TAM Expansion: Grants, Groundbreaking, & Other Nice Things

An article from Crosscut today, by planner and urban designer Ray Gastil, reviews Tacoma Art Museum's plans for a new wing in the wider context of the development of Tacoma's downtown core.

It is an increasingly urban, even urbane center, with its waterfront esplanades and light rail, creatively re-used historic warehouse buildings, growing museum district and downtown university ... after more than 20 years of innovative planning and investment, public and private, the city seems poised to fulfill its 140-year-old self-definition as a the “City of Destiny.” And the 78-year-old Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) is at the heart of it all.

Tacoma Art Museum breaks ground on its new wing on September 5. The expansion will nearly double the square footage of the museum, providing space for the Museum's new collection of western American art, donated last year by the Haub family.

The redesign that goes along with the expansion will transform the face TAM presents to Pacific Avenue in tandem with the Pacific Avenue streetscape, adding the new wing where the current plaza and TAM sign sit. The existing building will get a facelift with brighter windows and a new awning and entrance.

Funding for the $15.5 million project comes from a variety of sources, including a generous donation from the Haub familly and other charitible and grant-making organizations. The capital campaign got a $2 million boost this week in the form of a grant from the State of Washington Building for the Arts program. That brings the total fundraising goal within sight as the project breaks ground, but still leaves a few dollars left to raise through TAM's "Pause life, play art" campaign. So, are you ready to play?