Especially relative to our region, Seattle may not be the place to watch great football (too soon?) and since the Sonics moved to Oklahoma, hoops is not so happening, either. Even so, the Emerald City does have many unique attractions that make it worth the cross-country flight.
Having been greatly destroyed by a fire in 1889, the city has literally rebuilt itself upon its own foundations and now rises above many other cities in terms of physical height (thanks on great part to the Smith Tower and the Space Needle, both of which once stood as the tallest building west of the Mississippi) and both intellectual and real capital (as the city with the highest literacy rate in the nation and the home of Bill Gates). Historically speaking, Seattle is also the home of the world’s first gas station and the world’s first Starbucks (which many may see as the same thing). But even for you Dunkin’ fans, Seattle has a latte to like.
In addition to being the HQ of Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon, REI, and Nordstrom’s, Seattle is also the center of the booming regional wine world. And at its center is Charles Smith’s Jet City (www.kvintners.com), a former soda bottling plant that is now offers views of Boeing Field, live music, and some of the best wines anywhere in the world. Another artistic pioneer who calls Greater Seattle home is glass master Dale Chihuly, who has helped make Seattle the largest center for glassblowing outside of Italy. At the breathtaking Chihuly Garden and Glass museum (www.chihulygardenandglass.com), guests can not only enjoy many of Mr. Chihuly’s most amazing creations but also learn how many were made through live blowing demonstrations.
In addition to wine and glass, Seattle is also known for music. As the home of such legends as Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, the city also boasts the most live music venues outside of New York City. And with plans underway to convert the former home of the OKC Thunder into a world-class music venue, the beat will surely go on in the Emerald City. Celebrating the music and culture that Seattle helped spawn and helps maintain is the Museum of Pop Culture (www.mopop.org), a Frank Gehry-designed wonder that is as impressive outside as it is inside. In addition to a tower made of guitars and an entire floor of learn-and-play music studios that offer lessons in everything from Reggae rhythms to mixing, the MoPOP offers rotating exhibits on such popular themes as film, tv, and even video games, making it a great place to revel in the sights and sounds of your childhood or to entrust our legacy to future generations.
The contemporary groove continues outside MoPOP at the Artists at Play playground (www.spaceneedle.com/news/2016/06/seattle-playground), which enhances a well-designed and multi-age appropriate swing set and climbing structure with musical elements that allow swingers to also be bell-ringers. As the website might suggest, the playground is also in the shadow of the world-famous Space Needle (www.spaceneedle.com), a relic of the 1961 World’s Fair that still wows with its views and (like MoPOP) its architectural wizardry.
Want more culture? Seattle has a wide range of museums that offer more for the eyes and other senses (many of which are affiliated with the City Pass program which offers discounts at www.citypass.com), including an impressive Museum of Art (www.seattleartmuseum.org), the free Frye Art Museum (www.fryemuseum.org), a Museum of History and Industry (www.mohai.org), a five-building Science Center (www.pacificsciencecenter.org), the Bruce Lee-related Wing Luke Museum (www.wingluke.org), and even a Museum of Flight (www.museumofflight.org) which allows smaller aviation fans to take in some of the marvels of Boeing (www.boeing.com), a full tour of which involves a 1/3-mile stroll through the world’s largest building by volume.
Another of Seattle’s greatest attractions is Pike Place Market (www.pikeplacemarket.org), a multi-level shopping and eating extravaganza that offers everything from crafts and farm-fresh produce to thrown fish and street performers. In addition to the Market itself, the nine-acre Market District also offers the aforementioned “mother” Starbucks, a 550-pound bronze piggy bank (proceeds of which benefit the Market), an ever-evolving participatory (and masticatory) art installation known as the “Gum Wall,” and Seattle’s Great Wheel (https://seattlegreatwheel.com), a 175-foot high Ferris wheel that also offers amazing views of the city and surroundings.
Speaking of surroundings, in addition to Boeing (which is technically outside of city limits), popular excursions include Mount Rainier (www.nps.gov/mora) and Mount St. Helens (www.mountsthelens.com), Victoria Island (www.tourismvictoria.com) and even Vancouver, Canada (www.tourismvancouver.com). Speaking of Rainiers, the minor league baseball team that now calls Tacoma home made way 40 years ago for the ever-streaking Mariners at Safeco Field (www.seattle.mariners.mlb.com), which offers not only garlic fries and roasted grasshoppers but also its own playground and opportunities to hang with the team’s friendly mascot, the Mariner Moose. And while the Sonics are no longer around, Seattle has embraced their soccer team, Sounders FC (www.soundersfc.com) and also host the WNBA Storm (www.storm.wnba.com), the women’s soccer league Reign FC (www.reignfc.com), and some high school team called the Seahawks (www.seahawks.com) that apparently needs 12 men to do what other teams do with 11.
After all the walking around (or taking the city’s own monorail (www.seattlemonorail.com) between Downtown and Seattle Center), you will want a place to relax and recover, While Seattle offers all the major hotel chains around its downtown heart, the real soul of the city is more often found in the neighborhoods that ramp up and down the city’s many Rainier-like hills. The best way to get the real feel for the city, therefore, is to book a place to stay through Seattle Vacation Home (www.seattlevacationhome.com), a trustworthy, family-run operation that offers over 20 cleverly but not kitsch-ily themed properties throughout the city (many of which offer fireplaces, decks, and other comforts of home), including one that features political memorabilia and another festooned with artifacts from the (ugh!) Mets and Yankees.
So whether you want to get high (in elevation, that is), rock out, or blow glass, Seattle is an emerald in the rough.
