Who says it always rains in Seattle? The sun was shining as I walked through Pike Place, the city`s funky marketplace, with a cup of cappuccino in one hand and a baby loaf of hot French bread in the other. Between the sips and the nibbles, it occurred to me that this is a city to savor from top to bottom.
At the top there`s the Space Needle, that lofty legacy of the 1962 World`s Fair. At the bottom there is Underground Seattle, a memorable and sometimes comical tour through the city`s lower level. And in between there are so many attractions, including two new ones, on land and sea that a first- time visitor may not know where to begin.
Pike Place Market seems to capture the spirit of the city, including its sense of whimsy. The market is a helter-skelter collection of stands and shops offering a profusion of vegetables, flowers, baked goods, crafts, gifts and lots of fresh fish.
The king salmon was piled high as a market man yelled, ”Buy it now!”
Nearby another seller called out, ”Dungeness crab here! Whole cooked!” The crabs were gigantic, as were the strawberries and the pineapples.
Buckets of flowers brightened many booths, and there were plenty of gourmet coffee bars, as there are everywhere in this coffee-crazed city. One booth sold Red Raspberry Ecstasy jam, and another, Walla Walla Salad Sweets.
Several stores strived for a French ambience with names such as Left Bank Books and Le Panier, advertising ”very French bread.” Guitarists played and sang, and a piano player tinkled away, his piano plastered with political stickers. Children clambered over a metal statue of a pig, one of several humorous monuments around the city. In the background were the perpetually snowcapped Olympic Mountains and, closer to the fore, the harbor, so much a part of Seattle and its history.
Down to the sea
The sea is so vital to Seattle-for fishing, sailing, tourism and the Alaska trade-that it almost should be mandatory for the city`s 13 million visitors annually to take one of the many available cruises. There are some of the best views of Seattle and its skyscrapers and so much else: houseboats that look like real houses, tugs towing log rafts, fireboats, pleasure boats with names such as Dear Crabby, fishing boats, other tour boats and the big ships that will be heading for Alaska.
I chose to cruise the Hiram Chittenden Locks, from the fresh water of Salmon Bay to the salt water of Puget Sound, 6 to 26 feet below, depending on the tide. It was fascinating watching the water act as an elevator, raising the boat until the salt and fresh water were at equal levels. On land earlier, on the south side of the locks, I peeked into the underwater viewing windows where salmon and steelhead pass by when migrating. Unfortunately, this usually happens from June to September, and I was a bit early. But my disappointment was short-lived: I soon saw sea lions frolicking near the locks area.
Along with the water comes the waterfront, which stretches from Pier 51 on the south to Pier 70 on the north. It`s touristy, to be certain, with its shops and restaurants and vintage trolleys, but that doesn`t mean it isn`t fun.
At Ivar`s, a local seafood restaurant chain, I found the red clam chowder a worthy alternative to New England style. At Ye Olde Curiosity Shop at Pier 54, I paid the obligatory visit to the shop`s two most curious items, Sylvester and Sydney, two genuine mummies-a bit too genuine for my taste-as well as a preserved eight-legged pig and a giant geoduck, a bizarre mollusk indeed.
Welcome variety
What I liked about the many shops, such as those in the restored wharf on Pier 70, were that they were non-repetitive. In an age of malls that feature the same chains, here a variety of stores featured locally made goods and unusual items, including Indian and other Pacific Northwest crafts and art.
Seattle`s attractions come in clusters, and it`s easy to get from one to the other by the city`s many kinds of public transportation, or by walking. Most of the city is eminently walkable, if you don`t mind hills. (Seattle, in fact, was built on seven hills, but one was leveled to make trade and transit easier.)
One of those clusters is Pioneer Square, the area adjoining the famed Kingdome sports facility. Here is history served up rowdy and rollicking. Here, unfortunately, are also many homeless people, who are common in other areas of the city as well. Signs in Pioneer Square windows urge people to say no to panhandlers, and while none of them ever bothered me, I nonetheless was bothered by the problem.
Pioneer Square was where the pioneers settled after their arrival in 1851. It is where the term Skid Row originated, from Skid Road, where logs were skidded downhill to the waterfront. It is where handsome brick buildings were built after the Great Fire of 1889 ate up most of the first flimsy shacks.
Today those buildings, many newly restored, house-what else but shops and restaurants and reputedly more galleries per square foot than any other city in the nation. I spent an amazing hour browsing in an amazing store called Ruby Montana`s Pinto Pony, a place so filled with kitsch that my eyes continually flicked back and forth like the eyes on the store`s Kit-Kat clocks. There were Elvis lamps and Spam T-shirts and plastic flamingos and 3-D postcards and a lot of other stuff that I really can`t mention. I couldn`t stop chuckling.
Going Underground
I got my chuckles, too, at the Seattle Underground Tour, where you step right down and hear all about it. The tour begins at Doc Maynard`s nightclub and follows the sidewalks one story down, sidewalks that were abandoned after the Great Fire. The guide-ours was a teacher with a sense of history and a sense of humor-tells of early Seattle politics, which stank like the original sewers, and how the underground came to be.
The tour has become tamer in recent years, with the installation of lights and more support structures, but an occasional rat is still spotted.
(Souvenir T-shirts include one that says ”I Saw Elvis at Underground Seattle,” but the Elvis pictured resembles a rat.) Methane gas also may be present, so smoking is banned. As the guide put it: ”You light up, you blow up.”
Before leaving Pioneer Square, at least two more stops should be made.
One is to Pioneer Place, a triangular park in the center of the square, to see the totem pole and, nearby, the statue of a cow with a coyote on its back. (I told you this was a whimsical city).
The other is the Klondike Gold Rush Historic Park, a national park within a building. There are no grass or hills inside, but there are displays recalling the Gold Rush of 1897. The frenetic temper of the times is well captured in movies, photos and displays. Did you know that a man once tried to sell gophers to the miners? He said the critters would dig through the permafrost until gold was found.
You also can take a trip to the future-or at least Seattle`s 30-year-old, George Jetson-style view of the future. From Westlake Center, a monorail ride whisks you to the 600-foot Needle, a landmark since it was built for the 1962 World`s Fair.
An elevator takes you 52 stories to within 80 feet of the top. Along with the pricey souvenirs, there are great views of the city. When the weather is clear, you can see Mt. Rainier (which often seems to be floating on a carpet of mist), Mt. Baker and the Cascade and Olympic Ranges.
One level below there are two revolving restaurants. The guide conjures up a nice Seattle image by telling you that your elevator descent is at 10 m.p.h.-”almost as quickly as a raindrop falls.” On the ground is Seattle Center, a 74-acre park with carnival rides, pizza and vendors selling popcorn, hot dogs and even espresso.
The Space Needle
The Space Needle somehow seems futuristic and quaint, but there are a few all-new attractions in and around the city. Prime among them is the new Spirit of Washington dinner train, a 3 1/2-hour, 44-mile round trip journey from suburban Renton to the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery in Woodinville.
The red, white and silver train rolls along past Lake Washington with views of the Boeing 737 airplane plant (Seattle and Boeing are economically intertwined), Mercer Island and other scenic sites. On board the refurbished antique cars, passengers have a three-course meal with a choice of entrees, one being cherry wood smoked salmon. A 45-minute stop is made at the winery, which is lovely to look at, and dessert is served on the return trip.
The city also has an expanded five-story arts center, now downtown. The Seattle Art Museum houses Asian art and jade as well as early European, pre-Columbian, Islamic, African and Persian arts.
”Don`t expect the Boston Museum of Fine Arts,” one resident told me,
”but you won`t be disappointed.” I wasn`t.
All of the above is merely scratching Seattle`s surface. For fish fans there is the Seattle Aquarium. For lovers of all God`s creatures there is the 92-acre Woodland Park Zoo with its large, lush gorilla exhibit.
The International District, east of the Kingdome, once was known as Chinatown but now is multicultural with its exotic shops and groceries. Uwajimaya, a large Japanese supermarket-bazaar, is there, as is a plethora of restaurants.
The Museum of Flight, within the original Boeing factory, tells the history of aviation. The five-building Pacific Science Center, another legacy of the `62 World`s Fair, is filled with hands-on exhibits. And the Museum of History and Industry depicts the city`s earlier days.
There, too, is the sprawling University of Washington campus, with its acres of gardens and its fountains. There is Discovery Park, with its butter- yellow Scotch broom and its fir and Western red cedar trees. And there is the Arboretum, with its colorful display of seasonal flowers and plants. (The state flower is the rhododendron, and the deep-red rhododendrons, which seemingly bloom everywhere, are gorgeous.)
There are inexpensive ferry cruises-$3.30 gets you to Bremerton Island on the Olympic Peninsula. Picturesque San Juan Island is also a favorite place to visit, as is the Tillicum Indian village on Blake Island. There is a wealth of outdoor recreation in the region, too: river rafting, horseback riding, scuba diving, fishing, jogging, biking, boating and golf. And there are the people, whom I found almost invariably helpful, friendly and laid-back.
Seattle`s nickname is The Emerald City. It`s a jewel, all right. –
