musictub

Seattle was wonderful! We had gorgeous cool clear weather. My husband and I never had a bad meal there. The seafood was fresh and delicious. The highlights of our trip were (tied for 1st place):
Take a ferryboat ride anywhere!
The view from Smith Tower (instead of the Space Needle)
Jazz Alley
Outstanding dinners (all downtown):
Elliott’s on the waterfront (wonderful dungeness crab)
Oceanaire,1700 Seventh Ave (where I tasted white salmon for the first time)
Jazz Alley (great food and romantic atmosphere with entertainment)
Triple Door (Pan-Asian, located beneath the Wild Ginger restaurant)
Other worthwhile activities:
Seattle Art Museum Downtown
The Hiram Chittenden Locks (which separates the salt water of Puget
Sound from the fresh water of Lake Union).
Aquarium
Underground Tour
Thanks to everyone for their good advice!

chatham

musictub,

Thank you for your report. I've lived here in the area just over a year and haven't done much over in Seattle. Now, I know some of the places to eat and not to miss sights.

Regards, Joan

kimamom

Thanks for the report, we're hoping to get up to Seattle this summer when we are on the Oregon Coast for an extended stay. I want to try Elliott's and Matt's at the Market! ***kim***

Bobmrg

Glad you liked it...come back often!

Fodorite018

Sounds like you were able to see/do a lot. The locks were always a fun place to go when we lived up there. We were back a couple weeks ago but did not have time. Are you planning a trip back yet?

artlover

Thanks for getting back to us and for your trip report. Glad you had a great time. Who did you see at Jazz Alley?

Mamaw

Thanks for the Great report on Seattle. It is a wonderful city.

I had the pleasure of visiting with some elderly cousins there at Christmas time a few years ago. I had to stick around the house with them for the first few days as not to be rude. But on the morning of the 4th day I got up at 5am caught the bus and the end of their street and headed to downtown Seattle. It was Awesome. My first stop was Pike Street market. It was huge. The sun was out and the day was beautiful. I had to buy a pair of gloves while there because I forgot mine. I still wear them and it always makes me remember Seattle. When I got off the bus all I could smell was coffee. And I was dying for a real cup of coffee (these cousins drank instant sanka, ahhhh)I followed my nose to a little italian coffee place and sat there for an hour sipping and checking out my map to get to the market first. Bought a Fab. coat from a Besty Johnson shop too, Man I got some great stuff from there.

When I finally caught the bus back to my cousins house (about 4 pm) they were worried sick. How did I know where to catch the bus? Did I get lost in downtown? How did I know how to get back? Did I eat anything (had a gyro,soup and dessert at the market)They are in their 80's and don't understand the power of the internet. I had to tell them the bus stop was 2 blocks from their house, in front of the Fire station. I had a blast. They were amazed at all the maps and print outs from off the computer.

suze

What fun to "see" your home city thru the eyes of others! Hmmm... I knew there was a reason I live here
;-) suze in seattle

Mamaw

suze

And what a city you have. I'm dying to come back there. My elderly cousins live outside the city, but they have a great view of the lake (I can't remember it's name) and mountains. They live in the 94st area. Your city is great and very friendly. I was hanging out with some 90 year old nuns and had to catch a cab from the Dr.'s office to the bowling alley (i know it sounds crazy) and the driver of the cab was very nice and refused payment, told the nuns to pray for his family. Everyone in the bowling alley were cool and wanted to talk to the nuns.

I had to go to church with the nuns and I was really sweating it. They wanted to go to confession and I don't believe in that stuff anymore (the confessing part) and I really didn't want to confess but didn't want to offend or hurt their feelings. Well, after showing up to the church where several other members were too, we sat and waited for the priest, after about 30 minutes someone annouced the priest can't make it. I was doing backflips in my mind's eye. Yeah....Well that Sunday at church the priest asked anyone who showed up that Fri. to confess, please stand up. So the 5 of us in my group stood up and the priest said "your all forgiven of your sins" more backflips.

I have so many great memories of my stay in seattle, so know there are great stuff in this chicks brain.

And I'm still hound doggin' over that Gyro at the market...MMMM

suze

I came here on vacation 20 years ago, and after a few weeks staying with friends... sold the return 1/2 of my plane ticket & got a job!

musictub

Thanks for all the responses to my trip report on Seattle! Mms: I want to live there, not just visit! I'm already thinking about what we'll do on our next trip there. You can't imagine how nice it was walking around in 50 degree weather (I'm from south Florida where it's usually sweltering). We were unable to get to the San Juan Islands this trip because the ferry wasn't running there. We intend to do that and the Japanese Gardens next time! Artlover: We saw Hiromi accompanied by Martin Valhora (drums) and Tony Grey (bass). They were wonderful! Jazz Alley is small and is more of a "romantic dinner" atmosphere than a "fit in as many people as you can theatre" atmosphere. There is no bad seat in the place. It was the perfect romantic evening for our last night in Seattle. We actually walked there from our hotel. Suze, I was told that the week we were there (May 2nd thru May 9th) was the nicest (weatherwise) in a year! You really made a great decision moving there. Starrsville, thanks for the tip on the Underground Tour. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but was interesting, and my husband absolutely loved it! Gardyloo and happytrailstoyou, we did walk to the Olympic Sculpture Park and enjoyed it very much. We did that on the warmest day, and since we were dressed for winter, we really enjoyed hopping on the free bus to get back to our hotel. I wish I had paid more attention to the whole "free bus" thing....I like to walk, but that Monday was a cooker! We did use the bus system the next day when we went to Smith Tower which saved us time and energy. I know I missed thanking some people who's advice we took and I apologize for that. Just know you are all appreciated. Thank God for this website!

enzian

Suze--what a story!

I came here for a job 18 years ago, not sure I would like living in/near a city. But yesterday, riding my bike home from work, across the I-90 bridge on a sunny day with Mt. Rainier dominating the southern view, I realized once again how nice it is to live here.

Thanks for the report, musictub.

suze

Seemed like a good idea at the time

enzian

And it has turned out OK--no?

suze

The best!

Clousie

Please tell me more about Smith Tower. Where is it? Is the view as good as from the Space Needle? I believe it was pointed out to us when we ate at Salty's.

suze

It used to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi (or the Rockies or something) back when it was first built. It is not that tall compared to the skyscapers now in downtown.

It is in Pioneer Square, the historic district, 1st Ave at Yesler or so. Why the observation deck is so cool imo is about riding the attended gold elevators up, the up-close view (it is not that high and right in the middle of things, so very different than the Space Needle), the Chinese Room, etc.
Also it is cheaper.

Gardyloo

When the Smith Tower opened in 1914, it was the tallest building west of Ohio; it wasn't passed by a Chicago building until 1923.

Built by and named for L.C. Smith, as in Smith-Corona typewriters.

Surprisingly, not many people know of Seattle's corporate HQ heritage. Before Boeing meant much (and before Bill Gates' dad - also Bill Gates - was out of nappies) Seattle had spawned Carnation Dairies, United Parcel Service, Smith typewriters.... and later ...to our everlasting chagrin... Muzak.

Clousie

Thanks for the info on Smith Tower. I checked out their website, and it does look interesting, especially the Chinese Room.

If we're arriving by ferry from Bainbridge, where would you suggest parking to access Smith Tower and general vicinity? Some folks want to go to Pike Market, but will it be winding down on a Friday afternoon?

enzian

Facts I found on the Smith Tower:

"Smith made his fortune making typewriters and guns.
10-foot diameter glass ball on top flashes the hour and quarter-hour at night with red, white and blue lights.
The Smith contains 33 full floors of office space.
The tower's namesake (1834-1910) never saw it built.
The tower was bought by local legend Ivar Haglund (1905-1985) in 1976 for $1.8 million who watched it being built as a child growing up in Seattle in 1913.
Top originally contained a 15,000-gallon water tank.
Smith's son, Burns Lyman Smith, had seen the rewards of publicity for the Eiffel Tower built in 1889. He reasoned that the new typewriter business could benefit from the publicity of the Smith Tower. And so he convinced his father to build 'up to' 42 stories instead of the original, more modest proposal of 18 stories.
Seattle's tallest building for 55 years from 1914-1969.
A main attraction of the Chinese Room is the Wishing Chair, a gift from the Empress of China. Legend has it that a single woman sitting in the chair making a wish to be married will be a bride within a year's time. L.C. Smith's daughter sat in this chair in 1914. One year later, she was married, in the Chinese Room.
The American Bridge Co. produced the steel in a Pittsburgh plant and shipped it on 164 railroad cars, each carrying about 28 tons.
E.E. Davis Co., using a single crane, set a record by erecting 8 floors of steelwork in one week despite very bad weather.
Design inspired by the 1909 Metropolitan Life Building in New York City.
Last office building on the West Coast with live elevator operators.
Entrance elevation: 66 feet above sea level.
For many years the Smith was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
Advertised as the tallest building in the world outside of New York City at 500 feet when completed, but actually its height was overstated. The real holder of that claim was the PNC Tower (1913) in Cincinnati.
The tower has survived three earthquakes magnitude 6.0 or greater in the years 1949, 1965, 2001.
Today each of the top 12 floors is a Tower Suite, built for individual tenants complete with elevators that open directly into the office space.
At completion the building weighed 48,650 tons.
A 37th floor penthouse, featuring a huge chandelier by artist Dale Chihuly, is the tower's only residence.
Core samples taken 122 feet beneath Second Avenue found fallen trees, some 3 feet in diameter.
The building's ornamented, terra cotta cladding material is so impervious to weather that the only time the exterior has required cleaning was in 1976.
Smith Tower was built without injury or incident.
On opening day, visiting Vice Admiral Kuroi from the cruiser Asama, flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy, was presented Ticket No. 1 to the top floor observatory.
1,276 Raymond concrete piles measuring 22 feet in length were used to anchor the structure firmly at the base. The 7.1 earthquake of 1949 caused so little damage that the greatest expense was the fee of the investigating structural engineers.
When the building permit was issued, it was to construct a 36-story steel frame and concrete office tower at the northeast corner of 2nd Avenue and Yesler Way (Building Permit #96518, DCLU Microfilm Library).
On Thursday, April 6, 2006 the white terra-cotta landmark was sold by Samis Land Company to Walton Street Capital LLC of Chicago for $47 million, making them the 20th owner since 1914.
The building opened with 540 individual offices, with 60 of them in the upper tower section.
The Smith Tower contains 1432 doors, 2314 windows, and 40,000 feet of moulding.
By 1923, the Smith was the tallest west of Chicago, by 1931 west of Kansas City, by 1943 west of Dallas, all the while remaining the tallest west of the Rockies for nearly half a century.
The building was most recently renovated in 1986 for $9 million, and again in 1999 for $28 million."