Sights in Pacific Northwest
-
A
Pike Place Market
The fishy-smelling, tourist-thronged heart of downtown Seattle is Pike Place Market. It's good theater, though claustrophobically crowded. The Main and North Arcades are the most popular areas, with bellowing fishmongers, arts and crafts, and precarious stacks of gemlike fruits and vegetables.
Tiny shops of all descriptions fill the lower levels of the market. It is open all week, though individual shop/stall hours do vary. Try a weekday morning if you don't like crowds.
reviewed
-
B
Pittock Mansion
The grand Pittock Mansion was built in 1914 by Henry Pittock, who revitalized the Portland-based Oregonian newspaper. It's worth visiting the (free) grounds just to check out the spectacular views - bring a picnic.
reviewed
-
C
Oregon Museum of Science & Industry
The Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, which offers hands-on science exhibits for the whole age range. There's also an Omnimax theater, planetarium shows and a submarine tour (all separate charge).
reviewed
-
D
Oregon Zoo
Don't miss 'zoolights' during the holiday season, when the zoo becomes a winter wonderland filled with lit-up trees and animal figures. In summer there are concerts on the zoo's lawns. Parking costs $1.
reviewed
-
E
Classical Chinese Garden
The Classical Chinese Garden is a one-block haven of tranquillity, reflecting ponds and manicured greenery. Free tours are available with admission.
reviewed
-
F
Ballard Fish Ladder
On the southern side of the Hiram M Chittenden Locks, the fish ladder was built in 1976 to allow salmon to fight their way to spawning grounds in the Cascade headwaters of the Sammamish River, which feeds Lake Washington. Visitors can watch the fish from underwater glass-sided tanks or from above (there are nets to keep salmon from over-leaping and stranding themselves on the pavement). Sea lions munch on the salmon while the fish attempt to negotiate the ladder. Just what to do about the sea lions has stymied environmentalists, anglers and the local Fish & Wildlife Department. The best time to visit is during spawning season, from mid-June to September.
reviewed
-
G
Experience Music Project
The Experience Music Project (EMP) is worth a look for the architecture alone. The shimmering, abstract building – designed by Frank Gehry – was inspired by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen’s passion for Jimi Hendrix’s music and was initially intended as a tribute to Hendrix alone. It now houses 80,000 music artifacts, including handwritten lyrics by Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and a Fender Stratocaster that Hendrix demolished. There’s also Janis Joplin’s pink feather boa, the world’s first steel guitar and Hendrix’s signed contract to play at Woodstock.
reviewed
-
H
Hing Hay Park
If you need a tranquil spot to rest while wandering the ID, Hing Hay Park lends a little green to the otherwise austere district. The traditional Chinese pavilion was a gift from the people of Taipei. On Saturdays in August you can catch a free outdoor movie here beginning at sunset, sponsored by the Seattle Chinatown-International District, which also runs the summer Night Market here; for a full schedule, go to www.cidbia.org.
reviewed
-
I
Pacific Science Center
This interactive museum of science and industry once housed the science pavilion of the World’s Fair. Today, the center features virtual-reality exhibits, a tropical butterfly house, laser shows, holograms and other wonders of science, many with hands-on demonstrations. Also on the premises is the vaulted-screen Imax Theater, a laserium and a planetarium.
reviewed
-
J
Shanghai Tunnels
Running beneath Old Town's streets are the Shanghai Tunnels, a series of underground corridors through which, in the 1850s, unscrupulous people would kidnap or 'shanghai' drunken men and sell them to sea captains looking for indentured workers. Tours are available by appointment.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Hoyt Arboretum
Prettiest in the fall, Hoyt Arboretum is home to more than 1000 species of native and exotic trees and has 12 miles of walking trails. There's also a popular zoo.
reviewed
-
L
Seattle Art Museum
The original Robert Venturi–designed building of limestone and ornamented terra-cotta (with Jonathan Borofsky’s enormous moving sculpture, Hammering Man, at its front door) contains 150,000 sq ft of space. Architect Brad Cloepfil’s design expanded the museum in 2007 into the adjoining Washington Mutual building, adding 118,000 sq ft, including a number of new spaces that are free to the public.
The sense of excitement is palpable from the museum’s entrance up to the main floors. Above the ticket counter hangs Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s Inopportune: Stage One – a series of white cars exploding with neon. Between the two museum entrances is the ‘art ladder,’ a…
reviewed
-
M
Green Lake Park
One of the most popular spots in the city for recreationalists and sunbathers, scenic Green Lake Park surrounds Green Lake, a small natural lake created by a glacier during the last ice age. In the early 1900s, city planners lowered the lake’s water level by 7ft, increasing the shoreline to preserve parkland around the lake. After the lowering, however, Ravenna Creek, which fed the lake, no longer flowed through. Green Lake became stagnant and filled with stinky green algae. Massive dredging efforts to keep Green Lake a lake (instead of a marshy wetland) continue. The lake is prone to algae blooms, which can cause an unpleasant condition called ‘swimmer’s itch’ to anyone …
reviewed
-
N
Lakeview Cemetery
One of Seattle’s oldest cemeteries and the final resting place of many early settlers, Lakeview Cemetery borders Volunteer Park to the north. Arthur Denny and his family, Doc and Catherine Maynard, Thomas Mercer and Henry Yesler are all interred here. This is also the gravesite of Princess Angeline, the daughter of Duwamish Chief Sealth, after whom Seattle was named. Most people, however, stop by to see the grave site of martial arts film legends Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee. Flowers from fans are usually scattered around Brandon’s red and Bruce’s black tombstones, which stand side by side in a tiny part of the cemetery. The graves are not so easy to find: enter the cemetery…
reviewed
-
O
Waiting for the Interurban
Seattle’s most popular piece of public art, this lively sculpture in recycled aluminum depicts people waiting for a train that never comes. The train that once passed through Fremont stopped running in the 1930s, and the people of Seattle have been waiting for a new train – the Interurban – ever since. Finally, in 2001, Sound Transit trains started once again to connect Seattle with Everett, much like the original train did. The sculpture is prone to regular ‘art attacks,’ where locals lovingly decorate the people in outfits corresponding to a special event, the weather, someone’s birthday, a Mariners win – whatever. Rarely do you see the sculpture ‘undressed.’ Take a loo…
reviewed
-
P
Space Needle
Seattle’s signature monument, the Space Needle (originally called ‘The Space Cage’) was designed by Victor Steinbrueck and John Graham Jr, reportedly based on the napkin scribblings of World’s Fair organizer Eddie Carlson. The part that’s visible above ground weighs an astounding 3700 tons. The tower takes advantage of its 520ft-high observation deck – offering 360-degree views of Seattle and surrounding areas – to bombard visitors with historical information and interpretive displays. On clear days, zip to the top on the elevators (43 seconds) for excellent views of downtown, Lake Union, Mt Rainier and the Olympic Range mountains way across Puget Sound; don’t bother spen…
reviewed
-
Q
Denny Blaine Park
South of Madison Park toward the tail of Lake Washington Blvd is Denny Blaine Park, found at the end of a looping tree-lined lane. This predominantly lesbian beach is surrounded by an old stone wall, which marked the shoreline before the lake level was dropped 9ft during construction of the ship canal. Just a little further south on your right-hand side, you’ll find the two-tiered Viretta Park, from which you can see the mansion once owned by Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love (it’s the house on the north, or left, side of the benches if you’re facing the water). Cobain took his life with a shotgun in the mansion’s greenhouse in April 1994. The greenhouse is long gon…
reviewed
-
R
Museum of Flight
Aviation buffs wholeheartedly enjoy the Museum of Flight, while others traipse through suppressing yawns, so be choosy about who you bring.
The museum presents the entire history of flight, from da Vinci to the Wright Brothers to the NASA space program. More than 50 historical aircraft are displayed, including a recently acquired British Airways Concorde. The restored 1909 Red Barn, where Boeing had its beginnings, contains exhibits and displays. The six-story glass Great Gallery has 20 airplanes suspended from its ceiling. Vintage fliers reside on the grounds outside the buildings. There’s also a hands-on area where visitors get to work the controls and sit in the driver…
reviewed
-
S
Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park
In an early example of Seattle civic boosters clamoring to put the city ‘on the map,’ the Seattle Post-Intelligencer trumpeted the news that a ship full of gold had arrived in town on July 17, 1897. Masses of gold-fevered unfortunates swarmed the city on their way to the Klondike River area in the Yukon Territory, and local merchants made a killing. Seattle’s seminal position as the outfitting and transportation hub for the Alaskan and Yukon Gold Rush is recognized at Klondike Gold Rush National Park, one of the USA’s few indoor national historical parks. It’s easy to miss, but worth seeking out. Exhibits, photos and news clippings document the era and give an idea of…
reviewed
-
T
Center for Wooden Boats
If you have an interest in the history and craft of wooden boats, then you’ll definitely want to visit the Center for Wooden Boats. This museum and enthusiast’s center features vintage and replica boats, and offers sailing lessons, including an excellent beginner course that gives you as many lessons as it offers in a four-month period (usually eight to 12 lessons). Seasoned sailors who are a little rusty can take a one-on-one lesson for around $50 per hour, and there are also classes on sail repair and boat building. You can rent sailboats and rowboats, but one person in your party has to know how to sail and must do a checkout ($10 fee) before you’ll be permitted to ren…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
U
Economy Market Building
Once a stable for merchants’ horses, the Economy Market Building on the south side of the market entrance has a wonderful Italian grocery store, DeLaurenti’s – a great place for any aficionado of Italian foods to browse and sample. There’s also Tenzing Momo, one of the oldest apothecaries on the West Coast, where you can pick up herbal remedies, incense, oils and books. Tarot readings are available here on occasion. Look down at the Economy Market floor and you’ll see some of the 46,000 tiles that line the floor. The tiles were sold to the public in the 1980s for $35 apiece. If you bought a tile, you’d get your name on it and be proud that you helped save the mark…
reviewed
-
V
Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center
This unique museum in Waterfront Park is part of the Bell Street Pier, a huge complex that also houses convention space, restaurants and a marina. A haven for boat enthusiasts, the Discovery Center is also a wonderful place for families. The four galleries and more than 40 hands-on exhibits include a simulated kayak trip around Puget Sound, a chance to navigate a virtual ship through Elliott Bay and a visual re-creation of the cruise up the Inside Passage to southeast Alaska. You can find out about boat construction and high-tech contributions to boating, learn about oceanography and environmental issues and hear audio simulations of ocean animals. One section of the muse…
reviewed
-
W
Gas Works Park
Urban reclamation has no greater monument in Seattle than Gas Works Park. The former power station here produced gas for heating and lighting from 1906 to 1956. The gas works was thereafter understandably considered an eyesore and an environmental menace. But the beautiful location of the park – with stellar views of downtown over Lake Union, and sailboats and yachts sliding to and from the shipping canal – induced the city government to convert the former industrial site into a public park in 1975. Rather than tear down the factory, landscape architects preserved much of the old plant. Painted black and now highlighted with rather joyful graffiti, it looks like some odd …
reviewed
-
X
Pioneer Square Park
The original Pioneer Square is a cobblestone triangular plaza where Henry Yesler’s sawmill cut the giant trees that marked Seattle’s first industry. Known officially as Pioneer Square Park, the plaza features a bust of Chief Seattle (Sealth, in the original language), an ornate pergola and a totem pole. Some wayward early Seattleites, so the story goes, stole the totem from the Tlingit natives in southeastern Alaska in 1890. An arsonist lit the pole aflame in 1938, burning it to the ground. When asked if they could carve a replacement pole, the Tlingit took the money offered, thanking the city for payment of the first totem, and said it would cost $5000 to carve anoth…
reviewed
-
Y
Occidental Park
Notable in this cobblestone plaza are the totem poles carved by Duane Pasco, a nationally respected Chinookan carver and artist from Poulsbo on the Kitsap Peninsula. The totems depict the welcoming spirit of Kwakiutl, a totem bear, the tall Sun and Raven, and a man riding on the tail of a whale. For more on the art and purpose of totem poles, see.
Also eye-catching is the Firefighters’Memorial, featuring life-size bronze sculptures of firefighters in action. Engraved on the granite slabs surrounding the sculpture are the names of Seattle firefighters who have been killed in the line of duty since the department’s inception after the Great Fire. The artist is Hai Ying Wu…
reviewed
