September 1, 2002
In Seattle
By TIMOTHY EGAN
ummer lingers in Seattle — or starts late, depending on your
perspective — which means September is often a bonus
month, the days long and dry before the onset of dark-season rains.
It can be the best time of year for hikes in the nearby
mountains or boat trips to the islands. It may also be the best time for
regional food, when the harvest of grapes, tomatoes and
apples from east of the mountains joins the fruit of the sea available
year-round on Puget Sound.
This year Seattle has been celebrating a couple of birthdays, while
unveiling the latest monument to the city's gilded age of the
late 1990's — a $430 million football stadium with intimate views of
downtown. The stadium, which opened last month, is home
to the Seattle Seahawks and next door to Safeco Field, where the Seattle
Mariners have been selling out nearly every home
baseball game in the team's 25th year.
And it is the 40th anniversary of one of the city's favorite landmarks,
the Space Needle, which has been painted its original color
— "Galaxy Gold" — from the 1962 world's fair. Standing 605 feet tall,
the Space Needle still manages to look oddly futuristic
despite the onset of middle age. Memorabilia from the fair is displayed
on the observation deck.
The dot-com collapse and Boeing layoffs have been hard on Seattle, but
they have not slowed the city from remaking itself. A
new downtown library, new city hall and new federal courthouse are all
under construction.
Seattle wears its outdoorsy face year-round, but by the middle of
autumn, people have started to turn inward as well, reflected in
the opening of the cultural season and the rush — by some — to shop in
the city's thriving retail center downtown. Foodies are
also heading to the shopping district, as many new restaurants there are
contributing to an active night life.
Events
Last year was Seattle's 150th birthday, and in some places around the
city the sesquicentennial party is not yet over. A good
capsule view of how Seattle went from mud-covered logging town to
Pacific Rim giant can be seen at the Museum of History
and Industry, near the University of Washington at 2700 24th Avenue
East, (206) 324-1126, or at www.seattlehistory.org. The
exhibition "Metropolis 150: From Wilderness to World City," through
December 2003, has artifacts, photos and items from
every era of the city's development. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily;
general admission, $5.50.
The Seattle Art Museum, 100 University Street, (206) 654-3100,
www.seattleartmuseum.org, is honoring Morris Graves, a
painter who helped to shape modern Northwest art and died last year at
the age of 90. The exhibition "Morris Graves and
Seattle," through Oct. 20, showcases six decades of his work and charts
his progress using the moody light of the Northwest in
his paintings. Beginning Oct. 17, the museum, in the heart of downtown,
will feature one of the world's most significant private
collections of modern Mexican art. More than 100 paintings will be on
display in "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican
Modernism," which runs through Jan. 5 (the collection is at El Museo del
Barrio in New York through Sept. 26). Open 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday; general
admission, $7.
The Seattle Opera, (206) 389-7676, www.seattleopera.org, opens its final
season in the Mercer Arts Arena next month, with
Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" conducted by Andreas Mitisek with the
Seattle Symphony Musicians. Next season, the opera
will move to the new Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Performances are Oct. 19,
20, 23, 25, 26, 30 and Nov. 1 and 2. Tickets
range from $35 to $109.
A bookish city, Seattle revels in its literary tradition every year at
Northwest Bookfest, (206) 378-1883, www.nwbookfest.org.
The event, Oct. 19 and 20, will feature more than 250 authors' readings,
signings and performances, with lots of activities for
children as well. Bookfest is held at the Sandpoint Magnuson Park, 7400
Sandpoint Way Northeast, on Lake Washington in the
northeastern part of the city. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days; a $5
donation is suggested.
Sightseeing
The grapes that make the reputation of Washington's best wines are grown
in the hot valleys east of the Cascade Mountains, but
the winemaking is done, for many of the biggest wineries, in the Seattle
area. One of the state's oldest wineries, Columbia,
14030 Northeast 145th Street, Woodinville, about 35 minutes northeast of
Seattle, (425) 488-2776, is celebrating its 40th
birthday with special tastings, sales and tours. Chateau Ste. Michelle,
across the street at No. 14111, (425) 488-1133, offers
tastings and tours on its landscaped grounds.
The Washington State Ferry system, one of the nation's largest, is the
cheapest, easiest way to get a waterborne view of the city,
and what a view it can be, especially with the sun ducking behind the
Olympic Mountains to the west and the afterglow
burnishing the city's skyscrapers to the east. Ferries to Bainbridge
Island, 35 minutes one way, or the Olympic Peninsula town of
Bremerton, about an hour, leave approximately every hour from dawn until
after dusk from the downtown terminal of Pier 52;
(206) 464-6400, or www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries. Passengers on foot pay
$5.10 round trip.
A small speedboat is an easy way to tour at your own pace, going from
the industrial clutter of Lake Union to the elegant homes
along Lake Washington (the two lakes are connected). Yarrow Bay Marina
is a boat rental service in Kirkland, just across the
lake from Seattle, 5207 Lake Washington Boulevard, (425) 822-6066.
Rentals are $60 an hour during the week, $65 on
weekends.
A walk through Pioneer Square, the city's large and vibrant historic
district, can take the stroller to the new football stadium, past
dozens of art galleries, with ample opportunities for an alfresco lunch.
Pioneer Square is on the southern end of downtown.
Buses from downtown to the square are free during the day, stopping
every few blocks. Schedules and maps are well posted.
Opened two years ago at the base of the Space Needle, the Experience
Music Project, (206) 367-5483, www.emplive.com,
has become one of Seattle's prime attractions. It's the brainchild of
Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who also owns the
Seahawks. EMP is wrapped in a swerving, love-it-or-hate-it design by the
architect Frank Gehry. An interactive tribute to
American music of the last century, EMP encourages visitors to play
guitar, pound on a drum or act like a rock star in front of a
virtual audience. Allow at least two hours for a tour. Open Sunday
through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday,
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. General admission, $19.95.
Where to Stay
The Elliott Grand Hyatt Seattle is the newest big hotel downtown, at 721
Pine Street; (206) 774-1234, fax (206) 625-1221,
www.grandseattle.hyatt.com. With 425 rooms, the Elliott, which opened
last year, is near the convention center and major
attractions in the retail and business core. Rooms have high-speed
Internet service and oversize bathrooms; many overlook
Puget Sound. Doubles from $179 to $370.
The MarQueen Hotel, with 54 rooms, 600 Queen Anne Avenue North, (206)
282-7407, fax (206) 283-1499,
www.marqueen.com, is tucked snugly into the lower Queen Anne Hill
neighborhood, within walking distance of the Seattle
Center. With mahogany wainscoting and terrazzo floors, the MarQueen, in
a 1918 building, has held on to some of its historic
ambience while upgrading the rooms with high-tech gadgetry. Double rooms
from $155 to $305, suites from $195.
Budget: In Pioneer Square, the Best Western Pioneer Square Hotel, 77
Yesler Way, (206) 340-1234, fax (206) 467-0707,
www.pioneeersquare.com, has 75 rooms. The boutique-style hotel is
turn-of-the-century vintage with period décor, though it
was renovated about six years ago. Rates range from $99 to $179.
The Days Inn Town Center, 2205 Seventh Avenue, (206) 448-3434, fax (206)
441-6976, on the Web at
www.daysinntowncenter.com, is a motel-style inn, near the Space Needle
and Seattle Center, with 91 rooms and free parking in
a very busy part of the city. Doubles, $69 to $139.
Luxury: Willows Lodge, about 35 miles east of the city at 14580
Northeast 145th Street, (425) 424-3900, fax (425) 424-2585,
or www.willowslodge.com, is a luxury hotel that opened in 2000 on five
landscaped acres bordering the Sammamish River. The
lodge, with 86 rooms, is known for its spa and a restaurant, the
Herbfarm, which is a mecca for lovers of Northwest cuisine and
takes reservations weeks in advance. Rooms, with stone fireplaces and
large soaking tubs, start at $260 to $320.
Downtown, the W Seattle Hotel, (206) 264-6000, fax (206) 264-6100,
www.whotels.com, 1112 Fourth Avenue, is a favorite
of technophiles and fashion-conscious people dressed in black. The
hotel, in a distinctive pyramid-style high-rise, has 426
rooms, which come with two-line cordless speakerphones among the
amenities. Doubles from $239 to $395.
Where to Eat
In 10 years, the Belltown neighborhood, on First and Second Avenues just
north of downtown, has gone from urban
afterthought to dining mecca. The Frontier Room, 1517 First Avenue,
(206) 956-7427, is the latest spot to make the transition
from neighborhood bar to restaurant. It tends to draw a late-dining
hipster crowd for pit barbecue, slow-roasted over apple
wood and hickory, with seatings in booths close to a lively bar. Dinners
of ribs, beef briskets or barbecued salmon are about
$60 for two, with beer. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday.
A parade of boats and the scent of Puget Sound are attractions —
particularly in good weather — at Hiram's at the Locks,
5300 34th Avenue Northwest, (206) 784-1733. Its deck overlooks the canal
that links Puget Sound to Lake Union. Dinners of
local salmon or halibut, with wine, run about $80 for two. Lunch Friday
to Sunday, dinner nightly.
The Dahlia Lounge, 2001 Fourth Avenue, (206) 682-4142, is a pioneer of
modern Northwest cuisine, which balances regional
seafood and produce with Asian flavors and cooking styles. The dining
room is elegant and muted, with hardwood tables.
Dinners of Alaskan salmon or halibut, with sushi appetizers and wine,
are about $100 for two. Dinner nightly, lunch weekdays.
Despite a cameo in "Sleepless in Seattle," the Athenian Inn, (206)
624-7166, in Pike Place Market at 1517 Pike Place, has
never gone Hollywood. A bar with a large menu and a crowd of regulars,
it serves the same straightforward menu for lunch and
dinner, with nearly 200 choices. It's a place for chowder, pasta and
beer in chilled glasses, preferably enjoyed in a window seat
with a view of Puget Sound. About $10 for lunch with beer. Breakfast,
lunch and dinner (till 6:30 p.m.) Monday to Saturday.
In a city of distinct neighborhoods, one of the oldest, Columbia City,
in the south end of town off Rainier Avenue, has undergone
a renaissance, with several good restaurants. Deux Tamales, 4868 Rainier
Avenue South, (206) 725-1418, mixes French and
Latin, as it sounds, in a restored historic building but with a
neighborhood feel. Brie and mango quesadillas, or salmon in poblano
pepper sauce, epitomize the mix. Dinner for two with drinks, about $50.
Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
TIMOTHY EGAN reports for The Times from Seattle.
Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company |
Permissions | Privacy PolicySeattle, WA