It's so beautiful from the outside but then on a whole other level once you get inside. As soon as you walk in, you will notice a large Chandelier hanging from the center of the dome. It is located prominently in downtown Tacoma, right along Pacific Avenue near the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington State History Museum, and Chihuly Bridge of Glass. From the outside, the building is stately and eye-catching with its large, sweeping arches and brick exterior. From the inside, it's even more beautiful, though, with the largest collection of Dale Chihuly artwork in town - and it's completely free to come in and see it. Photo I.D. is required for entry. Union Station is worth seeing... read more

See all

The ghosts of trains and travelers still haunt these hallowed halls. In its heyday this was THE main commuter train station for Tacoma. With the decline in rail service due to a variety of reasons we will NOT go into here, the need for these large cathedrals of transit diminished and the budget money better spent elsewhere. Thankfully the structure was NOT demolished like NYC did to Penn Station and so many other of these architectural gems throughout the country. Instead it was turned into a courthouse. Tell the guard at the door you'd just like to look around, and he will run you through the metal detector and you can wander pretty much at will. One flight down you find a small, and I mean VERY small museum of sorts. Encased behind several in-wall glass cases, you will find the remnants of old tickets, route flyers, and old devices like an old telegraph ticker. Although, I am sure they had telephones when they shut down service in the 60s. I only wish the museum had been more extensive. Or that maybe they would have had an actual train there or something. Dream on. If you really are a train buff and you want to see stuff like that, you can search for train museums here on Yelp, Like the Northwest train Museum. Anyway, I wouldn't go out of my way to go see this, but, If you're in downtown Tacoma and curious like I was, and enjoy older architecture, then, it is worth a look. It's really only about a 20 minute proposition. Oh, there is a giant Chihuly hanging in the main concourse. You can't miss it. Also. apparently they are a wedding venue. So if you're getting hitched (no pun intended) in Tacoma, you might want to take a look too. BTW, if you enjoyed my review or found it useful funny or cool, please don't hesitate to click the little button to say so, or better yet, go ahead and friend me! I Just moved to the Seattle area last October, and need all the friends I can get. So go ahead, press that button, and never miss a single one of my epic reviews in the Seattle area and beyond. Excelsior! read more

See all

WOW WOW WOW! This is an incredible wedding venue option. I had a hard time finding a beautiful venue where I could have a caterer of my choice. This was one of the very few options I found online which allowed me to do this so we came by to take a look. We were blown away by this beautiful building. It is absolutely stunning. The Chihuly is spectacular and with the sun shining or setting, it always looks incredible in here. At first, I thought it was a downside that you have to rent all your own decorations and furniture. But this ended up being a blessing in disguise because it gave me the freedom to choose any type of decorations/furniture I wanted. We had the ceremony and reception, in reception style seating on the main level rotunda. I created dressing rooms on the bottom floor by setting up curtain walls near the back entrance. The balcony we used for taking pictures during cocktail hour. This was very nice because it was extremely hot outside and we were able to stay inside, take incredible pictures by the artwork and view, and be out of the way of the guests by being upstairs on the balcony. The balcony was also used to throw the garter from haha. It was nice for the guests to be able to roam around and view the artwork instead of being secluded in one area like most weddings. The staff here is incredibly helpful! Murray was the coordinator on duty that night and was sooo helpful. One downside is you have to take care of your own trash at the end of the night and he actually helped us load it in a truck since it was very heavy. Def not his job but still so helpful! The security is very friendly. Mary always answered my questions via email right away, as I had very many planning my own wedding. I had the wedding of my dreams, actually above and beyond my dreams here, I highly recommend. read more

Tacoma Union Station - My wedding reception setup at the Union Station - Train Stations Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Attended a wedding here last weekend and it was simply gorgeous!!! The venue itself truly does not need any more decor with the glass and the building itself. It was by far one of the classiest weddings I have been too in my awesome 28 years on this earth. The only downside was the acoustics ( as others have mentioned). If I had my wedding here I would probably be a little bummed about that, but hey the woman who married me mis pronounced our names during our ceremony.... Nothing's ever going to be perfect :). If you are wanting to get married during a season where it might rain in Tacoma ( so basically any day of the year), this is a beautiful indoor venue! read more

Tacoma Union Station - Train Stations Near Me - Tacoma, Washington

Union Station is a beautiful old train station with yet another Chihuly centerpiece. Sadly, it has been turned into a federal courthouse, so it isn't as magnificent as it could be. If you want to see what can be done with an old Union Station, go to Kansas City. read more

Don't leave this to the end. Most of the building you can see from outside on several sides and appreciate the lines/details on the inside. Even the work/restore area is visible through. Love large windows. This would be a 'must see' even if were in a major city. read more

The wedding was terrific but the acoustics (as the other review posted here indicates) was horrible. The reason, we should add - is that we had expected to have the BOSE L1 in place (and it would have been wonderful). But the Wedding Party was sorely let down by the various individuals in the Tacoma DJ industry. Would NOT recommend a one. Bride and groom had even arranged with the local "Leu Jam" only to be told that his sub-contractor claimed to have showed up at rehearsal and nobody was around despite 50 people in attendance. Fortunately, kudos to Kennelly Keys Music (both the Northgate and Tukwila locations) for trying to save the day. The event is now over, so let Karma take care of the future. read more

The Tacoma Union Station was the site of a wedding I recently attended. Its visual aesthetic is well-executed and beautifully maintained, with its exhibition of large Chihuly pieces and picturesque views out of the upper floor windows. There's a sense of greatness there, and I'm sure it has an interesting history that would make worthwhile fodder for anyone enterprising enough to offer tours of the downtown Tacoma area. However, if one were to throw an event there that in any way relied upon audio, certain precautions must be taken. This place is, bar none, the best echo chamber I have ever experienced. There were speakers about 30 feet from where I was sitting in direct line-of-sight (and sound, I suppose), and I was unable to make out more than about 10% of what was being said. Perhaps if there had been small individual speakers at each table in the main hall, or if everyone had been issued a wireless receiver/earpiece that was connected to a transmitter, or maybe even if there had been closed captioning, the problem might have been properly mitigated. Unfortunately, a single dropped fork or the rolling of the service carts 50 feet away at the periphery of the hall was able to completely drown out anyone at the microphone - not that I could understand what was being said anyway. And the amplification of each person's voice only made it worse, with the lower-pitched men's voices even less intelligible than the women's. As a result, the entire ceremony felt disconnected and somewhat oppressive, as though I were being rude if I talked to my neighbors instead of straining to catch a few words here and there from the speakers. That said, for intimate conversations in the midst of a crowd, the place is a winner. Get more than a few people talking, and most conversations will be unintelligible from more than 3 feet away. The location itself is pretty accessible, with multiple museums and restaurants a short walk away. If visiting on a summer weekend from out of town, make sure to book a room well in advance. They sell out quickly. read more

Had our son's wedding in this amazing venue. MAGICAL...a fairy tale wedding. The Chihuly experience for the guest was an experience to never forget. Yes, the acoustics were difficult but our DJ was experienced and it made a HUGE difference. read more