# Seattle: The Big Green



## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I like to call Seattle the "Big Green" for obvious reasons. Formally known as the Emerald City. Previously known as the Jet City and before that the Queen City. Also referred to as Seatown. Perhaps the more knicknames a city has, the better? I took a walk through part of the Queen Anne neighborhood, most of which sits on the slopes of or atop Queen Anne Hill. Like all older districts of the city, it has an amazing collection of homes of all architectural styles, and some of them very large (at least for Seattle). It was a beautiful autumn day, so I tried to capture some of the dazzling fall color. I started the walk climbing up the hill from the back side (north) at the canal which separates city in half. 

Fremont, north of the Ship Canal, in the background






















































Queen Anne Avenue, the main business steet atop the hill.


















Queen Anne Presbyterian Church


















Queen Anne Baptist Church









Seattle winters are mild enough to allow fig trees to prosper uncovered



























In the middle of the hill amongst densely packed homes is a very deep, steep ravine that could never be built on. A little wilderness in the heart of QA


















Besides fantastic homes there are a number of nice-looking apartment houses on the hill




































Queen Anne Playfield


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## aarhusforever (Jun 15, 2010)

Beautiful colours in a beautiful city  Thanks for sharing :cheers:


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## Student4life (Sep 23, 2011)

Great pics !


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

More from Queen Anne:





































One or two varieties of palm can also survive our winters


















Staircases lace hillier neighborhoods of the city: at street ends, between streets and where streets do not exist. They make for easy climbing, are picturesque and can afford great views.



























Parson's Garden, a favorite for springtime weddings



























Viewpoint opposite the garden, looking toward the west: Puget Sound, Elliott Bay marina and the Magnolia Bridge, connecting the city to the Magnolia neighborhood









Too hazy to see the Olympic Mountains









Historical marker at the viewpoint


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## חבר1.0 (Jan 19, 2010)

Beautiful city! :cheers2:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

More from Queen Anne:

West Highland Drive


















Newer construction but designed to "fit" into the ambiance that is West Highland Drive













































In older parts of the city, especially Capitol Hill and Queene Anne Hill, some side streets still have their original cobblestone paving intact


























































































West Seattle in the distance, across Elliott Bay









Iconic view of the skyline from Kerry Park on West Highland Drive


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing photos from Seattle and thanks


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

There are many weekly neighborhood farmers markets in the city. Here are some pictures from the Ballard Sunday Market, on Ballard Avenue:


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Beautiful pics of Seattle....thanks for sharing.:cheers:


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## Aaron W (Jul 19, 2004)

Can't get enough of that city. Love it!


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## Andre_idol (Aug 6, 2008)

Beautiful city with beautiful houses. Thanks for the pics :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Thanks to all for your much appreciated comments. 

The other day, I took a walk to the Ballard Locks from my house in Ballard. Then today I walked from the locks to the Fremont Bridge on the Ballard and Fremont side (north), then crossed over to the Queen Anne and Magnolia side (south). Now and in coming days, I'll be posting pictures of this interesting part recreational, part maritime industrial area.

This map of the area was in the small museum at the locks:










Lawtonwood is an isolated residential area in the larger Magnolia neighborhood. It is surrounded by Salmon Bay where it enters into Puget Sound and by Discovery Park, the largest in Seattle:




























Only seven bridges connect the two halves of Seattle--six for motor vehicular traffic and one--the westernmost--for rail traffic. Here is the daily long distance train from Chicago, minutes away from arrival at King Street Station just south of downtown Seattle, this after a nearly two day trip:



















Native American art welcoming visitors to a small overlook at the Salmon Bay Natural area:




























Entrance to the Ballard Locks, officially the [Hiram M.] Chittenden Locks, also sometimes referred to as the Government Locks. Competed in 1917, it allows for easy access for all types of watercraft--from commercial barges to yachts, from fishing boats to kayaks--between Lake Washington, which forms the eastern border of Seattle, Lake Union and the various bays (all fresh water) and Puget Sound, at sea level an inland arm of the Pacific Ocean: 










Adjacent to the locks--and part of its territory--is a small but interesting park with plants from around the world, the work of largely one gardner, Charles English, for whom it is named:



















Today I took good pictures of the large lock pumped out. Those pictures to follow










A little difficult to see from this angle, the plant design represents the symbol of the Army Corps of Engineers--a turreted castle. The corps built and still operates and maintains the locks. The Corps' motto is the French work "Essayons":



















Not clear enough to read, but gives a good description of the workings of the locks to visitors:










Large lock, looking westward. Once a train passes over the bridge, it rises up so as to allow tall masted sailboats and larger vessels to pass under unencumbered:










The small lock, opening to receive eastbound shipping. Salt water in the lock is at sea level:










Past the gate, fresh water is at the higher level:










View across to the Magnolia (south) side:


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## Seattlelife (May 15, 2007)

Great thread Ginko!! I LOVE Seattle!


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## LCIII (Jun 13, 2011)

Some really great photos!


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## Expat (May 25, 2005)

Very nice. And interesting to see that you have a couple of palm varieties.


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## CrazyAboutCities (Feb 14, 2007)

Awesome thread!!! I love Seattle too and that's why I am living in Seattle!  I love Ballard Farmer Market, I go there almost every Sunday.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

I'm taking a short break from this miserable, dark, cold and rainy mid-autumn afternoon and retrieved some pictures from last summer of a cruise I took on Lake Union, right in the middle of Seattle, under cloudless skies. Until the Ship Canal was built in the early twentieth century, Lake Union was essentially landlocked. With the opening of the lock complex on the west end of the canal, ocean going ships could get at least as far inland as Lake Union and any number of maritime-related industries sprung up. Now the lake is mostly surrounded by residential (including house boats), high-tech and medical research, small businesses, parks and some remaining waterborne infrasturcture such as marinas and ship building businesses. At the south end of the lake is the Center for Wooden Boats (http://www.cwb.org), which has a wide variety of activities and classes to perpetuate the ancient craft of wooden boat building. It is from the CWF that we launched: 









The white building in the center is the formal Naval Reserve Armory, currently being renovated as the new site of the city's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), due to open the end of 2012 For more information on this move go to http://www.seattlehistory.org. For a great picture of the last tall masted ship ever to pass out of Lake Union before such ships were forever prevented from re-entering see the opening page of that website (under Now Showing, Now and Then tab). As soon as the the last tall ship passed through, the missing part of the bridge deck was put into place:


















Nearby is Kenmore Air sea airport. No exact "runway" as planes have to dodge boats and land/take off where they can do so in safety:









Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the foremost such centers in the USA:



























East slope of Queen Anne in background:



























Eastlake neighborhood in background:









The former Lake Union steam plant, which was used to supplement power for the city during high demand times. Converted to use as a medical drug research center (ZymoGenetics, now a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk):


















Aurora Bridge in the background--one of two high level bridges over the canal (which never have to open for ship traffic):









Low-level Fremont bridge can (barely) be discerned underneath the Aurora, actually just to the west of it:









Coming in for a smooth landing!:









Gas Works Park. Old derelict coal gasification plant had been abandoned for years. The area surround the works was cleaned of pollutants and a nice park was created. The ruins of the gas plant remain for viewing:









Lake Union houses two incredible houseboat communities, one on the east (Eastlake) side, on on the west (Queen Anne). These are not the original houseboats which largely served the poor classes. These modern (and in some cases renovated old) houses are prime real estate and very expensive. On my walk along the ship canal I found a throwback to that older era in a few relict houseboats (pictures to follow at a later date):


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## CrazyAboutCities (Feb 14, 2007)

Love these pictures! Lake Union is one of best parts of Seattle area.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Heading out of Lake Union eastward. Closer up picture of the old coal gasification plant:









Ship Canal Bridge, carrying traffic on Interstate 5 (Canada to Mexico). The only bi-level bridge over the canal:









Old ferry boat undergoing some kind of work at dock:









Under Ship Canal Bridge with low-level University Bridge appoaching:


















Mini-park in the shadow of the Ship Canal Bridge:









University Bridge opening:



























Two bridges, a houseboat and some kayakers. Great summer scene:









Closing back down. The four low level bridges can open at all times except for morning and evening rush hours. During those times, it's the boats which have to wait, not the cars and buses:









The city's third major houseboat community in the Eastlake neighborhood on Portage Bay:









The University of Washington campus is huge. This is but a small sampling:









In the Montlake Cut, which, along with the Fremont Cut, was dug out deeply enough to allow for safe passage between Lakes Washington and Union and Puget Sound. The easternmost of the six bridges, the Montlake, appoaching:









Handsome control tower of the Montlake Bridge:



























Eastern end of Montlake Cut. Union Bay up next with Lake Washington in background:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

It has been a miserable, rainy, cold and dark day, all the more reason to look back at summertime pictures. 

Exiting the Montlake Cup eastward:









In Union Bay:


















Foster Island was created in 1916 when the opening of the Ballard Locks lowered the level of Lake Washington (and adjacent Union Bay) by some nine feet, thus exposing new land. Foster Island is barely above water and remains swampy:



























Appoaches to the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (built on pontoons). The current bridge is coming to the end of its lifespan and its replacement is being planned:




































The bridge spans Lake Washington and has two "highrises" on either end to allow boat passage. City of Bellevue in the distance:









Tip of Laurelhurst neighborhood on north side of Union Bay, Lake Washington beyond, with the city of Kirkland in the distance:









We entered Lake Washington and then turned around. The lake is large and forms the eastern boundary of Seattle and extends even farther north and south of the city:









More of Laurelhurst, a very upscale area:



























Looking north in Union Bay toward the Union Bay Natural Area, a former landfill which has long since been cleaned up and, among others, used by the University of Washington for ecology research:









On the south side of Union Bay, the edge of the UW arboretum, which extends farther south and is worthy of a set of pictures itself:









Heading west back toward the Montlake Bridge:









Husky Stadium. Home of the mighty UW Huskies [American] football team. The stadium just closed for major renovations and will reopen in 2013:









Stadium with the UW small boat rental center. Lagoons and backwaters to the south and through the arboretum make for a pleasant day of boating activity:









Mini park at the eastern edge southside of the Montlake Cut with a ubiquitous totem pole:









Tradition of UW sports teams painting signs on the bulwarks of the Montlake Cut, only to fade with time and be replaced by another:


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Damn mang, I didn't realize that there was new stuff. Great pictures, and welcome on these rainy days!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

I think Seattle's many waterways are what makes it such a livable and fab city.

I love the house boats on Lake Union. :cheers:


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## skysdalimit (Nov 23, 2004)

Great photos! I got engaged in Parson's Garden on Queen Anne and I didn't even know the name of it! I live on Queen Anne and you did a good job of displaying all the neighborhood has to offer.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Heading back into Portage Bay:













































The University of Washington has a large medical center. Unfortunately when the first buildings were going up, brutalist architecture was in vogue. Thankfully, many newer buildings on campus reflect an earlier, more graceful style or have a nicely done modern look with a lot of glass. I'll visit the UW in spring when the cherry trees are in bloom to take some more extensive pictures of the beautiful campus:



























Fremont Bridge with the Aurora Bridge beyond:


















Underneath the University Bridge re-entering Lake Union






















































Gasworks Park:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Seattle looks great from the lake.

I particularly like Montlake Bridge. How lovely, it must be, to have a home along one of the waterways.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Continuing where I left off at the Ballard Locks. The lock complex was built with a fish ladder allowing mature salmon to return to Lake Washington and from there into the tributaries which flow into the lake. In those streams, they spawn and die. Underground windows allow for viewing but the day I was there there wasn't any activity:









The young salmon heading to the ocean where they spend their lives before returning to spawn are sent through these slides:



























The concrete locks administration building may look plain on the outside, but the inside is richly adorned with dark wood--floors, walls, staircases, moldings:









More of the gardens:




































The large lock is pumped dry every November for cleaning and maintenance; the small lock in the spring:




































Heading eastward on the north side of the canal. Besides the touristy, Salmon Bay, as Lake Union, is lined with workaday maritime businesses including boat building, drydocking, maintenance and supply facilities:



























And some, such as this gravel works, not directly related to the maritime industry but which receives its raw product via barges:









A century ago and more, Ballard was heavily Scandinavian, primarily Norwegian. While no longer the case, the Nordic flags still fly proudly in the neighborhood. Ballard is also home to the Nordic Heritage Museum: http://www.nordicmuseum.org/
Scandinavian names still abound throughout the area:




































Ballard Bridge, connecting Ballard on the north with Interbay, Magnolia and Queen Anne on the south:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

More interesting Seattle pictures. I've got to visit.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Continuing eastward along the north side of the Ship Canal from the Ballard Bridge to the Fremont Bridge.

14th Avenue NW public boat launch:


















Burke-Gilman Trail, site of former railroad track (rails to trails):




































Approaching Fremont Bridge with the Aurora Bridge behind:


















Fremont Bridge built in 1917:









Crossing Fremont Bridge looking west out over the Fremont cut. As mentioned earlier, the Fremont and Montlake cuts were dug in the teens of the last century to allow ocean-going vessels to access Lakes Union and Washington:









Looking east toward Lake Union:









Now heading west on the south side of the canal on the Ship Canal Trail, also a former railroad:




































Seattle Pacific University. An anomaly in very liberal Seattle, this conservative university was founded in 1891 by--and still operating under the aegis of--the Methodist Church:

http://www.spu.edu/




























Seattle is so laced with waterways that the Seattle Police Department has a fleet of police boats. Here is one plying the Fremont cut:









A rare find: old style "poor man's" houseboats the way they all looked years ago. Vastly different from today's very expensive ones. These are on an out-of-the-way dock off the Ship Canal Trail:


















Ballard Bridge, also built in 1917, looking north:









Fishermen's Terminal, just west of the Ballard Bridge up next.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Love the new pictures.

I reckon I'd need at least four weeks to do more than scratch the surface of Seattle: explore its waterways, and get out into the national parks. :cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

openlyJane said:


> Love the new pictures.
> I reckon I'd need at least four weeks to do more than scratch the surface of Seattle: explore its waterways, and get out into the national parks. :cheers:


So very true. Within three hours drive of urban Seattle there are three tremendous national parks, sometimes referred to as the "Golden Triange": Mount Rainier (the fifth park so designated), from 1899; Olympic National Park (also an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site), from 1938 and North Cascades NP (the "American Alps"), from 1968. In addition, there is Mount St. Helens Volcanic National Monument, which we are trying to get named a national park as it would afford more protection. These parks are all different in some ways, yet all meet any requirement for national protection. Of course there are any number of Washington State Parks and other nature gems close to the city. Four weeks indeed!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Fishermen's Terminal on recent a gray day. The terminal is home to Seattle's Pacific fleet, with boats fishing all the way up to Alaska:



























Monument to those from the fleet lost at sea:




































I am always amused by the smart play on words some of the boat owners come up with, many using the word 'sea':









Then there are Alma and Kimberly...:









...and Deirdre and Heidi:









The Port of Seattle of which Fishermen's Terminal is a facility, is celebrating its centennial in 2011. Of course there was a port, small "p" before then, but the docks were privately owned and the waterfront a warren of not very coordinated activity. The voters of King County (of which Seattle is county seat) voted to establish the Port to make some order out of the chaos:

http://portseattle100.org/























































With the number of fishing boats declining over time, the terminal found itself with empty slips. After some controversy, yachts and other pleasure craft were allowing to rent space at the Terminal for the first time:



























Ballard Bridge in background:









Just as the police department has a fleet of boats, so does the fire department. Here is one of its fireboats, this one based at the Terminal:









A very long way from home:









An even longer way from home:


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## mhays (Sep 12, 2002)

Small commercial maritime....I love the flavor it gives to this city.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Some of the boats registered in Alaska spend the winter in the protected waters of Fishermen's Terminal:













































Discarded nets and other gear as [almost] art:









Continuing on the Magnolia (south) side of the Ship Canal westward toward the Locks. Street is once again lined with small maritime-related businesses:






















































I fully recognize the need for rules and regulations, but this seems like overkill:


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice new pics from Seattle....thanks for sharing.:cheers:


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## aarhusforever (Jun 15, 2010)

Great updates from one of my favorite cities  Thanks for sharing


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

The conservatory in Volunteer Park atop Capitol Hill is truly one of Seattle's gems. As is the case with many Seattle institutions, it is not large in comparison with other cities', but it makes the most of its small space. It will be 100 years old in 2012. 




























The cactus house has some terrific cactus and other succulent specimens. The conservatory is an official repository for confiscated plants brought in the country illegally. Some of those plants are among these:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the new Seattle pictures.

Seattle looks to have some wonderful parks and open spaces.


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## Malyan (Apr 2, 2011)

Wonderful photos again, thank you! Somehow, Seattle reminds me a bit of Zurich.


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## jfl875 (Dec 16, 2011)

Beautiful colours in a beautiful city Thanks for sharing


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Thank you for your kind comments.

The palm house (in center of conservatory) has palms, sago palms (actually related to cycads), banana, bird-of-paradise, arthurium. Also orchids. I'm saving the latter to the end of the conservatory pictures:





































The fern house has various ferns, cycads, flowering tropical plants and carnivorous plants, plus a great water feature:


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## Seattlelife (May 15, 2007)

I love the snow we're getting today but those spring photos are incredible!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Here are some pictures I took a few years ago from [near] the top of the Columbia Tower, Seattle's tallest building. The observation deck is on the 73rd floor at about 900 feet (275 m) above the street and some 1,050 feet above sea level (Elliott Bay, part of Puget Sound). Puget Sound is actually nothing more than an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The CT of course has the tallest observation deck in the city (see how "low" the Smith Tower seems in comparison, though the Smith Tower deck, which is open air, seems high enough). The Space Needle viewing deck is about 600 feet high (183 m). The only disadvantage of the Columbia Tower deck is that it doesn't wrap around the entire perimeter of the floor--only three-quarters. The northeast corner is taken up by a traffic control radio room. Nevertheless, what is viewable is spectacular.

To the north. The sliver of Lake Union on the far right is all one can see of the lake from the deck:










Queen Anne Hill rises behind the Space Needle, with Magnolia Hill to the left (west) of QA:










Cruise ship to Alaska at the Bell Street Terminal (see more below):










Elliott Bay toward the West Seattle peninsula, with the sound proper, islands and Olympic mountains beyond. The Pacific Ocean lies beyond the Olympics:










Some of the working port on the south end of the Central Waterfront visible here:










To the south. The ramp at the bottom center is the one we used to access the viaduct on the day the public was allowed on (see recent post). The viaduct to the south of this ramp is all gone now. The island off the the right (with the white tanks) is Harbor Island. When built 100 years ago, it was the largest man-made island in the world. It was constructed from ship ballast and from soil from the Jackson Hill regrade. Yes, two of Seattle's hills, thought to "impede commerce and progess" were actually flattened and levelled. West Seattle is beyond Harbor Island. SODO is to the south of the stadiums. There are two cruise ships in the East Waterway, between the mainland and the island. For a long time, Seattle hosted very few cruise ships to Alaska. The Jones Act prevented such cruising, which is a great irony in that the Jones Act is named for a former US Senator from Washington State who proposed it. It ended up, decades later, backfiring on the Seattle cruise business. In short, it states that US pasengers and cargo can be carried between US ports only on US-flagged vessels. Non US-flagged ships, which are basically all of the large cruise ships serving the US, can carry US passengers between US ports as long as they anchor at a non-US port. The previous generation of cruise ships was not fast enough to sail to Seattle to Alaska and back, with the requisite stop in Victoria, Canada, and still be economically viable. So Seattle lost out for years to Vancouver in the Alaska cruise business. But these new generations of ships are just faster enough to make the trip from Seattle viable, including the brief stop in Victoria. So the number of cuises from Seattle to Alaska has vastly increased over say, ten years ago. To such an extent that there wasn't enough room at the Bell Street cruise ship pier on the Central waterfront for all of the ships sailing. Some therefore docked at Pier 46 to the south. A new cruise ship complex has since been built at Pier 91 (Smith Cove) in Interbay, to the north: 










SODO, (South of the Dome), after the Kingdome, now demolished and where Century Link stadium now stands. Union Station is at the bottom left corner, King Street Station to its right. Part of the Kingdome parking lot, between KSS and the Clink is slated for development:










The Smith Tower, far below, and beautifully restored Pioneer Square just beyond:










Interstate 5 (Mexico to Canada) runs north and south. Interstate 90 to the east starts here and ends up in Boston, Massachusetts, with not one traffic light in between! And that's a distance of 3,043 miles or 4,900 Kilometers! Beacon Hill neighborhood lies between the freeways:










Harborview Hospital complex, run now by the University of Washington. Massive place. Seattle is a major medical center with many hopsitals and research institutions. The Central District is beyond. The Mercer Island floating bridge (pontoon) connects to Mercer Island and thenc to the Eastside [of Lake Washington]. When light rails starts to the Eastside, it will use this bridge. It is part of I-90. Bellevue skyline is visible across Lake Washington:










Cascade Mountains to the east. This is as far as one can go this way around on the deck:


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## testdrive (Dec 3, 2007)

Thanks for taking the time to do this.............this is truely an amazing place.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Fantastic - revealing the fabulous setting of the city - all of that water, green and mountain!

Queen Anne & Magnolia look like very desirable neighbourhoods.


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## royal rose1 (Oct 4, 2009)

Awesome pics! I was up at the top of Columbia Center, and it was an absolutely spectacular view! Here is a photo I took while up there.


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Random pictures taken today. 



















Old time movie palace now retail:




























Residences right on the waterfront:



















Century Link Field, Safeco Field, Mount Rainier, maritime activity:



















Small marina serving the central waterfront:










Olympic Scupture Park. Site of former oil tank farm, it lay abandoned for decades as a blighted brownfield. Finally cleaned up five years ago and the sculpture garden, a unit of the Seattle Art Museum, was constructed on the property:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Do you think that if I visited Seattle, there might be a chance I'd bump into Eddie Vedder? :lovethem:


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

awesome skyline and aerial shots of Seattle....:cheers:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

North of the sculpture garden is a thin but long stretch of a bicycle/pedestrian path, a great amenity to the city. Hemmed in by Elliott Bay and the railroad tracks, it was until the mid-70's a dumping ground for the railroad. Two contiguous parks were created, the southern one named Myrtle Edwards park for a former city council member. It is city property. The northern half, on port property, was originally called Elliott Bay Park, but was recently renamed in recognition of the the Port of Seattle's Centennial. A small indented beach was crafted from the straight shoreline at northern end of the the sculpture garden:



















Looking back toward the working port with Mount Rainier in the distance:










One issue since the trails were opened has been a relative lack of connectivity to Elliott Avenue to the east of the tracks. Until now, once on the paths, one had to continue quite a distance north before the first bridge. A most welcomed addition is this Thomas Street overpass, which will not only pass over the tracks, but will also allow one to reach the far side of busy Elliott Avenue without having to cross the street:


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

To have a snow-covered Mount Ranier as a city backdrop is just brilliant.


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## stvoreque (Jul 24, 2010)

Seattle- A M A Z I N G! Thanks for this thread!


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Continuing north on the Centennial Park trail is the grain elevator. Rail cars arrive from the Midwest wheat states as well as from Eastern Washington and the wheat is loaded on ships bound for Asia. This one was a Chinese vessel:










The dock can hold only one ship per loading, so others are frequently found in the open waters of Elliott Bay awaiting their turn:










Until the Thomas Street Bridge opens, this is the first connection to Elliott Avenue over the tracks. Queen Anne beyond the Helix style bridge:










The grain elevator may not be the prettiest site along the waterfront, but is a big money-maker for the Port of Seattle:










Looking back south toward downtown (and in the haze, Mount Rainier):










The Amgen (biopharmaceuticals) complex. After the original industry on this site was abandoned, the property fell into disrepair and was for decades a derelict, cinder-strewn brownfield until the Immunex company built this research center, later taken over by the Amgen company. Queen Anne beyond:










Pier 90 waterway. At this location a century ago, ships laden with silk arrived from Japan and were unloaded. The silk was sent by fast trains to markets in the Midwest and East. Magnolia Bridge (and Magnolia itself) in the distance:










Then as now, the railroad is adjacent:










Maritime-themed sculptured concrete retaining wall:










As noted earlier, there is not enough room on the central waterfront for all of the cruise ships which visit the port in season. Some dock here at Pier 91:










Here is where the main paths end, but a bicycle path (pedestrians welcome) continues north through the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Interbay freight yard. Under the Magnolia Bridge. Magnolia is somewhat isolated in that there are only three road accesses into the district: The Magnolia (or Garfield Street) Bridge, the Dravus Street Bridge and the Emerson Street Bridge, all going over the railroad. Magnolia is a misnomer. When Captain George Vancouver's party in the 18th century entered what is now Elliott Bay he mistook madrona trees for the more familiar (to him) magnolia. The name, though incorrect, stuck:










I like trains so enjoy walking through the yard, grafitti and all:





































Dravus Street Bridge in distance:










On the Dravus Street Bridge:










High rise section of Magnolia Bridge in center background:










I knew a Sounder commuter train would be arriving so I waited a few minutes. This is the North line connecting Seattle to northern suburbs of Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett. A short distance north of here, the line runs directly on the shore of Puget Sound with all the great views that entails:


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## Ginkgo (Feb 12, 2007)

Sorry about the deletions in the thread. I ran over my space limit and before I could act, some of the pictures were deleted by the service. I still have the pictures saved on my hard drive. Perhaps at one point I will attempt to reconstruct the thread or do it over. Thanks for the comments!


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