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Roq La Rue
This Belltown gallery has secured its reputation by taking risks: the work on view here skates along the edge of urban pop-culture. Since opening in 1998, the gallery, owned and curated by Kirsten Anderson, has been a significant force in the Pop Surrealism field, frequently featured in Juxtapoz magazine. It also has an entertaining blog about the undercurrents of Northwest art, at thataintart.blogspot.com.
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Safeco Field
The Mariners' 520-million-dollar ballpark, Safeco Field, opened in July 1999. The stadium, with its retractable roof, 47,000 seats and real grass, was funded in part by taxpayers and tourists; more than half the money came from taxes on food sold in King County restaurants and bars and from taxes on rental cars. The stadium's unique design means it commands fantastic views of the surrounding mountains, downtown and Puget Sound.
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Science Fiction Museum
Barnacled onto the hull of the EMP is this nerd paradise, a collection of costumes, props and models from various sci-fi movies and TV shows. Highlights include the actual alien queen from the movie Aliens (1986) - never fear, she's behind Plexiglas in the cargo bay - and the only 3D model of the Death Star made for Star Wars: Episode 4 . Lowlights include a bedraggled Twiki costume from the Buck Rogers TV series.
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Seattle Aquarium
This well-designed aquarium offers a view into the underwater world of Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest coast. 'Window on Washington Waters' is a look at the sea floor of the Neah Bay area, where rockfish, salmon, sea anemones and more than 100 other fish and invertebrate species live. 'Crashing Waves' uses a wave tank to show how marine plants and animals cope with the forceful tides near shore.
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Seattle Art Museum
One of downtown's most talked-about developments was the expansion and 2007 reopening of the Seattle Art Museum. More than twice as much gallery space has allowed the museum to display its eclectic collections in a more cohesive way rather than being, as it used to call itself, 'a collection of collections.' There's also a lot of new art to show off - to the tune of about one billion dollars' worth of gifts and 1000 new acquisitions.
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Seattle Asian Art Museum
In stately Volunteer Park, the Seattle Asian Art Museum houses the extensive art collection of Dr Richard Fuller, who donated this severe art moderne-style gallery to the city in 1932. Admission is free on the first Thursday and first Saturday of each month.
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Seattle Center
The 1962 World's Fair brought in nearly 10 million visitors from around the world for a glimpse of Tomorrow, Seattle-style. What remains of the futuristic enclave of exhibition halls, arenas and public spaces is today called the Seattle Center. Don't be surprised if it generates more nostalgia for The Jetsons than thoughts of the future.
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Seattle Museum of the Mysteries
More a cache of obscure and alternative knowledge than a museum in the traditional sense, this odd but fascinating den in Capitol Hill has a number of treasures that reveal themselves to those with the patience to explore. It's kitschy, but it's fun. There's also an oxygen bar (around US$5 for a five-minute treatment).
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Seattle Rose Garden
The lovely 1-hectare (2.5-acre) Seattle Rose Garden, near the entrance road to the zoo off N 50th St, was started in 1924 and contains 5000 plants, including heirloom roses and a test garden for All-America Rose selections.
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Seattle Tower
Formerly the Northern Life Tower, this 26-story art-deco skyscraper, built in 1928, was designed to reflect the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The brickwork on the exterior blends from dark at the bottom to light on top the same way mountains appear to do. Check out the 18-karat-gold relief map in the lobby.
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Shilshole Bay Marina
The Shilshole Bay Marina, just over 3km (2mi) west of the locks along Seaview Ave, offers nice views across Puget Sound and, as Seattle's primary sailboat moorage, a glittery collection of boats. Inside the marina, you can rent sailboats or take classes at Windworks.
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Smith Tower
You can't miss Seattle's first skyscraper. For half a century after its construction in 1914, the 42-story Smith Tower was known as the tallest building west of Chicago. The distinctive tower was erected by LC Smith, a man who built his fortune on typewriters (Smith-Corona) and guns (Smith & Wesson). Smith died during the building's construction, so he never got to see the beauty that still bears his name.
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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 158m- (520ft)-high observation deck to bombard visitors with historical information and interpretive displays.
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St Mark's Cathedral
Go north on Broadway (as the chaos turns to well-maintained houses with manicured lawns) until it turns into 10th Ave E and you're within a block of Volunteer Park. At the neo-Byzantine St Mark's Cathedral, a choir performs Gregorian chants on Sundays, accompanied by a 3700-pipe Flentrop organ. The performance is free and open to the public.
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Statue of Lenin
This bronze statue of former communist leader Vladimir Lenin weighs 7 tons and is the latest and most controversial addition to Fremont's collection of public art. It was brought to the USA from Slovakia by an American, Lewis Carpenter, who found it in a scrap pile after the 1989 revolution. Carpenter spent a fortune to bring it over, sure that some crazy American would want to buy it. No-one did, so here it stands biding its time in Fremont.
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Stimson-Green Mansion
One of the earliest homes on First Hill, the baronial Stimson-Green Mansion is an English Tudor-style mansion completed in 1901 by lumber and real-estate developer CD Stimson. Built from brick, stucco and wood, this stately home is now owned by Stimson's granddaughter and used for private catered events such as weddings and themed dinners. The interior rooms are decorated to reflect the different design styles popular at the turn of last century.
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Theo Chocolate Factory
What, perhaps you wonder, could possibly take the place of the free beer that came at the end of a Redhood Brewery tour? How about free chocolate? That's right - the old Redhood Brewery, empty for years since the company moved operations to Woodinville, has been reopened as a chocolate factory, and it does tours. Enough said.
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Times Square Building
This terracotta and granite structure, guarded by eagles perched on the roof, was designed by the Paris-trained architect Carl Gould (who also did the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the UW's Suzzallo Library). It housed the Seattle Times from 1916 to 1931.
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Turret House
This adorable castle-like building, with gables and (appropriately enough) turrets galore, was once the home of the Love Israel Family, an ex-hippie commune turned religious cult. Love Family members were famous for huffing noxious gasses, refusing to cut their hair and believing they were each part of the body of Jesus Christ. The Turret House has since been converted to apartments.
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Union Station
Union Station, the old Union Pacific Railroad depot (1911), was unoccupied from 1971 until 1999. The restoration project that brought it back from the dead included the preservation of the original tile floors, clocks and windows. More than 90 years of build-up was hand-scrubbed off the exterior brick. The Great Hall, half the size of a football field, remains an impressive space.
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University of Washington
Established in 1861, the University of Washington was first built downtown on the site of the present Fairmont Olympic Hotel, moving to its present location along Lake Washington's Union Bay in 1895. Much of the 259-hectare (639-acre) site constituted the grounds of the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Dozens of new buildings were constructed for this World's Fair-like gathering.
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Victor Steinbrueck Park
When you've had enough of the market and its crowds, wander out the end of the North Arcade and cross Western Ave to Victor Steinbrueck Park, a grassy area designed in 1982 by Steinbrueck and Richard Haag. You'll find benches, a couple of totem poles designed by Quinault tribe member Marvin Oliver, a few shuffling vagrants and great views over the Waterfront and Elliott Bay. Rallies and political demonstrations are often held here.
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Volunteer Park Conservatory
This conservatory is a classic Victorian greenhouse built in 1912. Filled with palms, cacti and tropical plants, it features five galleries that represent different world environments. Check out the creepy corpse flower.
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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.
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Wallingford Center
This boutique and restaurant mall, inhabiting the nearly-condemned, refurbished old Wallingford grade school, is the hub of the area. Out front, the Wallingford Animal Storm Sculpture, created by artist Ronald Petty, depicts wildlife found in and around the neighborhood.
