Home of The Hat n' Boots a Seattle Land Mark from the past.... Needless to say I appreciate the…read moresmall park in Georgetown that's wedge between BOEING and the Freeway.... We all still need some urban green space to roam on this planet. Not sure I'd wander around in bare feet since unsavory people have been know to consume drugs in the park but it's great to grab your lunch at nearby Calozzi's Cheesesteaks and gobble it up on a sunny day. The giant red hat & monstrous pair of boots use to belong to a local gas station that closed decades ago.. Cool gimmick for getting you to gas up, yet now will stand the test of time at OXBOW PARK for all to enjoy..

Oxbow Park is located in the historical Georgetown neighborhood and is home to the well known Hat…read moreand Boots! This park is very, very small and you basically only come here for the sculptures....unless you live in the area in which case there's a small p-patch for the local community. Not exactly worth a special drive BUT the neighborhood itself is lovely! Lots of historical homes with really interesting architecture!

Such a nice and pleasant place - amazing how it's free too! Plenty of parking as well…read more This park is really peaceful and has tons to explore. It was very enjoyable to just sit and watch the fish, maybe find a turtle or two. There's lots of wildlife too - we even encountered a deer. Would definitely recommend stopping by here for a quick stroll, or to get lost for a few hours just soaking it all in.

Loved it here. Such a great place…read more I was looking for gardens with trails and found this place. It was relaxing and quiet. I loved it. I highly recommend stopping here if you're looking for scenic views.

This being my third or fourth time here, the architecture and interior design of this library still…read morenever fail to impress me. It's one of Seattle's landmark buildings, and a place that's on the must-see list for visitors if you're a fan of unique design. This relatively new building was constructed in 2004, funded in part by a $196.4 million bond approved by Seattle constituents in November 1998, and in part with a $20 million donation from the Gates Foundation. The location replaces the two consecutive libraries that stood in the same location, the Carnegie Library which stood for about 50 years, and the Bindon and Wright Library which stood for 41 years. The design was conceived by the Dutch firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture in conjunction with Seattle firm LMN Architects (Loschky, Marquardt and Nesholm), and involved creating space to house 1.5 million books, which was 600K more than its predecessor, while simultaneously aiming to dispel the stereotype of libraries being stuffy and closed off. I think they succeeded! The exterior almost appears to covered in a web of steel mesh, with over ten thousand custom-sized glass windows; the inside floors look like floating open layers inside the building, Entering the building from Fourth Avenue into the main lobby, this is the 3rd floor of the building with a gift shop, small cafe, books on hold, an auditorium, and spacious reading rooms. Up a floor to the "red floor," the 4th floor uses thirteen shades of red paint and includes meeting rooms, computer labs and more public meeting spaces. The Books Spiral is a seminal format for shelving of books according to the Dewey Decimal system without breaking up the order over different levels; it progresses at a two degree sloped incline spread over the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th stories. Other facilities include music practice rooms, genealogy collection, map rom, and a couple small gallery rooms for temporary exhibits. The 10th floor is highest level and also offers views of the surrounding blocks and over the reading/meeting rooms below. The biggest gripe most people have is probably the parking, which is exorbitantly expensive even coming from NYC. There's a structure under the library, though at $7-8 an hour it's not cheap.

Fun and interesting architecture for a public library. They have a paid parking lot, which is crazy…read morefor a public library. The first 20 mins are free and after that it's $4 per 20 minutes. Lots of areas to read and relax. Very spacious, has a coffee shop inside. Larger than most other public libraries. Free WiFi and public bathrooms available. The ambiance is nice. It's a rip off to have to pay for parking.

Ah, yes, The Gum Wall. One of the most exciting and disgusting things to see. And for me, it was…read moreone of the hardest/confusing places to find. Not because it is, but because I had no idea where I was in relation to this place. I was mere feet away from here and still somehow took the long way to get here. When I realized this, I wanted to kick myself. Who knew a wall covered in gum would be such a tourist draw. Located in Post Alley just off of Pike Place Market you will find this Seattle marvel. What started as an unexpected way to discard gum, became a well known city landmark. When the nearby Market Theater would not allow patrons to enter with gum, this became an area where that gum would go. At first, the gum had pennies pushed into them, later being removed, but the gum remaining. This wall extends over fifty feet and is as high as eight feet. It has been cleaned on several occasions. Reasons being to preserve the bricks. Not to worry, it returns after each cleaning. One cleaning it was said that 2 tons of gum was removed from the wall. Some contributors to the wall will put designs in their gum. Others, just push it into a mess that ever grows. Mostly on the wall, but anything near the wall can end up with gum on it, including street posts/signs. Great distraction, and definitely earned the tourist trap honor. One of a kind attraction to see.

A little bit disgusting but fun at the same time. Lol! It is located on the street below the big…read morePublic Market Center sign. We purchased gum from the window of the shop at the entrance of the gum alley. After a few minutes of chewing, we were ready to add our contributions. Haha! We went on a Monday around noon and it wasn't crowded at all.

10/3/26 The Olympic Sculpture Park is an excellent place to…read morevisit on a nice day. I took a nice stroll though this park and enjoyed looking at the artistic creations and learning about the artists. The first thing that caught my eye was the zodiac sign animals. Then I noticed an area that was an abstract art putt putt course. People seem to come here to picnic and let the little ones run off some energy. There is plenty of open space and gravel paths to walk on as well. I had a nice time here and I would definitely come back.

The Olympic Sculpture Park has been on my list to visit since it was built in 2007 and I finally…read moredid! It is a free oasis of calm, a view of the Sound, the Olympics on a clear day, and an opportunity to wander among world class contemporary sculptures. It is the free part of the Seattle Art Museum along with the original Volunteer Park building and the downtown Venturi-Cloepfil building which charge admission. Like most all museums, the work has been donated by Seattle families. It was a brownfield. The site is sloped and difficult to design to, with roads and rail going under it. It connects to the Eliot Bay Trail. The shoreline by the trail was extensively rebuilt in a natural way. The design is a success. The usual entry is from Western and Broad. Seattle has done well building apartments in the area, so parking can be fierce. The main entry has a large, clean, indoor pavilion with a minimal cafe, restrooms, some tables and chairs, artworks, and events. In rain it could be good for children, but may not have activities. To the Northwest is a narrow amphitheater. The backdrop to the amphitheater stage is a significant Serra. It is a great introduction to the artist, created in 2004, and the first piece installed in the park. The Eagle by Calder is the icon of the park often seen in photos. Seattle has a romance with Calder usually associated with his indoor hanging mobiles. Louise Bourgeois has a fountain and stone benches. A Roxy Paine stainless steel tree holds its own against the sea and mountain backdrop. A favorite artist of mine, Louise Nevelson, has a steel sculpture. They have an artist mini golf. I was especially excited to see Ai Weiwei's Circle Of Animals / Zodiac Heads on loan from the artist. I've seen other variations. Each head is a Chinese zodiac animal. I think kids would love it, but no climbing. The story of the originals is fascinating as is Weiwei's autobiography, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows. With all the art, to me it is primarily a park. People just walk, sit and read, decompress, and children play. It's easy to visit, except for parking, is open 24 hours, has significant contemporary artists, you don't need to know anything about art to enjoy it, and it is free!

This tour made me so happy. Kevin and Russ were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and their passion (and…read morenerdiness) for the public arts was infectious and endearing. I'll never walk over another hatch cover the same again. I'm excited to go home and see what's beneath my feet there. I would highly recommend this off the beaten path tour to anyone and i'll be happy to do it again the next time i'm back in Seattle. Thanks guys!

I am always looking for low cost, less formal ways to learn about places I either live in or visit…read moreand have done many free tours both in Seattle and while traveling. I learned about this tour from a friend and I think it's fairly new. At any rate, interesting tour. Not your typical here's the city and these are some of the landmarks and here are some fun facts. The difference is this tour was focused around the public art that can be seen everyday along the streets and sidewalks, built into the infrastructure, in the form of manhole covers or hatches as they are referred to. The folks conducting the tour included information of the various artistic manhole covers, combining it with first hand information from the artists and discussed the history of the work and how it fits into the identity of Seattle. They also provide information on the history of the city and how Seattle became the city you see as you take the tour. Pretty neat concept exploring aspects of the city that folks often take for granted as they pass by. Another fun fact about this tour is that it evolved out of an art project. I thought that was particularly interesting. Some of the prints, etc are pretty cool and again not what you would typically expect or encounter from one of these free tours. I'd recommend this tour to anybody to who wants to learn more about the history of Seattle, who appreciates public art or art in general and who has a free hour or so on a Saturday morning.

Not cheap, but if you stick around for a few hours, it will be worth it! If you like pinball at…read moreall, go here! This was a last minute add to our vacation and we were all so glad we went.

Really nice little spot. Decided to check this place out while I was in town. Glad I did. Staff was…read morereally professional and friendly. Great selection of pinball machines and select old school arcade games like pacman and donkey kong. What's great about this pace is that you can play the whole time they are open for free and they offer beer. Nice and clean interior. What's also cool is that they are in the heart of Chinatown/Japantown. Definitely have to come back. One of my favorite spots so far.

Nice historical "skyscraper" with great views of Seattle as well. They've preserved most of the…read morehistory and it still uses the original elevator (albeit with some modern improvements) so there's a few rooms of self-guided "museum" to visit as well on your way up to the observation deck. It is definitely not as tall as Sky View or the Space Needle, but is much less crowded and still offers amazing 360 views. It's also cool that there are people who still work in the historic building! They don't open before noon, so plan accordingly. Staff was super friendly and upbeat, and you do need an entry ticket to get to the observation deck bar/restaurant. If you go early on a weekday, you basically get the place to yourself for a little bit, which is super cool. Worth a visit if you're in the area!

This was actually my second time visiting the Smith Tower, but it was my boyfriend's first and…read moresince he's already been up the Space Needle, I wanted to show him that this historic spot also offers some seriously cool views of Seattle. What's even more impressive is that at one point, Smith Tower was actually the tallest skyscraper in the West! One thing I love about this place is how well they've preserved its old-school charm, especially the elevators. They still have an operator who manually controls the lift, and there's even a display of the original green Otis elevator motor in the lobby, the same kind that powered the elevators for over a century! The operator told us there's a tenant who lives above the observatory, which blew my mind. The rent was originally a whopping $17,000 a month, but the tenant apparently negotiated down to $14,000 since there's no A/C up there. Talk about living in style with a historic discount! Once you reach the top, there's a bar where you can grab a cocktail and enjoy the view. As you walk around the observatory deck, there are plaques pointing out different Seattle landmarks, so you can easily spot everything from Mt. Rainier to Lumen Field and Lake Washington. It makes the 360 deg view even more interactive and helps you appreciate just how much of the city you can see from up there. Pro tip: They don't open until noon, so if you're planning to go early, you'll end up waiting downstairs. Otherwise, grab a drink, take your time, and soak in one of the best vintage views Seattle has to offer.

"The Red Popsicle" by Catherine Mayer located on the corner of Fourth Street and Blanchard Avenue…read morein Downtown Seattle in the Belltown neighborhood. This is one of those public art pieces I heard about and had to go find. We were at Pikes Place and decided to set on a mission to find it and it wasn't to far away. It's a cool sculpture in person and is 17-feet tall. One of those little touristy things I wanted to do and now craving a red popsicle. It's a cool piece to checkout.

Admittedly, there may be better views of the New Year's Eve fireworks show at the Seattle Space…read moreNeedle, but "The Popsicle" on the corner of 4th Avenue and Blanchard Street is where it's at for us. We've celebrated NYE here many times and witnessed many things (including a marriage proposal that included the "fine print" disclaimer of "I will propose to you for real...someday." ‍ While you may or may not witness anything like a sorta/kinda marriage proposal when you visit, the views from this spot of the Space Needle and the fireworks show are only obstructed by a few power lines and tree branches (and this year some lingering clouds). This viewing location is easily walkable from most downtown hotels (our walk was approximately 12 minutes) and has felt safe each year to us with just two recommendations. Be sure to remain on the streets where the largest number of pedestrians are traveling and be sure to completely avoid walking on 3rd Avenue. A brand new year has been christened and hopeful new resolutions abound. Who knows? Maybe we'll meet 'ya at "The Popsicle" next year! And that's...Henry's Take. #seattlepopsicle #seattlenye #happynewyearseattle

Great statue if you're in the area - not a "must see" destination…read more It has been painted somewhat recently; kind of sad that people feel the need to vandalize everything. That being said, the vandalism kind of goes along with his aesthetic.

Rock guitarist GOAT [Seattle WA]…read more Here in Seattle is yet another bronze statue of an icon in the music world, Jimi Hendrix. He is a bit farther from the other statues we visited in the Fremont neighborhood. This statue is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The guitar god is shown in a bronze likeness on his knees shredding on his guitar. While the world isn't always fair to left-handed people Jimi Hendrix was a master. He was a left handed guitarist who played a right handed guitar upside down and backwards. One of the most influential guitarists of all time. This statue is located in the heart of Capitol Hill, a busy neighborhood but I got lucky because at 4:00p on a Saturday afternoon no one was passing by on the sidewalk and I was able to capture a photo without people in the background ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Very cool quirky attraction. Also, just 17 miles from the statue is the Jimi Hendrix Memorial in Renton. Unfortunately, we were not able to see this. Review #3622