April 18 #11 Seattle Center

I'm on the road to recovery, but I still can’t do a lot on my legs. We decided to keep it close to home by combining a visit to the Intiman Theatre with the Seattle Center walk. This walk could easily take 10 hours if you took all of the opportunities at the interesting places along the way. We decided to just walk, so it only took a breezy hour.

First stop is the Space Needle. We have seen this often in past walks, but this is an up-close and personal view. Amy likes to remind folks that it is more of a Space Pin than a Needle. (Get it?) The line was a little long, so we skipped the trip to the top. My recommendation to all visitors is that this is on the top 3 list.

Next up was the EMP/Science Fiction Museum:



This is also a good place to while away some time. Make sure you wait outside so you can catch sight of the Monorail going through the building. (The black horizontal bar in the left half of the above picture is the rail.)

Passing by EMP, we got our first look at the liberated Fun Forest space. The Kiddie Forest is still operating, but the Log Flume, Pirate Ship and other rides for larger folk are now all gone. The area between EMP and the Center House is now ready for something else, and passing by it or through it is a much more pleasant experience without the noises. There is talk of erecting a Museum of Glass on this space. I hope they find some use for this space more open and more conducive to community.

A short distance past the Center House brought us to the International Fountain. This is my second favorite spot on the whole grounds (after the top of the Pin). When the weather is nice, there are kids (of all ages) playing in the basin. Music is coordinated with the varying jets of water. It’s a great spot to enjoy a lunch or even just a few minutes doing nothing.



Next we went past McCaw Hall (the Opera House), a short block on Mercer, then back between Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Intiman Theatre. If you find yourself in this stretch, make sure to check out the “wrong-way” fountain, in which instead of the water swirling clockwise as it goes down the drain, it goes counter-clockwise. This fountain is on the Intiman side of the alley, about 1/3 of the way from Mercer to the Fountain Grass. It was then back to the main grounds, past Key Arena and up to the Charlotte Martin Theatre (home of Seattle Children’s Theatre). The architect of this building was a fellow named Garth. Check out the Garth-goyles (I am not making this up).



A right turn at the Center House (home of the Children’s Museum), past the Mural Amphitheatre, and a left turn at the Pacific Science Center. What with the EMP, The Children’s Museum, the Science Center, not to mention at least 4 Fine Arts venues, yes, one really can spend hours and hours here.



This walk was a fun way to spend the hour. The Center Grounds are quite photogenic. This was a lot more fun than the play we saw after the walk. (Odets’ Paradise Lost – but yes, I’m still glad we saw it.)