Tacoma Celebrates Its Native Son

While you can find Dale Chihuly’s amazing glasswork all over the world in famous museums, botanic gardens, and office buildings, but nowhere is it more accessible and abundant than in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington.

Chihuly, born in 1941, grew up in Tacoma, studied interior design at the University of Washington, and narrowed his focus to glass art at the University of Wisconsin. While on a Fulbright Fellowship in Venice, Italy, he first observed the team approach in glass blowing to create large-scale pieces. Utilizing this concept, he cofounded the Pilchuck School of Glass outside Seattle, and began producing large, multicolored, glass art works. He established the glass department at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and taught there for many years. Today he is considered the world’s premier glass artist and has made the Northwest a world center for glass art.

In Tacoma, many of his pieces are concentrated in an area known as the Museum District, a few blocks along Pacific Avenue adjacent to downtown. The Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Bridge of Glass, and Federal Courthouse all feature Chihuly’s work. The best introduction to his style would be a stroll across the Bridge of Glass, a 500-foot span connecting the Museum of Glass and the plaza area of the Washington State History Museum on Pacific Avenue. The pedestrian-only bridge

showcases three Chihuly installations including two 40-foot, blue, translucent crystal towers. While they appear to be crafted from glass, they are made from a polyurethane material designed to withstand the elements. The main feature, however, is a tunnel called Seaform Pavilion. Inside, the ceiling displays over 2000 colorful, amorphous-shaped pieces of glass inspired by marine life in Puget Sound. On a sunny day, the sight is spectacular. Along the sides of the tunnel, are 109 glass sculptures, mostly Art-Deco style floral arrangements.

The bridge ends in a plaza adjacent to the Museum of Glass, easily identified by its silver, angled, conical shape. The museum houses a permanent collection of contemporary glass, and contains an amphitheater called the Hot Shot where visitors can observe a team of artists demonstrating glass making and glass blowing. There’s an on-site café, an excellent gift shop with unique glass items, and outside the doors, a mammoth, clear acrylic sculpture called Water Forest.

Back across the bridge, on Pacific Avenue, is the old Union Station, another successful historic preservation story. Built in 1911, it was praised as “…the most beautiful passenger station in the Pacific Northwest.”  With the demise of train travel, the station closed and the

dilapidated, aging facility was sold by Burlington Northern to the city of Tacoma for $1.00. After three years of renovation, the beautiful Beaux Arts building reopened as the U.S. Federal Courthouse. The interior is every bit as attractive as the outside and is decorated with examples of Chihuly’s glass work.  A colorful chandelier is suspended from the rotunda’s domed ceiling, and bright orange flowers cover the arched, north-facing window.  Altogether, the lobby area features five major installations.

Next door to the courthouse, is the Tacoma Art Museum. Nationally recognized for its collection of Northwest art, the museum has an entire gallery devoted to Chihuly pieces, many donated by the artist. Within walking distance of the Museum District, additional Chihuly installations can be seen at the University of Washington-Tacoma library which houses a striking red chandelier, and at the nearby Swiss Restaurant and Pub with an array of Venetian glass pieces above the bar.

Visiting these places requires a bit of pre-planning. The art museum is closed Monday, and the Union Station Federal Courthouse is only open on weekdays, leaving Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday the best times to visit. A picture identification is required to enter the courthouse. While the bridge and courthouse are free, there is an admission charge at both museums. A pass is available ($35 for seniors) that includes these two museums, the Washington State History Museum and the nearby LeMay-America’s Car

Museum, and Children’s Museum.

You can learn more about Chihuly and his works and these museums as the following websites:

 

www.chihuly.com

www.tacomaartmuseum.org

www.museumofglass.org

www.traveltacoma.com

Black Robes in the Northwest

Father Pierre deSmet

Before he had seen any white men and before there were horses in the northern Rockies, Shining Shirt, a medicine man of the Salish tribe, prophesized the arrival of pale-skinned men in long, black skirts. They would teach them a new way of praying and how to reach the place of happiness. This prophecy was reinforced years later when migrating Catholic Iroquois from Quebec confirmed the existence of white men in black robes (Jesuit priests) who carried crucifixes, said the Big Prayer (mass) and did not marry. The Indian religion was false and they would never reach the home of the Great Spirit.

The tribes of the Inland Northwest (Salish or Flathead, Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene) became obsessed with the desire for a Black Robe to come live among them and teach this new religion. They sent a total of four delegations over ten years to the Catholic Church in St. Louis and, finally, in 1841, Belgium-born priest Pierre deSmet arrived. He established a mission and small settlement in the Bitterroot Valley of what is now the state of Montana, and named it St. Marys. Later, he returned to Europe to recruit additional missionaries, among them Father Anthony Ravelli. Ravelli, born to a wealthy family in Italy, brought with him a range of skills: pharmacist, doctor, artist, architect, engineer. His talents are visible today in the mission church he built and decorated in classic Renaissance style with paints created from local berries and minerals. He sculpted statues of Mary

Saint Marys Mission Church

and St. Ignatius of Loyola, and used a hand lathe to carve the altar rail and baptismal font.

Cataldo Mission Church, Idaho

St. Marys was the first of the Pacific Northwest missions, but it was soon followed by others. The Cataldo Mission in the Idaho Panhandle near Coeur d’Alene was established in 1850, and is the state’s oldest, standing building. This charming, Italianate church is another example of Father Ravalli’s ingenuity and workmanship, and is created from the simple tools and local building materials available on the frontier at that time. He faux-painted the altar to resemble marble, crafted chandeliers from tin cans, and stained the ceiling with huckleberry juice. There’s not a nail in the entire building.

Interior, St. Ignatius Church

By far the most prosperous of the missions was St. Ignatius, also located in Montana, north of present-day Missoula. It had a saw mill, grain mill and school for boys. Later, the Jesuits were joined by the sisters of Providence and Ursuline who established a girls’ school and hospital. In the early 1890s, the need grew for a much larger facility and the current church was constructed using a million bricks made from local clay. However, the building’s most striking feature is the interior collection of 58 colorful frescoes painted on the walls and ceiling. The artist, Brother Joseph Carignano, was the mission’s cook and had no formal training in the arts.

All of these mission churches are National Historic Sites and open to the public.  St. Marys, located in Stevensville, Mont., about an hour’s drive south of Missoula, is open during the summer months only. Visitors are welcomed to explore the mission grounds including a museum, visitor center, Father Ravalli’s cabin and pharmacy, cemetery, Salish encampment, but a guide is required to view the chapel interior.

St. Ignatius on the Flathead Indian Reservation

St. Ignatius, about an hour’s drive north of Missoula, remains a functioning Catholic church located on the Flathead Indian Reservation and is open daily.  In addition to the beautiful paintings inside the church, the grounds include original log structures housing a small museum with mission and native artifacts.

Interior, Cataldo Mission

The Cataldo church is the centerpiece of Old MissionState Park, 25 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, along Interstate 90. With its pretty, hillside setting and charming rustic interior, it is not surprising that it is a popular venue for weddings. Of the three missions, this one offers the most extensive visitor center and museum. The first-rate exhibition, Sacred Encounters, was organized by Washington State University and explores the complexities of two intersecting cultures: European Christian missionaries, and indigenous populations with a very different sacred belief system and lifestyle. Highly recommended.

 

 

Exploring Oregon Caves: Above and Below

 

 The slogan on the brochure reads: Cool Cave, Warm Hearth!  It’s a clever turn of phrase but, more importantly, captures the concept that Oregon Caves National Monument offers two featured attractions, one natural and one man-made. The park is located about 50 miles southwest of Grants Pass off U.S. 199.  A narrow, winding road leaves the community of Cave Junction and the Illinois River Valley, and climbs upwards through the Siskiyou Mountains to the monument, about 20 miles.

Cave Entrance

The caves (actually, it is only one cave, but has numerous side passageways) were discovered by white settlers in 1874 when hunter Elijah Davidson’s dog, Bruno, followed a bear into a narrow opening in the hillside. However, the cave began life over 200 million years ago as a tropical reef in the Pacific Ocean, and by a series of complex geologic events, combined with years of water erosion and mineral deposits, evolved into one of the very few marble caves in the world.

Ranger-led tours through the cave are offered between late April and early November and cover a little over a half mile in 90 minutes. In this remarkable subterranean world, visitors are introduced to the geology,

The "Banana Grove"

history, wildlife, and view a variety of calcite formations: stalagtites, stalgmites, soda straws, moonmilk, popcorn. The trip is described as moderately strenuous and includes 500 stairs, some uneven and wet, as well as a few low and narrow passageways. The cave temperature is 44 degrees so a warm jacket is welcome even on a hot summer day.

Across from the cave entrance and Visitor Center sits the park’s man-made attraction, a rustic, wooden lodge known as The Chateau, a National Historic Landmark. From the entrance it appears to be a two-story structure with a steep pitched roof and dormer windows, however, it is actually six stories tall.  This unusual design reflects the challenging and limited building site it occupies, a ravine with a creek running through it.  Construction began in the early 1930s during the height of the Depression. Local contractor, Gust Lium, chose a style coined by Frank Lloyd Wright as “organic

The Chateau entrance

architecture,” promoting harmony with the environment and utilizing local construction materials. In the end, he created a building of natural charm and elegance, well adapted to its setting, with a great sense of place; a “green” structure long before it was eco-fashionable.

The exterior is covered with Port Orford cedar bark creating a shaggy, textured façade while the interior lobby features a massive, double marble fireplace; exposed wooden beams supported by 30-inch diameter, Douglas fir posts; and a staircase of local madrone, oak, and pine. Downstairs from the main lobby is the dining room, gift shop, and a 1930s diner-style café; 23 guest rooms occupy the two floors above the lobby.

waterfall and reflecting pool

One of the most unusual features of the building is the presence of the stream accumulated from dripping surface water inside the cave. There, it is called the River Styx, but once it emerges from the cavern it assumes the less intriguing name of Cave Creek, and flows over a man-made waterfall in front of the Chateau into a picturesque, reflecting pool. From there, it travels into the building, through the dining room, and then out to the canyon on its journey to the Illinois River. 

1930s Coffee Shop

This design plan had an unfortunate consequence in the winter of 1964 when heavy storms, snow and rain combined to release a flood and avalanche that ripped through the bottom floors of the Chateau creating a swath of structural damage and debris. While many considered the building an insurance write-off, others, including original builder Lium, worked tirelessly to save and restore the property.

Today, visitors can enjoy the charming ambiance of one of the Great Lodges of the National Parks from the attractive lobby, restaurant options, and inviting guest rooms.  Both the public and private rooms are decorated with the largest collection of Monterey furniture, a uniquely American, arts- and-crafts style characterized by leather and metal detailing, distressed wood, and painted designs.

Example of the Chateau's collection of Monterey furniture

Throughout the lodge, the emphasis is on local.  The gift shop offers crafts from southern Oregon artists including jewelry, prints, wooden items, jams, soaps, and textiles. In the dining room, the menu is filled with locally sourced meats, fish and produce.  (Be sure to try the bison meatloaf!) The quirky, retro café with its serpentine countertop serves hearty breakfasts, sandwiches, and old-fashioned milkshakes. Even the people waiting on you are local.

Learn more about a visit to Oregon Caves or make reservations for a stay at the Chateau by visiting these websites: Oregon Caves Cheateau and Oregon Caves National Monument.