stairs that had at one point lead up to a second floor, but now they lead up to the roof. That second floor can readily be seen on the photo at Tacoma Public Library. The upper level wasn’t usable after an earthquake and the seismic upgrading was expensive so the space was left unused. And then a fire made it beyond repair and the building became as it is today. The structure was constructed in 1904 and designed by the architect Frederick Heath. It has been a sheet metal facilities, a Buick, then Cadillac place (dealership or repair place), various other auto repair sites, a sports center/bowling alley, a novelty shop, a coffee shop, storage center, car rental, a military center, a BBQ restaurant and retail.
When I went on the University Place Garden Tour one of the volunteers gave me a list of some of the local gardening centers. One of these centers was the Purple Geranium Greenhouse at 12615 47th Ave E, Tacoma, proximate to Canyon Road and 120th Street. Although it is close to my house (about 20 minutes away) it felt like a drive in the country. I was pleased to see that it was a well stocked professionally run gardening center on a lovely site. Their prices were righteous and my 
questions were answered right away. Of course it is less extensive than the big centers (Watson’s, Molbak’s, etc.) and there is almost none of the decorative items, but really that just makes it easier. I toured the place, took some photos, got some advice and purchased some plants in about 30 minutes. When I stopped for an iced coffee afterward the cashier asked me what I was up to today and I told her I went to the Purple Geranium. She gushed that it was the best place around to buy plants!
Do be aware that they have a limited season (April 1st to August 1st) and limited hours, so check out their Facebook Page before going.
Dear daughter happily sent off her vote a couple of weeks ago, but soon afterwards she received a letter back politely saying her signatures didn’t match. So on Friday, we popped into the Pierce County Election Center to remedy the problem. The man behind the counter was very efficient and pleasant. He showed her the original signature and her current one. College has really made a difference in how she signs her name!
Anyway while we were there, we picked up a copy of the unofficial results to date. Below is a slightly more recent version from the auditor’s office website (which is full of interesting information!) There are also things to be learned on their Facebook Page.
Things I thought were interesting:
