Seattle
Travel Guide > North America > USA > Western United States > Washington > Seattle
Introduction
Seattle has a left-coast vibe with a high tech spin. The birthplace of Jimi Hendrix and Curt Cobain has an appealing laid-back vibe and is accepting of alternative lifestyles, but hosting companies like Microsoft and Boeing means you're as likely to run into a systems engineer as a grunge rocker. Well known for its rain, Seattle, Washington is a city of approximately 600,000 people sandwiched between the salt water of Puget Sound and the fresh water of Lake Washington. To the north is the Canadian province of British Columbia. To the west are the Olympic Mountains, to the east the Cascade Range including just off to the south-east is Mount Rainier, the highest peak in the Cascades, and easily visible on a clear day from Seattle.
Neighbourhoods
Seattle has grown through a series of annexations of smaller neighboring communities. On May 3, 1891, Magnolia, Wallingford, Green Lake, and the University District were annexed. The town of South Seattle was annexed on October 20, 1905. Between January 7 and September 12, 1907, Seattle nearly doubled its land area by annexing six incorporated towns and areas of unincorporated King County, including Southeast Seattle, Ravenna, South Park, Columbia, Ballard, and West Seattle. Three years later, after having difficulties paying a $10,000 bill from the county, the town of Georgetown merged with Seattle. Finally, on January 4, 1954, the area between N. 85th Street and N. 145th Street was annexed.
Seattle mayor Greg Nickels is among those who have called Seattle "a city of neighborhoods,"although the boundaries (and even names) of those neighborhoods are often open to dispute. For example, a Department of Neighborhoods spokeswoman reported that her own neighborhood has gone from "the 'CD' to 'Madrona' to 'Greater Madison Valley' and now 'Madrona Park.'"
Over a dozen Seattle neighborhoods have Neighborhood Service Centers, originally known in 1972 as "Little City Halls" and many having street fairs and parades during the summer months.[70] The largest of the city's street fairs feature hundreds of craft and food booths and multiple stages with live entertainment, and draw more than 100,000 people over the course of a weekend. In addition, at least half a dozen neighborhoods have weekly farmers' markets, some with as many as fifty vendors.
The residents of White Center, an unincorporated neighborhood between Seattle and Burien, are in the process of deciding which of the two cities they will be annexed by.
Sights and Activities
The Space Needle
In 1962 Seattle hosted the world fair, and decided on a theme of Century 21, and wanted something futurist to be the visual anchor point for the fair grounds. Inspired by the Stuttgart TV tower in Germany, the architects decided on a tower, eventually topping the tower with a flying saucer to represent the Jetson-esque world that would await us in the year 2000. The needle includes the Sky City restaurant, the world's "first" revolving restaurant. Space Needle Official Site
Seattle Waterfront
Seattle has a number of piers jutting out into Elliot Bay, originally built to handle Pacific sea traffic, most of the piers now house tourist attractions or cruise ships. Seattle still is the 9th busiest port in the USA, though the majority of the cargo traffic is handled away from the downtown core nowadays. There is a sculpture garden near the north end of the waterfront.
Starbucks
Sure, this corporate behemoth can be found all over the world, but, as is fitting for a city with so much rain, the original Starbucks is still open, and serves as both a tourist attraction and a coffee stand. The original logo of a bare-breasted mermaid on a brown background is proudly displayed in the original store.
Pike's Place Market
Place Market, a 9 acre public market in operation since 1907, selling everything from produce to tourist kitsch. The most popular attraction in Pike Place Market, however, is the Pike Place Fish Market. The fishmongers at the Pike Place Fish Market don’t hand each other fish, they toss them full force at each other. The Pike Place Fish Market has been featured on many TV shows, and you are bound to see them on any TV show featuring Seattle tossing fish out into the crowds.
Events and Festivals
Weather
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest generally have a wet climate with an average yearly precipitation of around 37 inches. On average, it rains in Seattle at least 50% of the time, with the heaviest rain periods between January and May and between October and December. June, July and August are our driest and warmest months. Temperatures in the summer usually hover around a pleasant 75, though we also have been known to suffer through week-long heat spells in the high 80s or low 90s.[1]
Getting There
By Plane
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) (airport code: SEA) is located south of Seattle. The drive to downtown Seattle from SeaTac Airport will take 20-30 minutes -- depending on the traffic. A trip to downtown Seattle from the airport on public transportation takes 30-40 minutes. If you are driving yourself, from the airport to downtown Seattle, start going towards the AIRPORT EXIT on NORTH EXIT WAY, take the WA-518 EAST ramp, merge on WA-518 EAST, take the I-5 NORTH EXIT, merge on I-5 NORTH and head north for 10 miles. You will see the Seattle skyline approaching as you near downtown. There are several downtown exits; exit 165 will take you to Seneca Street in the heart of downtown Seattle; if you take exit 167 and follow the SEATTLE CENTER signs, this will take you to the Seattle Center and the Space Needle.
Information on public transit options from the airport can be found at: Port of Seattle Airport page.
By Train
By Car
By Bus
By Boat
Eat
Drink
Sleep
The Seattle visitors site offers links to hotel and hostels in the area, and can be found by following this link. Note that the HI Hostel link listed on this page is for a hostel that is not open any longer.
Budget
Mid-Range
Upscale
Work
Learn
This is version 11. Last edited at 6:02 on May 15, 08 by GeoBot (+59). 9 articles link to this page.
Except where otherwise noted, content of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License