# Washington State History Museum The state's history museum on Pacific Avenue, next to Union Station. Closed Mondays, free on Third Thursday evenings, and home to the model train festival every December. Canonical URL: https://tacomairl.com/places/washington-state-history-museum/ Section: places Area: Downtown Published: 2026-10-25 Last fact check: 2026-10-25 Status: Not marked closed; check official information Location: Downtown, Pacific Avenue Address: 1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA, 98402, US Price: Adults $17; seniors 65+ $14; students 6–18 or with a current high school ID $11; ages 5 and under, members and caregivers free; military $14. Free Third Thursday 3–8pm. Museums for All $1 per person. Official information: https://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/ Museum: Closed Monday. Tuesday–Sunday 10am–5pm. Third Thursday: Open 10am–8pm, with free admission 3–8pm. Access note: The museum elevator is under repair. During business hours, use the Education Center doors on the amphitheater plaza; the plaza is reached by ramp from the lower parking lot. The Washington State History Museum is the state historical society's museum, on Pacific Avenue at the south end of downtown. It holds the collection and the exhibitions; the society behind it runs the research center and the state's History Day program. The building is worth ten seconds of attention before you go in. The museum's own guide points out the brick façade and vaulted arches, designed to sit with neighbouring Union Station — the 1911 station that is now a federal courthouse — and the repurposed brick warehouses that became the University of Washington Tacoma campus. You can see the same rail-era downtown the exhibitions are about simply by walking around the block. ## When it is free **Third Thursday** is the cheap visit: the museum stays open until 8pm and admission is free from 3pm, supported by Columbia Bank. That is the evening to take a family that is not sure it wants a museum. Every other day, adults pay $17 and students 6–18 pay $11, with ages 5 and under free. The Museums for All rate is $1 a person for cardholders on income assistance. Military admission is $14. ## The December train festival The museum's annual Model Train Festival fills the galleries with miniature railroads over the winter holidays. Our [festival listing](https://tacomairl.com/events/model-train-festival-2026/) has the dates we could confirm; check the museum's own calendar before planning a trip around it. If trains are the reason for the visit, call ahead or check the calendar rather than assuming the festival runs every day of the holiday break. ## Practical notes **Closed Mondays.** Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. **The elevator is under repair.** During business hours the museum asks visitors to reach the second floor through the Education Center doors on the amphitheater plaza, which is reached by ramp from the lower parking lot. If stairs or the temporary route matter to your group, that is worth knowing before you arrive. **Parking and transit.** There is a lot beside the museum at Pacific Avenue level and more downhill behind it; if those are full, the museum suggests street parking or the lots on South 21st Street. A Link light rail station is in front of the building. ## Where it fits in a day The museum is in the [Tacoma Museum District](https://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/tacoma-museum-district/) with [Tacoma Art Museum](https://tacomairl.com/places/tam/) and [Museum of Glass](https://tacomairl.com/places/museum-of-glass/), all within a few blocks. The [Children's Museum of Tacoma](https://tacomairl.com/places/childrens-museum-of-tacoma/) is a few blocks further along Pacific, the [Chihuly Bridge of Glass](https://tacomairl.com/places/chihuly-bridge-of-glass/) is the walk down to the water, and the [Tacoma Armory](https://tacomairl.com/places/tacoma-armory/) up on Yakima Avenue hosts markets and film screenings. Our [rainy Sunday guide](https://tacomairl.com/guides/rainy-sunday/) uses the downtown museums as wet-weather stops. Image: https://tacomairl.com/images/washington-state-history-museum.webp Alt: The Washington State History Museum's red brick building with four vaulted arched roofs, seen across the interstate and rail lines from the hillside above. Image credit: Photo: Gayest Frogs Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20250625_143507_Exterior_of_Washington_State_History_Museum.jpg Image rights: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Photo details: https://tacomairl.com/photo-details/washington-state-history-museum/ ## Sources - [Washington State Historical Society: hours and admission rates](https://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/history-museum-hours-and-admission/) - [Washington State Historical Society: directions, parking and building setting](https://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/directions-parking/) - [Washington State Historical Society: visit overview](https://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/)