For Immediate Release

May 24, 2000

AGREEMENT REACHED TO KEEP
CHIHULY GLASS AT UNION STATION

TACOMA, WA. – A long-term agreement between Chihuly Studio and the General Services Administration (GSA) has been reached that will keep Dale Chihuly’s glass art in Tacoma’s Union Station well into the future, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Wednesday.

        The congressman said that the federal government’s General Services Administration has signed a 20-year lease, providing space in the building to Chihuly Studio for one dollar a year and assuring that the artwork will be maintained and available for public viewing throughout that time. In addition, the artist himself has agreed to sponsor a staff position to coordinate education outreach, to produce new informational publications and to update the collection, Rep. Dicks said.

        Because of widespread local interest in keeping the hometown artist’s work on display in the historic downtown structure when the original lease was expiring this year, an effort was launched by Rep. Dicks to reach an accommodation that satisfied all parties. The congressman noted that Dale Chihuly’s personal generosity was a major factor in the success of the discussions.

        "We, as a community, owe a tremendous amount of thanks to Dale and to the General Services Administration for developing this creative arrangement. Dale’s personal dedication to the people of this community runs deep," Rep. Dicks noted. "We now have a renewed commitment to the display of the Cobalt Blue Chandelier, the Monarch Window and the many other glass sculptures in Union Station, in addition to a plan to make it more accessible and educational," he said.

        The congressman also credited Judge Robert Bryan, representing the federal district courts that occupy Union Station, with convincing the artist and the agencies to preserve the display as a way of making the Tacoma courthouse one of the most unique in the nation.

        Dicks observed that the display at Union Station will complement the Museum of Glass and the Tacoma Art Museum, which are set to open in Tacoma in the next few years. "I’m excited about the opening of both new facilities and I’m very pleased that this display will be preserved, especially during the interim," he said, noting that the plan for a Museum of Glass represented a major reason why the display was initially placed in Union Station.

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