  The search for hybrid mesons and the detailed study of their spectrum is the
primary goal of the GlueX Experiment in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. The
identification and study of hybrid mesons promises to provide unique insight
into gluonic degrees of freedom in QCD and the nature of confinement. The
experiment combines an intense photon beam with linear polarization peaking
around 9 GeV incident on a liquid hydrogen target with a nearly hermetic
spectrometer, allowing for the comprehensive study of charged and neutral
particle final states. The first phase of the experiment has recently
concluded, yielding a photoproduction data set of unprecedented size and
quality. We report on the status of the analysis of this data, including
measurements of polarization observables, progress in spectroscopic
measurements of light mesons, and the measurement of the photoproduction of
$J/\psi$ near threshold, which is providing critical insight into the nature of
the LHCb closed-charm pentaquark candidates.
