Seattle highlights photographed in July 2009:
Views from the Space Needle:
Downtown skyline.
Views from the Space Needle:
Downtown waterfront and Elliot Bay, which is part of the larger Puget Sound.
Views from the Space Needle:
Elliot Bay with the Olympic Mountains in the distance.
Views from the Space Needle:
Queen Anne Hill rises above Seattle Center, which is seen in the foreground.
Views from the Space Needle:
Lake Union is connected by locks to Puget Sound, and leads to Lake Washington further inland.
Views from the Space Needle:
Looking East, with the emerging South Lake Union neighborhood in the foreground, Capitol Hill in the midground, the large suburb of Bellevue in the distance, and eventually the Cascade Mountain range.
Downtown Waterfront:
These views are from the waters of Elliot Bay, which the streets of downtown steeply meet along its shore. In the first image, the iconic Space Needle sits all by itself to the left in the skyline, situated in Seattle Center adjacent to downtown; it appears to be as tall as the tallest downtown building, but in reality is about half the height of the tallest!
Pike Place Market:
Perched on the slope above the waterfront, this is the classic extensive market.
Seattle Aquarium:
The waterfront features many historic piers, one of which was renovated to house this aquarium. On one side of it an additional pier building which contains further aqaurium exhibits, and on the other is Waterfront Park, both of which are classic examples of 1970's design.
Olympic Sculpture Park:
This new park is operated by the Seattle Art Museum and is located along downtown's northern waterfront. Modern sculptures, an art pavilion, and even a vivarium are featured along the extensive zig-zagging walkways which connect spaces and bridge over an existing street and a railroad track.
Qwest Field and Safeco Field:
These two modern ballparks for pro teams are located next to each other on the South edge of downtown.
Early 20th Century Downtown Highrises:
Seattle Center:
The 1962 World's Fair site is now called Seattle Center, and is on the North end of downtown. Features from the fair that still exist in the Seattle Center are the monorail which connects the heart of downtown with the center, the Space Needle (although the visitor center at its base is much newer), the Pacific Science Center museum which was one of the pavilions originally, and some of the grounds. A pair of conical towers in downtown along the monorail route also date to that time period.
Freeway Park:
This park was originally built in the 1970's and has been expanded greatly since then. Spanning the freeway as well as several roads, it bridges across between downtown and First Hill. It is a wonderland of stylized poured-in-place concrete features which all share the same rectilinear design aesthetic of varied proportions, including walls, stairs, fountains, benches, and integrated trash receptacles. The park's expansion included a thorough integration of the site's design style with the Washington State Convention Center adjacent to it, carrying the concrete forms directly into the lobbies.
Seattle Art Museum:
Located downtown, the original section from the 1990's with the massive Borofsky sculpture in front has been joined by a shiny techy highrise addition which houses the new main lobby, featuring a fantastic suspended car installation.
Modern Downtown:
Here are images of some assorted downtown projects completed in the last 20 years or so.
Central Library:
Designed by Rem Koolhas, this massive new library is in the heart of downtown.
Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum:
Designed by Frank Gehry, these two museums share a building that is a 1990's addition to the Seattle Center, on the North edge of downtown. 6 amorphic blobs with distinctive finishes join together in this wild composition, and the existing monorail from downtown glides through an opening in the building. The interior is just as wild, with a multimedia informal theater/lobby that plays images and videos known as 'Sky Church'.
Museum of Flight:
This is the only site I am featuring that is not in or near downtown. This great museum is located at Boeing Field, several miles South. It is composed of three main structures, one of which is the original Boeing red barn which was moved to this site and houses galleries about the history of the company, which started and is still headquartered in Seattle and nearby cities. Two other modern gallery buildings, one with bright natural-lit galleries and the other with dark galleries, house a large part of the collection of aviation. A modern pedestrian bridge links the museum buildings with the Skypark across the street where several large noteworthy jets can be toured.
Prev
.
Linear Mode
