Travelsmartplanet

Birds always have a great view from above. In Seattle, by the waterfront, they can see the Olympic mountains, the Pacific Ocean, the city and sky. 

This pole of newspaper plates reminds us of the Great Seattle Fire which destroyed the entire central business district on June 6, 1889. The fire started in the basement of a downtown building and lasted for less than a day. It quickly spread to the Dietz & Mayer Liquor Store, which exploded, the Crystal Palace Saloon, and the Opera House Saloon. Fueled by alcohol, the entire block from Madison to Marion was on fire and Seattle’s water supply could not cope. You can take a tour of Underground. Seattle as the city was rebuilt on top of the old ruins.

Seattle’s history of architecture styles can sometimes be glimpsed all at once.

About a dozen Hammering Man statues can be found around the world. This is the one we found in Seattle, WA. Jonathan Borofsky designed these huge kinetic sculptures as a silhouette a man who has a motorized arm and hammer. In each city they are different sizes but always painted black; They symbolize and celebrate workers all over the world.

It’s important to be reminded every so often that we are living on land which belonged to someone else. This totem is down at the waterfront where the Free Seattle walking tours start. That’s the Olympic Mountains in the background.

I think the The London Eye was first. Set up as one of their Millennium Projects, the slow moving ferris wheel gives you a slow moving view of a city. Here we caught a glimpse of it in Seattle down by the waterfront.

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With sea, mountains, greenery, and blue skies from so many vantage points, you can see why Seattle has become a place people want to live and visit.

On the Victoria Clipper in the Puget Sound, you catch the first exciting glimpse of Seattle’s skyline. Do you think Peter Puget who discovered it while on George Vancouver’s expedition, was as excited? Do you see the Space Needle?

On June 4, 1792 , British Captain George Vancouver ‘s expedition reached where the city of Everett now stands and Vancouver claimed the entire region for England, naming it New Georgia, after King George III.

While searching for the Northwest Passage, British Captain George Vancouver explored this northwest area. On May 19, 1792, Vancouver anchored off what is now Seattle. He sent Lieutenant Peter Puget south to explore what became the body of water named after him, Puget Sound.