Top architectural sightseeing and landmarks of Seattle - ideas on city exploration routes

» The locals call the skyward construction a needle. It differs from others in its subtlety and beautiful shape.
»  The 184-meter futuristic tower was erected in 1962. It is part of the Seattle Center exhibition complex.
»  During the international exposition, 20,000 people visited the top floor of the building every day. A figure of 2.3 million people was recorded – those who managed to get to the top during the World’s Fair.
»  The skyscraper is currently owned by a private individual.
»  The peak of the Space Needle was struck by lightning several times. There are 25 lightning rods blocking electrical discharges.
»  In 2001, the skyscraper swayed so much that water poured out of sinks. A thin spire can withstand a hurricane wind of 320 km/h.
»  An observation platform offers a magnificent view of the surroundings – a volcano and a bay.
»  The 160-meter viewing platform has a souvenir boutique and a restaurant.
»  The thin tower is topped with a wide round part. To go up, you can either use an elevator or take 848 steps.
»  The building weighs 550 tons.
»  When the Space Needle was under construction, it took 12 hours for 467 cement mixers to fill the pit with concrete.

» The offbeat museum was designed by Frank Gehry. Critics argue the building is too ugly and unconventional to be considered a landmark of the city.
»  The construction of the undulating building cost $250 million.
»  The concrete building with a steel structure contains 3,000 blocks made of 21,000 sheets of aluminum of different colors – golden, silver, red, blue, green, purple. It creates an impression that the palette of the external facade is constantly changing.
»  The unusual building was shaped to resemble a famous guitarist’s guitar. Jimi Hendrix played a prominent role in the development of American pop music.
»  There’s a concert stage inside. Electronic equipment and a huge LCD screen let visitors fully enjoy the show.
»  A huge structure made up of guitars is part of the interior. The sculpture rises in the center of the exhibition hall.
»  Later, the Science Fiction Museum and the Hall of Fame were built. All together they make up the EMP complex.
»  The building was primarily designed to promote the avant-garde movement in the modern music movement.

» One of the facilities of the Art Museum is situated in a park.
»  The exhibitions in this department are dedicated to Asian countries (China, Korea, Japan, the Himalayas, India, etc). Paintings, sculptures, household textile and pottery articles are on display.
»  The cultural institution has 24,000 unique objects.
»  Exhibitions are held in the old building. The museum shop offers goods of Asian origin, printed publications dedicated to the culture and art of the states in question.
»  The 17-18th-century Chinese and Japanese articles from translucent white porcelain attract a lot of attention. Rich Europeans could afford to buy porcelain of such quality.
»  There’s a separate area showing the royal porcelain room. Aristocrats and wealthy merchants liked such rooms.
»  This kind of ceramics was valued just as expensive as gold. The quality was checked with a wooden stick. The translucent edges of a bowl should make a high and clear sound.
»  The rooms were decorated from ceiling to floor with antique porcelain and valuables in the form of decor.

» You can learn the city chronicle by visiting the Museum of History & Industry.
»  The museum is divided into 10 zones.
»  The Brinkley Hall immerses you in the atmosphere of Seattle, when the intensive industrial development of the region was underway.
»  There’s a gallery dedicated to the fire that engulfed many buildings.
»  Apart from permanent ones, there are temporary themed exhibitions. One of them is about the fishing industry development in the 20th century.
»  Car enthusiasts should definitely take a look at Ford. The car was produced in 1992.
»  The Armory used to stand on stilts on the site of the cultural institution. It rose above the lake surface.
»  A glass hole was cut out in the floor of the hall. You can see water through it.
»  A 20-meter Wawona sculpture is situated above it. It rises from the floor towards the ceiling going a meter above the roof. The sculpture was made from a fragment of an old schooner of the same name. It took two years to create it.
»  The museum halls are filled with photos and interactive exhibits. There’s a screen showing the terrain and the changes associated with the development of the area.
»  The Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) was opened in 2012.

» Smith Tower is considered to be the oldest skyscraper in the city. It was erected in 1914.
»  It was the tallest office building then. It was named for a financial industrialist Cornelius Smith.
»  The magnate originally intended to build a 14-story construction. However, following his son’s advice, he constructed a higher 38-floor building. The entrepreneur wanted his skyscraper to compete in height with other buildings.
»  Construction works lasted for 48 months. Unfortunately, the owner died before his creation was completed.
»  The beautiful 149-meter building ends with a pyramid-shaped 2.5-meter dome. Its base is made completely of glass.
»  The dome is constantly illuminated with blue light. The color changes to green only in December.
»  The 35th level is occupied by an observation platform with a great view of the surrounding neighborhoods.
»  There is a “Chinese” room on the floor as well. The ceiling was made by skilled carvers. The antique furniture found here is a present given by Empress of China, Cixi.
»  A manually operated elevator cabin has a decorative brass finish. There are eight elevators in the building.
»  Smith Tower has a huge number of windows.

» Safeco Field (T-Mobile Park) is a baseball park.
»  Washington-King is the company operating the sports complex.
»  Over 47,000 fans come to watch the competitions.
»  Besides amateur baseball competitions, the arena hosted an American football team on the home field. A record number of fans gathered then – 54,097.
»  Safeco Insurance bought the rights to the name of the stadium. It paid $40 million for the 20-year naming rights.
»  Construction works began in March 1997. Two years later, a grand opening ceremony was held.
»  The construction of the building cost 511.6 million US dollars.
»  The retro-modern architectural style was chosen for Safeco Field. It traditionally combines the qualities characteristic of all stadiums of this type, but certain innovations were also applied – the stadium is covered with a retractable roof.
»  There are some works of design art on the sports ground and near it – a chandelier consisting of thousands of baseball bats and an 8-meter compass hanging in the main lobby.

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Facts: » 1996 is not the year when the church was built, but the year when it originated as Christ’s creed.
»  Mark Driscoll became an adept. The founders rented a house to preach their views. At first, the audience consisted of 30 people. New people continued to come, so visitors began to gather in a church.
»  The first official service was attended by 160 parishioners. Evening and weekend services and online sermons started to be held. More than 260,000 people watched them online.
»  However, church leadership controversies began to arise. Pastor Mars Hill claimed in his sermons that many believers used the name of the Most High in the pursuit of self-serving goals.
»  In protest against that, Driscoll once arrived for the evening service in a hearse dressed in funeral robes. This defiant behavior was meant to communicate that religious organizations would either fade into oblivion or be able to be reborn in a new incarnation.
»  The church elders attempted to reorganize the religious dogma. But the pastor chose to resign.
»  The church leadership decided to dissolve the community, and the building located in the western part of the city was sold for $9 million.