Seattle Neighborhood Spotlight: Downtown

Seattle’s downtown is a vibrant place to live, work, and play. The original area, comprised of mostly wooden structures, a sawmill, and nearly unscalable hills, is virtually unrecognizable today. After a massive fire demolished most of the area in the late 1800s, the city was reimagined into a gleaming, modern urban center buzzing with activity. The Denny Regrade, the thirty-year-long engineering feat that lessened the sharpness of the hills of the area, further added to this transformation. Downtown is the place to be for those in search of constant activity, eclectic people, and nearly endless opportunities for entertainment and dining.

Visitors to downtown face a dilemma: with so many options in which to partake, where does one start? Perhaps a step back in time is a great first-day activity. A tour of “underground Seattle” gives visitors a view into many of the still-intact buildings of the original downtown, which were simply buried to make room for the rebuilt structures. Popping back above ground, one can visit landmarks still in use today, including Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market.

Tourists looking for traditional sightseeing options will enjoy spending time at the waterfront piers, cruising the waterways of Puget Sound, or a ride up to the observation deck at Seattle’s original skyscraper, Smith Tower.

Fans of culture will not be disappointed in the neighborhood’s offerings. The Seattle Art Museum, the symphony at Benaroya Hall, and numerous theaters and performance halls–including the Paramount and the Showbox—-provide ample opportunity to take it all in.

For those looking for opportunities to shop, downtown delivers. In addition to the numerous independent boutiques that fill the neighborhood, the area is home to two shopping centers, Westlake Center and Pacific Place. Both house a combination of high-end and regular retailers, great for a variety of budgets.

When all of the seeing, doing, and buying has stimulated an appetite, visitors to downtown won’t be disappointed in the choices. The food of Seattle is on abundant display throughout the eateries downtown. While the obvious lure of fresh seafood and fantastic coffee are well-known, the many cafes, restaurants, and bars of Seattle lack for little in terms of culinary offerings, including French macarons, creative cocktails, and pan-Asian cuisine.

Article originally published on LoriWeaver.co; check out the site for more on Seattle Neighborhoods