SEATTLE | Jetlagged in Jet City

[stepper77]

I barely scratched the surface of Seattle when I visited many years ago. You definitely brought a new view and perspective on the city for me. Seattle looks incredible. Thanks!

[JiminyCricket II]

Originally Posted by mello

^^^ Thanks Seasky, how dense are those inner Seattle Census tracts? Do they have corner stores and urban amenities everywhere? Not to highjack this thread but pics of those areas would be appreciated.

I can't remember the exact numbers (mhays would know), but Capitol Hill is somewhere between 45-50k per square mile in some census tracts, U District is close behind that. Other inner neighborhood tracts average 20-40k.

Excellent thread, did you happen to stay at the Hyatt at Olive 8? It looks like a few pictures are from there.

[mhays]

Capitol Hill had a tract at a little over 50,000/sm and another over 40,000/sm in the last census. These coincide with the core of the lowrise/midrise area of Capitol Hill shown.

No tracts coinicide well with the residential parts of First Hill, or the densest parts of Belltown, which might be tops.

[Centropolis]

Fantastic. I've always really respected the somewhat messy metropolis vibe of Seattle. My dad used to always travel there for work because of our Boeing connections and talk about the touristy stuff he did.

[bgwah]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...n/census/2010/

Zoom in close enough and you'll get density by block group.

The First Hill census tracts include some low density areas on the other side of I-5, a reminder that these lines were drawn in 1940. There are First Hill block groups at 46k and 59k, though.

[xzmattzx]

Great pictures!

[ColDayMan]

Great tour.

[Evergrey]

Jet City gets the Thundertubs treatment... so awesome.

[Black Box]

There is a noticeable amount of low-rise, residential buildings in Seattle. The view of my neighborhood (Central District) from Beacon Hill always impresses me in this regard. My neighborhood is adjacent to Capitol Hill, First Hill, Little Saigon and the northern edge of Rainier Valley. Queen Anne Hill (upper and lower), Fremont, Ballard and the University District are other areas where there is a noticeable cluster of low-rise residential.

[Black Box]

By the way, this is a fantastic photo set. Oh, and I will be two blocks away from the new streetcar line!

[mhays]

Yes, those midrises are becoming one of Seattle's defining features. There have always been a decent number, but in the last 25 years, and particularly the 2005-2008 and 2011-2012 booms, it's touching pretty much every walkable commercial node and a lot of (formerly?) non-walkable ones, heavy on the core districts but really all over town including the suburbs as well. We build these instead of highrises.

Seattle has a lot of half-done nodes, where there are still strip malls and other underused properties alongside the original core street and however many old and new apartment buildings there are. On average many of these places might double in residents before they feel "done" to the extent that cities get to that. But parts of Capitol Hill and First Hill are pretty close to being full.

We've never boomed like some places. But it's still fun to watch.

[RobertWalpole]

The skyline is boxy and boring, but the natural setting is utterly magnificent. I like Seattle.

[ChiTownCity]

I Loved every bit of this set! As usual you never fail to capture every ounce of urbanity cities have to offer! Really nice job, tubs.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Queensryche would be proud

[Thundertubs]

Thanks, folks! I was there for a week on business, but still managed to get around a bit and take some of my favorite photos ever. I was fortunate to get both a hotel room and an office above the 20th floor. It was a very skyscrapery business trip.

Originally Posted by mhays

Well god damn! You must have been in One Convention Place, which apparently has some awesome views! Phenomenal post.

I had a hard time working sometimes, watching the rainclouds move in and out, and the mountains disappearing and reappearing.

Originally Posted by mello

Does the fact that they are built on a slightly inclining hill give an illusion that there are more of them? I'm speaking of the multiple shots where he shows the neighborhood with "El Capitan" apartments at the bottom. That area looks like it is uber dense, almost like Westlake in LA. What is that neighborhood like, is it as dense as it looks in these shots from Thundertubs?

That's Capitol Hill. Although you have to cross the chasm of I-5, it's a very easy walk form downtown. It felt like a pretty solid, complete, functional urban neighborhood. Pretty strong 20-something vibe.

Originally Posted by Black Box

By the way, this is a fantastic photo set. Oh, and I will be two blocks away from the new streetcar line!

I suppose I could search for it, but is there a map of the new streetcar line? I took the new light rail to and from the airport, which was pretty cool. Seattle seems ripe for more transit.

[Black Box]

Thundertubs, Seattle is on the cusp of getting an astonishing amount of new transit. Two new light rail lines, a new street car line, bus rapid transit and other transit improvement non-sense ; ) Of course, we'll have to wait a few years, but it's going to be transformational, including the new State Route 520 bridge, which will have an HOV lane and the ability to support light rail when another generation is in charge of the game. There is yet another discussion regarding the taxpayers of Seattle funding their own inner-city rapid transit projects via Sound Transit (our at large, regional transit agency amongst all the others), but I'm not holding my breath. Oh, and I'd say Capitol Hill has a strong twenty and thirty-something vibe. Of all the Seattle neighborhoods, it's still the place for the younger ones to party and play. Thank you for showing off my city so spectacularly!

[Black Box]

Thundertubs, here's a link to the new street car line going in. Construction starts this month or next.
http://www.seattlestreetcar.org/firsthill.asp

[ifeeldope9779]

This is one of those cities that I just have to visit. Great work. I especially like this one.

[kool maudit]

duluth meets san francisco!

[destroycreate]

Seattle really seems to be thriving these days. When I was last there in 2002 it seemed pretty dead, albeit dull. I also didn't see a whole lot of the city.

This thread has changed my entire perspective and I would definitely consider moving there if the opportunity came along!