# Seattle--The Big Green



## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

The campus looks lovely. I love university campuses - often one of the most attractive and characterful areas of a city.


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## LAYZIEDOGG (May 8, 2006)

Seattle looks like a great city to live in with the ocean and national forest in the area. Smith tower looks very nice, it was always one of my favorites in Sim City 3000


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Although I like to show pretty pictures of Seattle, I feel I also have to show the "other" side of the city, what I call the "lesser-known" Seattle, the Duwamish [River] industrial area. Indeed, many city residents have never ventured near it, except to cross over or through it on the way to somewhere else. I myself find it fascinating. As such areas go, it might not be the most vile or caustic of such zones. To the best of my knowledge, there were never any oil refineries, rubber factories, or toxic chemical plants located here, but nonetheless, more than a century's worth of dumping has left a legacy of a very polluted river bottom, full of cancer- and other disease-causing chemicals and toxic soils surrounding current and former factories. As was the case in many US cities, rivers were specifically chosen for industrial corridors because, among other reasons, one could simply dump waste directly into the river and....it would disappear. Not really the case, of course. So it is now up to the current generation to clean up the mess left by previous ones. Progress is being made, which is great, but much still remains to be done. And now, at least, stringent pollution and waste management controls are in place for the industries still lining the river. On a fine September afternoon a few years ago, I took a Port of Seattle tour of the river. We left from a dock on the central waterfront, heading west and south toward Harbor Island, of which I posted a picture or two earlier, taken from a high vantage point. When finished in 1909, it was considered the largest man-made island in the world. It was partly constructed from debris from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, used as ballast on ships which plied the route between the two cities.



















Washington State ferry passes in front. Headed either to Bremerton on the Kitsap peninsula or to Bainbridge Island.









Those of us on the cruise were told that this ship, the Zim Los Angeles, was the largest ship ever to dock at the Port of Seattle. Since then, I think even larger ones have docked.









Seattle was an early convert to containerization. These cranes typify the powerful driver of commerce that the port has become. Safeco [baseball] Field in SODO is on the left.


















The now 99-year old Smith Tower nicely framed between cranes and the twice-as-tall Columbia Center tower.


















Approaching the west waterway between Harbor Island and (on the right) West Seattle, we come upon another monster ship.


















Part of the abandoned Fisher Flour Mill complex on Harbor Island. In the distance the high and low bridges linking SODO to West Seattle. Some years ago, a ship crashed into the low bridge causing closure of the bridge for months (and an almost impossible situation for West Seattleites, who were largely cut off from the rest of the city). At that point plans were made to build a high-level bridge which would never have to be opened to let ships pass into and out of the Duwamish.









The high bridge flies over Harbor Island entirely. The island is connected to SODO and to West Seattle via the low bridge only.









Another derelict structure on the island.









Native American Indians have treaty right to fish the river according to their ancient practices. The waters of the river itself are actually in a good state of cleanliness so that fish such as salmon are safe to eat. It is the bottom- dwelling fish which are themselves toxic to eat.









Under the bridges and....









...into the main channel of the river.









To be continued.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I look forward to the rest of the tour.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Seattle :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Continuing up the Duwamish River, various industrial scenes.









Ancient railroad bridge.









Ash Grove Cement plant



























Major industrial pollution into the Duwamish may have ended, but it is still plagued by "no point" pollution from roads, lawns, etc. Seattle has combined storm and sewage drains. During a heavy rain event, some of this comingled water has to be diverted--for lack of room in the sewage treatment plants--directly into water bodies, such as Puget Sound and the Duwamish. 









This little inlet--probably the remnants of an oxbow--is one (of the few) places on the river where a little bit of the shape of the pre-industrialized meandering river is still discernible. 


















More tribal fish netting.




































Approaching the First Avenue South bridge.


















British Airways 747 on final approach to nearby SeaTac airport.









Looking toward the now razed 14th Avenue South bridge. Due to lack of maintenance through the decades, the bridge, which was tilting, was unsalvageable. A replacement bridge is almost completed.


















A few more to follow.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Three new downtown projects at various states of completion. The construction bust is over in Seattle. Buildings going up like mushrooms after a spring rain.

Viktoria Apartments on Second Avenue.


















Amazon, based in Seattle is prepping three entire city blocks in the Denny Triangle area in north downtown for high rises. 









Behind the remaining wall of an old theater is the recently finished twin towers of the Via6 Apartments on Sixth Avenue.









The old Kingdome (replaced by Century Link Field) parking lot has been a wasted expanse of asphalt for decades. The first components of a redevelopment of much of the space is underway. I like the way two of Seattle's iconic structures are framed between the towers of the new building. 
Stadium Place


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the updates. I really hope to get to Seattle to see these sights for myself someday.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

openlyJane said:


> Thanks for the updates. I really hope to get to Seattle to see these sights for myself someday.


You'll love it! 



















Seattle is NOT known for its beautiful churches. Most are downright unattractive. The Catholic churches are the best looking of them all. Here is the cathedral, St. James, on First Hill. It was constructed in 1904 with a dome, which collapsed during the heavy snowfall of February 1916 and was not rebuilt. 




































A decade after the interstate (I-5) cut an ugly swath next to downtown, severing the business district from First Hill, a lidded park was developed over part of the freeway. The plantings have long since reached maturity. Even in early spring before most of the leafage, you get an idea of the green oasis it is, in a downtown which doesn't have much park space.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

The city's railroad station, King Street Station, re-opened today after a lengthy renovation. The interior of the waiting room was "modernized" fifty years ago, in reality largely destroyed. Marble removed, plaster removed or trashed, acoustic drop ceiling covering the original. The renovated space now looks like it was the day it opened in 1906. 

These first few are from a behind the scenes tour taken April 10.









Besides the visible improvements, a major seismic upgrade was done. Behind the fancy walls, trusses and beams were installed amid the original brick. Original beams from 1906 were painted orange at the start of the renovation.








































































Largely the condition of the plaster during the past fifty years.









And some from today's re-opening celebration.


























































































Compared to Seattle's other [former] railroad station, right across the street from King Street Station. Union Station (1911) served the Milwaukee Road and Union Pacific, while King Street Station served the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern. In 1971 when Amtrak took over passenger service from these four railroads, all trains served KSS and Union Station was abandoned and was derelict for many years before it was renovated in the 1990's. Totally different architecture. Just as magnificent, even in its stillness.








































































And, as always, the iconic Smith Tower.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Fantastic to see!

Not on the same scale as above, but in our local community there has been a campaign to prevent Network Rail ( owner of the rail network) from demolishing our beloved Victorian canopy at our local Merseyrail train station. They want to replace it with a corrugated metal, flat roof, and a plastic, bus-type shelter.

I will hopefully report some good news at some point


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

great pics @Ginkgo, love what they have done to King Street Station, impressive indeed. :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

More from Freeway Park now that it has leafed out. In the early 1960's Seattle's heart was cut by the Interstate freeway, leaving an open wound that remains to this day. I'm almost embarrassed to post these first few pictures showing the damage. 



















Then, in the 1970's funds were secured to at least partially lid the highway and create a much-needed green space, as Seattle has a dearth of downtown park lands. Here the freeway ducks under lidded park.




























So we were left with a very pleasant space. There is occasionally talk of extending the lid, but nothing much has come about since the convention center extension was built and that was quite some time ago.
































































One of my top pet peeves about the city is that the parks department builds fountains but doesn't properly maintain them, and they eventually fall into disuse. When Freeway Park opened, water gushed over these walls in a successful (I might add) attempt to "recreate" the nearby Cascade Mountain waterfalls as well as camouflage the constant din of road traffic beneath. Through the years the fountains broke down, were fixed, broke again, etc. At best they are open now only in summer and at a fraction of their original flow. When they are not flowing, we are left with this ugly concrete wall.



















The Convention Center in the background was built after the original park and thus extended, by a little, the amount of lidded space over the freeway.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

There are always some monstrosities, aren't there? - but glad to see that it has 'greened out' a bit. Did I not hear of some kind of flyover being pulled down in Seattle, and Eddie Vedder playing a set on it before it went? Or something?


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

openlyJane said:


> There are always some monstrosities, aren't there? - but glad to see that it has 'greened out' a bit. Did I not hear of some kind of flyover being pulled down in Seattle, and Eddie Vedder playing a set on it before it went? Or something?


I'm not sure about Eddie Vedder, but yes, the Alaska Way Viaduct which has marred the waterfront for sixty years is coming down. A tunnel will replace it and that tunneling will begin next month. Here is some information on the boring machine Bertha (at present the largest in the world) and the project in general.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/About/FollowBertha

Seattle summertime cruise activity to Alaska is booming. But only in the past few seasons. An interesting reason why is to be found in the Jones Maritime Act of 1920. Among others, this legislation by the US Congress stipulates that US passengers cannot be carried between US ports without an intermediate stop in a foreign country. It was primarily designed so that the vital trade between Seattle and Alaska be in the hands of US-flagged and US-crewed ships. That was well and good in the 1920's, but today few if any ocean liners carry the US flag or have US crews. So when summertime cruising to Alaska became popular, the ships (all foreign-flagged by now) were not fast enough to leave from Seattle, visit Alaska ports of call and then make the obligatory stop in Canada to be economically feasible. Virtually all of this US to US travel thus defaulted to Vancouver, Canada. That was until about ten years ago when a new, faster group of liners began to ply the route with one day to spare. Becoming economically viable to leave from Seattle, cruise traffic increased dramatically and has been a boon to the Seattle economy. So much so that the original pier, at Bell Street, cannot handle all of the traffic and at times there are three ships in port at once, two at piers north of downtown. Here is one at Bell Street Pier the other day. It was so massive I couldn't get it all in one shot from the street. 





































The ship carries the Bermuda flag of convenience.










This trench carries the main line of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad after exiting the northern end of the 1906-vintage tunnel, the southern portal of which is at King Street Station.










Alaskan Way, looking south from the Bell Street Pier overpass.










Looking north. When the viaduct comes down in 2015, the southern end of Alaskan Way will be moved to under where the viaduct now exists. The northern end will also see some changes. The whole downtown waterfront area will be completely redeveloped, if the grandiose plans for it come to fruition. And these two scenes will be a thing of the past.










Bell Street marina, the only public docking area on the downtown waterfront.



















Ferries on Elliott Bay.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I really enjoyed this set. Love the busy waterfront, and the sunshine!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

At the north end of Alaskan Way there is a new park, a unit of the Seattle Art Museum--the Olympic Sculpture Park. (The other two are the downtown Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), the latter located in the original SAM building in Volunteer Park atop Capitol Hill.)
Years ago, the site upon which the sculpture park sits was an oil tank farm. When the tanks were removed decades ago, the land sat fallow as just another derelict brownfield. But thanks to its proximity to the bustling waterfront (and by this time also hemmed in by another park which stretches along the shore of Elliott Bay to the north), it was only a matter of time until it would be developed. Luckily another green lung, much like Freeway Park, was created. There is plenty of sculpture, some of it works by well known artists, but there is also copious greenery.



















Inviting look at a piece through the quaking aspen grove.


















North end of Alaskan Way where it curves inland as Broad Street. In the distance the cruise ship, Ferris wheel and part of the roof of Century Link stadium. Main line of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway tunnels under the park.









This fountain stays working as it is privately (versus city) maintained.









Eponymous Olympic mountains in the distance.




































Cruise ship almost becomes part of the waterfront!



























Blockbuster exhibit as SAM.









For more information on the sculpture park, click here:

http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/pdf/OSPMapandGuide.pdf


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Another interesting walk; thank-you!


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## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

First time replying to this thread after a few visits, and wow, the big city in the Pacific Northwest sure has an abundance of activities and sights to offer visitors and locals alike... I especially like the latest sets you have where you walk through some great-looking greenery that reminds me of the trails I find here around the Bay Area, and I didn't know that the Seattle Art Museum attracts quite a blockbuster (you said that right) exhibition right now, along with those temporary outdoor exhibitions that look genuinely fantastic, especially next to a large waterway! I know that Seattle and San Francisco share quite a lot of similarities (with the cruise ships, long paved walkways and bike pathways, and countless street art that make the cities unique and popular), but it is so good that you have a clear day outside (yes, I've heard that Seattle gets a LOT of rain) that you took those excellent images!

And, as I must say, that vintage railroad line that meanders through a narrow culvert close to a busy freeway is something I haven't seen in quite a while now... that one, to me, is sheer bliss since it allows road traffic to pass through safely, lessening accidents in the process (especially that it is a freight line)... as for the skyline shots, those look simply beautiful.

Excellent shots, my friend! Keep those lovely photos coming! :hug:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

For the first time since it opened in 1985, the observation deck as of July 1 is nearly a full walk around. Just a small area not open to the public, but it doesn't affect the now almost 360 degree range. Before July 1, about a quarter of the floor was off limits as that area housed a traffic control center, which I think is still there, but somehow reduced in size. In any event I wanted to visit with the new expanded views to the northeast.









The Ferris wheel is a new addition to the waterfront.









Two ferries at Colman Dock. West Seattle on the other side of Elliott Bay. Blake Island beyond in the middle, Vashon Island to the left, Bainbridge Island to the right and the Kitsap peninsula behind them.









Informative panels have been installed.









In the center is the south portal of the new tunnel to be dug under downtown Seattle, this to replace the aging and failing Alaskan Way Viaduct (1953) (lower right quadrant). The aerial structure nearly collapsed during the February 28, 2001 earthquake--a few more seconds of shaking may have doomed it. It will indeed be razed--safely it is hoped--upon completion of the tunnel and its demise will spawn a new and exciting downtown waterfront. The conveyor belt which will take away the spoils (to be loaded on barges to be disposed of) has just been built. Note new construction in the old Kingdome parking lot; eventually the entire northern half of the lot will be developed. The Kingdome itself was imploded in 2000 to make way for Century Link Field.









Close up of the south tunnel portal pit, with the back part of the tunnel boring machine, dubbed Bertha, nearly ready to start digging in coming weeks.


















Smith Tower at bottom, recently renovated King Street (Train) Station center left.









Industrial SODO (originally South Of the DOme[=Kingdome] or now South Of DOwntown). All built on fill. In Seattle's earliest days, at high tide, water would have covered the entire area up to the cliffs of Beacon Hill.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing, very nice updates from Seattle


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## Josue Damasceno (Aug 13, 2013)

Seattle is more interesting than I thought. Nice city.


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

A very pleasant looking city. I particularly like the old style of the university campus.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Love it. Lots of stuff that's been underrepresented on SSC.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I never claim to be unbiased where Seattle is concerned, but I truly believe we have one of the most fantastic major [baseball] league ballparks. You North Americans can judge for yourself. Beautiful "retro" Safeco Field (1999) replaced the "unfortunate" totally enclosed (never so much as a whiff of fresh air or patch of blue sky) Kingdome (imploded 2000). 

Great red brick façade.









Artwork in main entrance. Much artwork is found throughout the stadium.




































Center Field bleachers.









Left Field bleachers.


















The retractable roof which covers the stadium seats (while allowing for fresh air from the sides) was built for those uncommon SUMMER rainy days. Really a waste of money, IMHO, as the summers are very dry in Seattle. Winters are wet, summers dry. Of course, summer is baseball season.









"Major league" camera!









Food venues are as plentiful as they are wide-ranging in fare.


















Even a wine shop!









Just a glimpse of some great views accessed from different spots and angles in the park.









I like to sit up top on the third deck. An express escalator whisks you from the bottom to the top.


















View from the third deck concourse of the Sound Transit agency's Sounder commuter rail staging yards.









Main line of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) runs along the east edge of the stadium, just south of King Street Station.









Intermodal stack freight heading south.









Before the road on the north edge of the stadium was closed to vehicular traffic (mostly due to safety concerns during game days), a signature event at the ballpark would be the horns of frequent trains blasting at the crossing, reverberating throughout the entire field. I had hoped the railroad would continue this practice even with no traffic to warn. Alas, the horns no longer sound. Now pedestrians can access the stadium via the passage over the tracks as seen here, instead of crossing them at grade (and occasionally playing chicken with the trains).









Amtrak Cascades regional train arriving at King Street Station from Portland.









The Cascades are the only Amtrak trains to use the Spanish-designed Talgos.









More to come on Safeco.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great stadium.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

More from Safeco Field.

The underside of the retractable roof.









The rest of the pictures taken from the third deck and from the third deck concourse.


















Left field bleachers and bullpen.













































Many food choices on the concourse.


















World famous.













































Always a favorite.


























































































Bullpen from above.









The Seattle Mariners had won eight in a row. Alas, the streak would be broken this day.


















The stadium is literally at the port's doorstep.









Occidental Avenue South, with Century Link Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks (US football) and the Seattle Sounders (soccer).


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I love Occidental Ave. In the stadium area it's 2,000 feet of pedestrian domination lined with hot dog and peanut stands on game days. It's perfect given that our transportation plan is based upon walking to either offsite parking or transit. 

I also love the fact that both stadiums are crammed into tight spaces. The football stadium has its main sidewalk under the stands behind the columns in the last photo. The baseball stadium puts the roof over the tracks as shown. Way better than living in a city with plenty of space.

Also digging the combination of facilities. Between the stadiums is an exhibition hall used for boat shows, RV shows, home shows, and other similar events (which also use stadium space), along with occasional concerts. Between the three they manage to fill a sizeable percentage of the calendar on about 30 acres of former industrial land...about 20% of the land a suburban NFL football stadium might use.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

My camera died and I just got a new one, which I'm still trying to figure out and get used to. Today I went on a Port of Seattle boat tour of a small section of the Ship Canal, which divides Seattle in half. Speakers were mostly owners of local maritime businesses as well as Port officials. We left from Fishermen's Terminal (1914) home of the North Pacific Fishing Fleet (meaning mostly plying Alaskan waters), first traveling west to the edge of the Ballard locks, then doubling back under the Ballard Bridge. 









Long southern approach to the bridge in background.




































The Seattle Fire Department has at two (that I know of) maritime fire stations, each with fireboats on the ready.









Ballard Bridge (1916), the westernmost of only six vehicular bridges which span the canal. There is one railroad bridge, farther west, beyond the locks.


















Former Alaska Marine Highway System passenger liner, now used to train students of the Seattle Maritime Academy, a division of Seattle Central Community College for work in the maritime industry, many of whose current workers, we were told, are nearing retirement. 









The Ballard (north) side of the canal, from just east of the bridge to Puget Sound.









Salmon Bay, between the bridge and the locks.









The waters were full of kayakers on this sunny autumn day, a nice respite after many rainy days of late.









Some of the new residential construction in and around downtown Ballard, which is red hot at the moment.









Approach to the locks, with the large lock at the right, the small in the middle and the spillway to the left. No tourists today. Due to the US federal government "shutdown", the entrances have been barricaded shut. However, ships can continue to pass through the eerily empty facility.


















Still some "gritty" industry along the canal.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

The Ballard Locks are an important pedestrian/bike link (you have to walk your bike) since the nearest bridge is nearly a mile away. That sucks that the federal gov shutdown has it out of commission. 

Nice pics as always.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Newer construction on the Magnolia (south) side.






















































Looking east toward the Fremont Cut with the Aurora Bridge beyond. In the background is Capitol Hill, with St. Mark's (Episcopal) cathedral visible.


















Phinney Ridge neighborhood atop the hill.













































Dry docks at Foss Maritime.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Foss Maritime, the oldest tugboat company in the Puget Sound area was founded in 1889 in nearby Tacoma. Now based out of this canalside complex.









Foss dry docks. The company has expended and is no longer just about tugboats. Foss tugs are I believe all named after family members (such as Lauren) and are green and white. Each local tug company has telltale colored boats.




































I'm really not sure what this luxury yacht is doing at Foss. The Foss representative on the cruise didn't say much as it's "under wraps", apparently.









Beginnings of autumn color, intensifying daily what with our recent cool nights.









Fremont cut, looking east. Aurora Bridge above, Fremont Bridge (the lowest and thus the one that opens up most often) at bottom and the I-5 Interstate beyond slicing through Capitol Hill, with what looks like rush hour traffic.









Tour boat entering the cut, bound for Lake Union.









Asphalt producer on the Fremont (north) side.









Kvichak started by building fiberglass boats but now produces only aluminum craft.









Western Tug, based opposite Foss on the north bank, uses this handsome livery for its boats.



























Old-fashioned houseboat colony on the Queen Anne (south) side, right next to Foss. This is a relic colony of small boats from a long ago time, different from the mostly large and very high priced fancy boats found in other canal-area colonies. 


















Heading back to port and the sunset.









Coming up on a century of continuous use.


















Entering Fishermen's Terminal.






















































After a protracted and often acrimonious battle, yachts, sailboats and other pleasure craft have now been allowed to berth at Fishermen's Terminal, heretofore the exclusive province of the fishing fleet. Fewer young people are taking up Alaska fishing and with a growing number of empty slips, the administration of the terminal suggested allowing non-fishing boats to rent slips. Some fishers fought long and hard to prevent this change, but the Terminal is after all part of the Port of Seattle, owned by the citizenry as a whole and any revenue was deemed better than less revenue while holding to tradition. That said, if a fishing boat needs space and all slips are taken, the newest pleasure craft must vacate in favor of the commercial boat.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I particularly liked the stadium pictures; you can feel the build-up and excitement - and some great views and perspectives of the city.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Ginkgo said:


> Industrial SODO (originally South Of the DOme[=Kingdome] or now South Of DOwntown). All built on fill. In Seattle's earliest days, at high tide, water would have covered the entire area up to the cliffs of Beacon Hill.


Wow, isn't this EXTREMELY dangerous?? Won't all that fill liquify during and earthquake with everything on it being utterly destroyed? I believe so but maybe someone with more knowledge can give more details.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I gather it's not that dangerous. Depending on the soils down there, you have to build differently, which can be expensive of course.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Where infrastructure/geology are concerned, I defer to MHays who is very knowledgeable. In three strong earthquakes we have had in the recent past--1949, 1965 and 2001--I was here for the last one--I don't recall any cases of liquefaction, although there was talk that such a phenomenon could occur at the viaduct, now in the process of being replaced. It, of course, is located right next to the water line and the soils underneath it, closer to the water, might be more prone to liquefaction.

Seattle is currently showing off some vibrant autumn leaf color. Seattle is unusual in that almost all of the color comes from trees not native to the area. Native tree flora is mostly coniferous but even the widespread native deciduous trees, such as big-leaf maple and alder, don't really have good color--one exception being the vine maple. Here are just a few pictures taken today. We have been having a temperature inversion for the past few days, dry but foggy, then cloudy, so the pictures are more muted than if the trees were bathed in sunlight.

In Freeway Park.


















In Belltown (north downtown).









In Ballard on my walk home from the bus stop.



























And in my own yard, which I have packed with trees:








































































And yes, even a baby namesake ginkgo.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

*Mount Baker*


Mount Baker is a neighborhood in the SE quadrant of Seattle, noted for its large homes and great views over Lake Washington to the east.



















A good number of these homes are in the English Tudor Revival style.









The Interstate 90 (I-90) bridge leaving Seattle eastward. One can take this interstate all the way to Boston without a single traffic light. Bellevue in the distance.









In recent years, suburban Bellevue, largest city on the "Eastside" has sprouted its own high-rise skyline.









Both Lake Washington floating bridges shown here, the farther to the north Evergreen Point Bridge (50 years old and in need of replacement) is in the process of being just that by a new bridge just to the north of the current one. The Cascade range to the east of Seattle barely visible in the haze.









Mount Baker has a surprising number of Italianate-style homes. In general stucco does not do well in Seattle unless scrupulously maintained. All of the stucco homes I saw seem to be very well kept up and cleaned.


















Before continuing on to Bellevue, I-90 first connects to the upscale island suburb of Mercer Island.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Mt. Baker Presbyterian Church, dates from the mid-1920's .









Mammoth conifer (not sure what species, but it was gigantic) along the sidewalk.

















































































Room was somehow found for this small pocket park.



























Halloween is big in Seattle.


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## Botev1912 (Oct 18, 2006)

Ginkgo said:


> In recent years, suburban Bellevue, largest city on the "Eastside" has sprouted its own high-rise skyline.


How do I get here? On what street is that view?


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I went to the maps to reconstruct exactly where that was taken from. I think it was on Cascadia Avenue S, near the corner of Mt. St. Helens Place S. You can look at an online map and decide the best way to get there. If you are using Central Link, it's not too far from the Mt. Baker station. Just walk east on S. McClellan Street. Also easy car access from both Rainier Avenue S. and Lake Washington Blvd S. Great venue from which to view the Blue Angels during Seafair.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

The UW has been tearing down midcentury ugly lately. Right now the second half of the Terry Lander dorms is biting the dust, being replaced by nicer dorms, some of the thousands of beds they've mostly completed in the southwest campus area.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

More from Capitol Hill.




























Massive old Atlas cedar (cedrus atlantica) of North African origin.


















A couple of exotic monkey puzzle trees (araucaria araucana) native to Chile in the picture.






























































































































Holy Names Academy (girls' school), one of the lesser-known architectural treasures of Seattle (1906-1908).


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Capitol Hill has some very expensive-looking homes. Very nice! And near to the central city district?


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

openlyJane said:


> Capitol Hill has some very expensive-looking homes. Very nice! And near to the central city district?


Yes, near to the downtown business district. In addition, Seattle is interesting (unusual??) in that some of the very expensive homes are in areas virtually next to more moderate and even low income neighborhoods. There is occasionally a very abrupt change. I will specifically take pictures of "King's Row" a section of 14th Avenue East. When I first came to Seattle, I lived in a rather "crummy" apartment building (on 14th East itself) just three blocks south of where the million dollar mansions begin. The same phenomenon occurs in Mount Baker (some homes seen earlier) and in Madison Park.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I happened by the Seattle Center on this fine spring day. The Seattle Center is the city's legacy from the 1961 World's Fair. Some of the buildings date from the fair (or even before); others have been built since. It has become a prime cultural and entertainment venue for the city.

Up close and personal.


















International Fountain. Great place for the children to cool off, even on a not-very-hot day.









EMP (Experience Music Project). Architect Frank Gehry, 2000. Also houses the Science Fiction Museum. Both brainchildren of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, a big Jimi Hendrix fan. Hendrix's career is highlighted in the EMP.


















Monorail enters building.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice new photos from Seattle :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Thanks for the comments.

Ballard's Carnegie library. Typical of the hundreds of Carnegie libraries built throughout the country at the turn of the 20th century. (There a few of these gems still extant in Seattle). This one dates from 1903-4, when Ballard was an independent city. We were subsequently annexed to the city of Seattle in 1907 in the wake of the "water wars". A new library was built in Ballard in 1963. It in turn was abandoned and subsequently razed when yet a newer branch opened about ten years ago. The Carnegie library is NOT on the city landmark list so it could in theory be destroyed. Let's hope not. Various owners and businesses continue to come and go. 

From Wikipedia. Circa 1911.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Carkeek Park in spring.

Except for a small area with a lawn and a children's play area, Carkeek, in Northwest Seattle (between Blue Ridge on the south and Broadview on the north) is one of those Seattle Parks which has remained in an undeveloped state, that is its second growth forest has been allowed to continue to grow relatively untouched. Here are some recent pictures:



















Here's some interesting history. Except for Schmitz Park in West Seattle and a tiny bit of Seward Park in Southeast Seattle, there is no old growth forest remaining in the city. But there is plenty of second growth, after being logged once. Cedar stumps last a long time. Here is one just off one of the trails through the interior of Carkeek which shows the distinctive springboard notch which the loggers cut in order to place a board within and thus reach higher. Carkeek was clear cut about 1900, so this stump dates from that period. 










The original coniferous forest having been logged, the first trees which appear in a second growth situation are the deciduous, mostly alder and big-leaf maple...









...Many of which are coming to the end of their life spans. These will eventually be taken down by gravity, if not removed by the Parks Department before toppling.









Various small tributaries eventually all enter the main creek in the park, Pipers (where the salmon run in autumn; see previous posting).


















Not a conifer in sight. But throughout the park, old growth species such as Douglas fir, Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock are being planted so as to hasten the day when the forest will once again be "old growth".









The ancient Piper's orchard in bloom.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Iconic picture postcard view of downtown from Jose Rizal park on Beacon Hill.









The two sports stadia flanking a container ship at the quay.









Art Deco hospital built 1930-1933 in North Beacon Hill as U.S Marine Hospital. Architects Bebb and Gould designed many iconic Seattle buildings. Through the ensuing decades the building has had many iterations, mostly medical. Amazon took over the building a few years ago, before the company moved into its own campus in South Lake Union in 2010. Having undergone a complete seismic retrofit after sustaining serious damage in the 2001 earthquake, it is once again being reconfigured for medical use.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

It's had a clinic all along, operated by PacMed. Now the rest of it (the former Amazon space) will be turned into health professions education for Seattle Central Community College (soon to be Seattle Central College) and leasable space that will likely be health-related also.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

The seasonal cruise season (all sailings north to Alaska) has begun again, including this monster, the Carnival Miracle. The Elliott Bay Marina is in the foreground.









Low-rise beachfront condos across Elliott Bay in West Seattle.



























Barely visible in background is the West Seattle Bridge.


















The Magnolia Bridge was severely compromised during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake and was closed for months for seismic strengthening.


















There are so many cruise ships now leaving for Alaska from Seattle that solely the original Bell Street Pier on the downtown waterfront no longer suffices. Here the Miracle shares the dock with a fish processing vessel at normally commercial Pier 91 in Interbay.









West slope of Queen Anne Hill as taken from the Magnolia Bridge.









Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Interbay freight yard, hemmed in between Magnolia and Queen Anne. Ballard is beyond.









Now mostly sleepy pier 91, next to 90. But oh what history between the two of them in the past 100 years! Most famous for the crack silk trains which whisked just arrived silk from the "Orient" straight from the docks to East Coast markets.
http://www.portseattle100.org/properties/terminal-91









Ship taking on wheat at the dockside grain elevator. The Miracle in the background.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I love cruise ship season. They show up at 8:00 am, deposit last week's 2,000 or 2,500 people each (x three ships on S/S), the pick up the next set of 2,500 and head out around 3:45. Basically it's 12,000 or 15,000 more tourists at least passing through every weekend day if my numbers are right. Plus a few on other days. (In past years they've filled their six weekend slots; not sure about this year.) A decent percentage are real tourists before and after, and a lot of others apparently come back for that purpose later.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

The fountain at Freeway Park has been turned on for the summer. Compare to earlier picture of a blank concrete wall.










The park is surrounded by tall towers. I like the silver ones in particular.









The sound of the rushing water helps muffle the sound of the freeway traffic in back of and below the fountain.









On First Hill:
Former Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist (1922) now Town Hall, used for concerts and lectures. 


















St. James (Catholic) Cathedral (1906) in the morning light.













































Spires and towers.









Seattle's own English country church, Trinity Episcopal Parish Church (1903).


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Very nice!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Smith Tower, opened July 4, 1914. 100 years and going strong.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Festival of Wooden Boats held annually Fourth of July weekend in Lake Union. Included are free boat rides on the lake. Ours went north and out of the lake east into Portage Bay. Due to download issues, the photos are not generally in order.

Portage Bay houseboat colony.













































In Portage Bay. University of Washington medical complex on the left. Montlake Bridge in distance (center). Montlake cut (crossed by the bridge) leads to Union Bay and finally Lake Washington, which forms the entire eastern boundary of Seattle.


















Heading back out of Portage Bay toward Lake Union.









Angle formed by the University and Interstate 5 bridges.









University Bridge leaving Lake Union toward Portage Bay.









If any of you know of Dale Chihuly, this is his "secret" glass blowing studio, hard by the I-5 bridge.



























Underneath the I-5 Bridge heading toward the University Bridge and Portage Bay.


















I-5 Bridge.









Far north end of Lake Union about to go under the bridges into Portage Bay. Queen Anne Hill, with its tell-tale television antennas, on the right.









North shore of Lake Union.









Pocket park just north of the Eastlake houseboat colony.


















The Eastlake colony (lining Fairview Avenue East) is the city's largest. Formerly home to the poor, the houseboats have become fashionable and sell for a premium--only the wealthy can afford to live on the water these days.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Those waterside communities are just fab. Are they prone to flooding, though?


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

No, they float. 

Love the pictures! Love the many ways this city integrates with its waterfronts.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Do they really-are they not permanently fixed? Surely only boats "float"?

I'm impressed! Lots of waterside homes in England _were_ flooded this year.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Jane: As mhays says, the houseboats or floating homes, if you will, do float and would never flood due to high water. They are tied to the dock and have utilities lines and sewage pipes attached, but otherwise are "seaworthy". That said, the beauty of the ship canal hydrology is that the Ballard Locks on the far west end regulate water level in the inland canal, bays and Lake Union. If Lake Washington should rise as a result of winter rains and snow melt, excess water could be flushed seaward using the locks' gravity system. This is basically never needed, because due to heavy summer boat traffic, the locks open and close multiple times daily, forestalling any flooding "upstream" by releasing vast amounts of inland (fresh) water into Puget Sound (sea level ocean water). So the nearby houses on dry land (as seen adjacent to the Portage Bay colony) would never flood as the water would be lowered at the locks if such an event were imminent. Have never heard of even the possibility of flooding in all the years I've lived here.

More pix of wooden boat festival to follow.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Gasworks park on the north shore, site of old coal gasification plant, whose remains have in part been preserved.



























High-level Aurora Bridge with low-level (in fact lowest to the water of all canal bridges) Fremont Bridge beyond.



























Seaplane heading for a landing. There is of course no "runway" on the lake. The pilot must dodge boats and land where able.









Queen Anne.



























Beginning the cruise.









Capitol Hill.


















Wooden boats of various kinds and vintages.



























And not so wooden.




































Free rides on the lake offered by many types of watercraft.


















South Lake Union streetcar line runs adjacent to the SLU park and Wooden Boat Center.









The building behind the streetcar was once a Ford Motor vehicle assembly plant. It was nigh impossible to drive from Detroit to Seattle or if possible at all (via dirt roads and trails) would have taken weeks. So auto parts came by train right inside the plant and the cars were assembled there. 



























Boat was raffled off after completion.









South end of Lake Union.


















MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry) recently relocated to this old Naval Armory from its original building in Montlake. While it appears to rest on solid ground, it is actually built over water.




































Seaplane arriving at the terminal.









And another.













































Virginia V, last of the once ubiquitous "mosquito" fleet which plied the waters of Puget Sound delivering passengers and freight to waterside towns and villages. Next to it, the ancient tug Arthur Foss dates from 1889.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Ginkgo said:


> Jane: As mhays says, the houseboats or floating homes, if you will, do float and would never flood due to high water. They are tied to the dock and have utilities lines and sewage pipes attached, but otherwise are "seaworthy". That said, the beauty of the ship canal hydrology is that the Ballard Locks on the far west end regulate water level in the inland canal, bays and Lake Union. If Lake Washington should rise as a result of winter rains and snow melt, excess water could be flushed seaward using the locks' gravity system. This is basically never needed, because due to heavy summer boat traffic, the locks open and close multiple times daily, forestalling any flooding "upstream" by releasing vast amounts of inland (fresh) water into Puget Sound (sea level ocean water). So the nearby houses on dry land (as seen adjacent to the Portage Bay colony) would never flood as the water would be lowered at the locks if such an event were imminent. Have never heard of even the possibility of flooding in all the years I've lived here.


I suspect the dam releases most of the water, not the actual locks.

Great pics.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing, very nice new photos around Seattle


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

A few more from South Lake Union Park.

Looking north toward Gas Works Park.









Wallingford beyond.









Waterway 3, far south end of the lake, one of 23 named waterways along the lake (see map).



























Some of the buildings which currently make up the world headquarters of Amazon. Amazon occupies many buildings just south of the park in the revitalized South Lake Union district, which ten years ago was made up largely of run down, dilapidated warehouses and low-rise (one or two-story) buildings.









http://www.seattle.gov/parks/LakeUnionLoop/CLUL_map.pdf


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## danmartin1985 (Mar 5, 2012)

it's nice to see some shots of places outside the CBD/downtown area.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Once again, very nice updates


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I was reading in my back yard about a half mile from Puget Sound when I heard the fog horns. I immediately headed to Sunset Viewpoint on the edge of a bluff in Ballard and beheld what I thought I would, fog below hugging the Sound while bright sunshine above. And an added meteorological oddity!



















At my location the fog was moving south and some of it was being sucked into the canal and flowing eastward.













































Unusual cloud formations, as well.




































This might appear to be the sun, but it's not.









The actual sun, as reflected in the water, is behind the pine trunk.


















The two suns!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

What a spectacular sight! You live in a wonderful environment.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Mount Rainier and Little Tahoma as seen from Kerry Park, Queen Anne Hill, on the morning of December 6.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Spectacular! And very atmospheric - I can 'feel' the scene....


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## firoz bharmal (Jul 16, 2005)

Great Updates from Seattle....!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Amazing, very nice updates from Seattle :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

*MADRONA*



I went today with a walking group to the Madrona neighborhood. 










The sun is very low in the sky this time of the year in Seattle, even at noontime, so the pictures were not as clear as I would have liked. 

Here are some views of the Bellevue skyline across Lake Washington as seen from Madrona.































































Madrona is not only hilly, but extremely so. The normal N-S, E-W Seattle grid breaks down often as streets twist and turn according to the dictates of the topography. This creates many quiet country road-type lanes.









The steep slopes of Madrona also necessitate the use of stairways to get around with (relative) ease. Stairways honeycomb the neighborhood, from the top all the way down to the Lake Washington shoreline.




































In a quaint happenstance of serendipity, some homes have gates leading directly from the stairs or paths between stairs to a door.






















































Many beautiful homes dot the neighborhood. I'll return in the spring to do more exploring.




































Nice stone wall.









I'm wondering if this phenomenon is widespread in other cities.









Natural areas abound. Especially where the slopes are so steep as to be undevelopable. 


















Leschi bounds Madrona to the south.









Interstate 90 begins it cross-country ribbon of asphalt in Seattle and stretches all the way to Boston. After exiting Seattle, it passes over this floating bridge to Mercer Island, thence to Bellevue, Issaquah and points east.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Nice new updates from Seattle area


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Thank you for the tour of some of Seattle's lovely neighbourhoods.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Tale of three bridges. From the west slope of Capitol Hill.

North end of Lake Union and the Fremont Cut.









Meeting of Lake Union and the Fremont Cut. The high-level Aurora Bridge, next the purple Fremont Bridge, and the Ballard Bridge in the distance.









Fremont Bridge opens to let boat traffic pass.









North end of Lake Union, Gas Works Park.









From the crest of North Capitol Hill, the slopes are steep down to the water on both sides, necessitating stairs. 

Blaine Street Stairs.



























Not only did the construction of Interstate 5 (Canada to Mexico) gash a permanent scar into the Seattle landscape, it also tore many neighborhoods asunder. Hundreds of homeowners were given due notice to move, were paid what the state would give them, and the houses razed. It could never happen today, but the times--the early 1960's--were of a different mindset. Probably nowhere better is this bitter legacy as visible as in this stretch of wasteland on the East Howe Street right-of-way. A mountain bike skills trail was built, as if to somehow detract from the abject ugliness of the area. It does not succeed. And the din of traffic roaring overhead is ever-present.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Very interesting. Thank you.


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

I love Seattle's stairs. You can often get places faster than cars do, because the road route would wind around on hills like that. And stairs bring a cool ambiance. Of course living here (and getting out occasionally) means you can't be in that bad of shape. 

The Gas Works photo shows a nice trend in the Fremont / Gas Works / Stone Way area, which has a lot of four-story and six-story density in some areas, and a lot more coming.

As for the mountain bike park, what a great way to use the underside of a giant freeway.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

*More Seattle stairs--East Slope Queen Anne*

Queen Anne, with its steep hillsides sloping down to the waters to the east, west and north and down to the flatlands on the south, is riddled with staircases. Just a tiny sampling from today's stairway walk, starting with some great shots of the skyline.




























From Bhy Kracke Park.









Queen Anne, while in parts densely built up, still has its share of "country roads".


















Telltale sign that a stairway is near.



























South End of Lake Union. The red brick buildings of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on the SE edge of the lake. Capitol Hill rises in back. Cascade Mountains partially in view to the east.









As in all of the city's very old neighborhoods, magnificent homes are found aplenty. See earlier threads for more Q.A. homes. 




































Nantucket-style house, at least painted in famous Nantucket gray.


















Queen Anne High School (1909). Closed in 1981 due to diminishing school student numbers (along with many other schools during that period). Has since been converted to condominiums. Located on the southeast crest of the hill.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Transportation, sports and nature.









And commerce. 


















Classic view of skyline from Belvedere Viewpoint in West Seattle.



























Industrial Harbor Island and port facilities.


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## Galinka (Jul 1, 2016)

Очень интересные фотографии! Очень понравились!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

It is the omni-presence of wilderness and nature that is makes Seattle so attractive.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I really think the Space Needle is one of the most spectacular iconic symbols of any city. I always like this particular view.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Continual new construction as seen from the West Seattle water taxi as it departs Colman Dock (Pier 52 along the waterfront).


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

*Glorious Cruise on Lake Union, Ship Canal and Puget Sound*

I had been aboard the Virginia V (1922), the last of the venerated "mosquito fleet", before, but don't remember sailing on her. The famed mosquito fleet--hundreds of small boats--of course carried passengers and cargo between Puget Sound ports in the days before there was an efficient road network--or big ferries. And as a resident of Ballard for three decades, I have been a spectator at the locks hundreds of times, but had traversed the locks in a boat only once before. On Sunday MOHAI offered a trip through the locks in commemoration of the centennial of their opening (August 3, 1916). We have to be the most scenic city in the USA.

Queen Anne Hill.









Beach at South Lake Union Park.









Fremont Sunday Ice Cream Cruise.









Seaplane taxiing for takeoff.


















Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).









Seaplane just having landed.


















Old Lake Union steam plant.









Plenty of personal watercraft on a hot summer day.


















Renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.









St. Marks Episcopal cathedral atop Capitol Hill.






















































Leaning Space Needle.



























That's better.









Queen Anne Hill.









Aurora Bridge.









Houseboat colony, Eastlake.









Lake Union itself doesn't have much gritty maritime industry, but this is a leftover.






















































Fremont Bridge beyond. Aurora and Fremont, highest and lowest of the six vehicular bridges connecting two halves of Seattle over the ship canal.









Houseboat colony along Fairview Avenue in Eastlake is Seattle's largest.









Interstate 5 Bridge.









Gasworks Park.


















Derelict, but maintained, relics of the coal gasification plant from an earlier age.








































































Mount Rainier looms over Capitol Hill.




































Houseboat colony on Westlake Avenue, Queen Anne.



























The Fremont Bridge is the only one which had to open for us. Exiting Lake Union and entering Fremont Cut on the way to the locks.









End Part I.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Wow! The image of Ranier above the scene is quite something. You ought to get out on boats more often. Do you often take the ferry to Vashon Island and/or others?


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

openlyJane said:


> Wow! The image of Ranier above the scene is quite something. You ought to get out on boats more often. Do you often take the ferry to Vashon Island and/or others?


Thanks, Jane. You ain't seen nothing yet. Smashing pix of Mount Rainier to follow. Yes, I ought to take the ferries more often. The Bremerton ferry (out of downtown Seattle) is the longest ride at an hour. The Bainbridge also from downtown is about half that and docks at the quaint town of Winslow. Thanks for reminding me!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Into the Fremont Cut.













































Foss Maritime, founded 1889 in Tacoma.









Foss drydocks.



























Some early-style houseboats, the kind that used to be extensive decades ago, before most were replaced by much larger and more expensive models. These old ones are rare on Seattle waterways nowadays.


















Approaching Ballard Bridge, sixth and westernmost vehicular bridge over the canal.








































































Fishermen's Terminal, home of the North Pacific fishing fleet.




































Approaching Ballard Locks, opened to boat traffic on August 3, 1916. AKA Government Locks or Chittenden Locks.




































Ballard is growing and densifying, but height limits keep it low-rise.






















































Boats exiting the large lock.



























The westernmost bridge over the canal is a rail-only passage. The main line of BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) connects Seattle with the Twin Cities and beyond to Chicago.









Olympic Mountains loom in the west.













































We were directed into the large lock. The Virginia V can fit into the small lock, but with mere inches to spare. As very little boat traffic was heading into Puget Sound, we had the large lock to ourselves. 













































End Part II.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Gate closing behind us so we can be lowered to sea level.









The tide at the time was very high, so we didn't have much of a drop to reach sea level.




































Gate closing to raise water back to canal level so that crane barge in background can enter locks.









Railroad bridge is normally in open position until bridge tender is notified of an approaching train.




































Another concept; not exactly house boats, but built over water on stilts.


















Exercise on the water?




































Isolated Lawtonwood.


















Exiting Shilshole Bay into open Puget Sound.









Blowing steam whistle.









Famous seafood restaurant in Ballard.









Entrance to Shilshole Marina.



























Golden Gardens Park, Ballard. My house is just in from the bluff.


















Discovery Park in Magnolia. Seattle's largest.



























Mount Baker volcano, just shy of the Canadian border. Third tallest mountain in Washington.









West Point sewage treatment plant in Discovery Park.


















Mount Rainier volcano, tallest mountain in Washington and tallest in the Cascade mountain range, which stretches from California to British Columbia. Also the most glaciated peak in the Lower 48.









West Point lighthouse.









West Seattle and West Seattle bridge across Elliott Bay.









Mount Baker.


















Bainbridge Island with Olympic Mountains beyond.









Heading back to the locks.


















Shilshole Marina and upland Ballard.


















The crane barge which came through the large lock after us, now heading into open water.



























Pleasure boats returning from a day on Puget Sound.









At low tide, there would be a much greater differential in water levels between salt and fresh.









Unlike the first passage out into Puget Sound, on the return we had to wait over a half hour for dozens of other boats to fill the large lock. That's when my camera battery went dead.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates from Seattle


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## geoffloftus (May 6, 2007)

*Photos from Bhy Kracke Park, 7/28/16*


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Hell yeah!


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## tyistheguy (Aug 31, 2016)

I went to Seattle recently and I loved the look of the city.


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## giovani_red (Jan 30, 2006)

Amazing photos. Thank you for sharing!!!


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## alexandredaout (Feb 7, 2016)

Really nice pictures. Seattle sounds great


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

November 15.
From Kerry Park, Queen Anne.









From Bhy Kracke Park, Queen Anne.




































Lake Union from Bhy Kracke.









Eastlake from Queen Anne Hill. Husky Stadium and the hospital of University of Washington Medical Center behind. Suzzallo Library, most famous building on the UW campus is on the far left edge.


















Gasworks Park, seen from Queen Anne.
















Suzzallo now on the right.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

The setting and the topography are just fabulous. And there is still that feeling of vast American wilderness beckoning beyond.....


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

^^ Great, very nice updates from Seattle


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Jane and Christos: Thanks for your interest. Jane is correct--you don't need to go far from Seattle to find yourself in pristine wilderness.

Large lock undergoing annual maintenance. I doubt one in a hundred visitors coming to the locks passes through the portals of the administration building. For all the world it looks like a nondescript concrete edifice (though the windows might to some offer an enticing invitation to enter), but the treasures held within! Including incredible historic photos of the locks. The locks opened late in 1916, but the big inaugural celebration was held July 4, 1917, so the "official" centennial celebration will be on or about July 4 of next year.



























Essayons!









Compare against the large lock full to the brim from the August 19 post.


























































































Concrete pouring à la 1914.


















B29 going through large lock.




































Keeping up with modern technology in an old building.


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