Читать книгу Walking Seattle. 35 Tours of the Jet City's Parks, Landmarks, Neighborhoods, and Scenic Views онлайн

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I’ve walked every foot of these trips, most of them several times, in different seasons. Each one will take you on an adventure through one of the most fascinating cityscapes in the United States.

BOUNDARIES: 3rd Ave., Cherry St., 1st Ave. S., and Qwest Field

DISTANCE: 1¾ miles

DIFFICULTY: Easy (all flat or downhill)

PARKING: Limited metered street parking; pay lots and garages

PUBLIC TRANSIT: Seattle Transit Tunnel Pioneer Square Station, 3rd Ave. south of Cherry St.; numerous Metro bus routes on 3rd

The first white settlement in present-day Seattle was established in 1851 at Alki Point (ssss1). After one miserable winter there, the settlers built a township along a small patch of level land surrounded by forested hills, tidal flats, and Elliott Bay. This is where Henry Yesler built his lumber mill, where the logs for Yesler’s mill were skidded downhill on the original “skid road,” where the first stores, saloons, and bawdy houses opened. Those wooden buildings burned in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. They were replaced by brick and stone structures, advertisements of a town striving for greatness. These architectural classics were preserved by neglect as downtown’s core moved north. They’re now mostly intact and restored as monuments to yesterday’s hopes for a grand tomorrow.