Seattle

I am spending a few days in Seattle. Ray has been here for two days at a conference and I came up on the train yesterday. Today was the last day of Ray's meetings, so I went out and walked around downtown Seattle. We are staying just up the street from the famous Pike Street Public Market.

You can see that it was a gray day in Seattle, but it wasn't raining. I love Seattle so much. I have spent many happy times in this city. Many years ago we came to visit our friends, Kathleen and Gary here several times and I always think of good meals and shopping in the import stores near the waterfront and driving, with them, through the city at night and singing along with the radio. The space needle and near it the beautiful arches of the Pacific Science Center, and of course the market--these were here then and here now. So was the pig at the entrance to the market.

And there have always been street musicians--maybe this very guy was here all those years ago!

And Starbucks. This is where they started. Right here at the Pike Street Market. This used to be the only place you could get Starbucks coffee and it was special and a real treat. The store here at the market still uses the original logo with the bare-breasted, double-tailed mermaid. It was deemed too racy when the company hit it big and became a national chain. I think she's pretty charming.

And the market is most famous for the fish. They put on a big show for tourists of throwing the fish back and forth, but not today. It was business for real.

 

Something that wasn't here all those years ago was the spectacular new Seattle Public Library, just a few blocks from our hotel. I had driven past it, but never gone inside until today. It was designed by architect Rem Kuhlhaas and while the outside is interesting, the inside is awe-inspiring.

Here is a street view.  When you walk into the library this is what you see:

Beautiful. Glorious, really.

This is a view of the main floor taken from the second floor balcony. The patterns are a carpet with photographic images. When you are there, walking on the carpet it appears to be random, abstract. When you view it from above it resolves into grasses and leaves.

Near the entrance there is a compact little gift shop and next to it a coffee/snack bar. The lower left in this photo is an auditorium set into the main floor and descending down to the bottom floor. Light, space, utility and beauty. One more thing to love about Seattle.