streets and pavements were built up to 30 feet above the originals, leaving the old front doors of many shops in their original position, below the feet of today’s shoppers.
To find out more about Seattle’s colourful past, try the Elliott Bay Bookstore close to Pioneer Square, where you can buy books on the city’s history and attractions.
SEATTLE is famous in the UK as the home of Channel Four’s Frasier. Fans of the US sitcom will know of the character’s fondness for coffee shops, so visitors will not be surprised to find that the city is the US coffee capital.
Coffee-house chain Starbucks has its headquarters here, and cafes are found on every street corner serving a bewildering array of lattes, cappuccinos and espressos.
Consequently, there are plenty of places to stop for a rest inside the main tourist district, which stretches from Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square and down to the waterfront.
This whole area, about two miles long, is accessible on foot, although Seattle’s public transport system helps a great deal – buses are free in the central zone, where most of the tourist attractions are located.
Like its west coast neighbour San Francisco, Seattle has a long waterfront district, which runs from Pier 48 to Pier 70.
A streetcar ride along the waterfront costs $1, but pavements are wide and the weather mild, so locals tend to walk or cycle around.
The Victoria Clipper, which carries passengers over the border to British Columbia, leaves from the waterfront as do a number of boats catering for sightseeing tourists.
A cheaper option is to take one of the many commuter ferries that criss-cross the bay to Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. Boats leave from Pier 52 every 30mins, and from their decks you get a dramatic view of Seattle’s skyline, including the famous Space Needle built for the World’s Fair of 1962.
One of the city’s most popular tourist spots is Pike Place Market. Crowds pile in to look at the flower, fish and vegetable stalls and to peruse the crafts. Watch out for flying fish though – the stallholders like to attract a crowd by putting on a bit of a show, shouting out at passers by and throwing fish over the stalls to their colleagues.
Tourists in search of clothes should head for Pine Street, where the grand facade of local department store Bonmarche dominates the view. There are also indoor shopping malls at Pacific Place and the Westlake Center, and between Fifth and Sixth Avenues shoppers can find major names like toy shop FAO Schwartz and Nike Town.
Pioneer Square, Seattle’s historic district, is just a bus ride away. During the Alaskan Gold Rush, miners would first come to Seattle to stock up on essentials before taking a boat north from the waterfront.
The tiny Klondike Gold Rush Museum, on South Main Street offers a wealth of information and exhibits from those heady days when pioneers went off in search of a fortune.
Walking tours of old Seattle start from Doc Maynard’s Public House on Pioneer Square. Guides lead groups underneath Seattle’s streets and into the basements of existing premises. It’s a scramble over old planks and through cellars, to see the city’s former pavement level.
The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 destroyed large parts of the city, and following problems with flooding, the Seattle fathers decided it was necessary to give the city a lift. So new streets and pavements were built up to 30 feet above the originals, leaving the old front doors of many shops in their original position, below the feet of today’s shoppers.
To find out more about Seattle’s colourful past, try the Elliott Bay Bookstore close to Pioneer Square, where you can buy books on the city’s history and attractions.