Showing posts with label Skid Row. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skid Row. Show all posts

Friday, November 22, 2019

Seattle Gets Its Planning Right - Sort Of 2008


Snoqualmie Falls at low-water, in summer 2008 - Click for larger picture (http://jamesmcgillis.com)

Seattle (Mostly) Gets Its Planning Right

In the summer months, Seattle, Washington can be one of the most pleasant spots in the U.S. to visit.  During our recent stop there, our only limitation was time.  We had only a few days to see the sights and get the flavor of local cuisine, architecture and culture.  The fact that Lake Union and Puget Sound bisect the metropolitan area, north and south, does not make a short-term tourist’s visit any easier.
 
Ready for Action, a worker prepares to toss a fresh-caught Pacific Northwest salmon at Pike Place Fish Market, Seattle, Washington - Click for larger image. (http://jamesmcgillis.com)On our first day, we opted for a visit to Snoqualmie Falls, located north of Interstate I-90 and the town of North Bend, Washington.  Speaking of North Bend, be sure not to confuse this city with either North Bend, Oregon or Bend, Oregon, both of which are many miles to the south.  Although having all the frills of a tourist trap, even in July, the waterfall itself was running high and was a spectacular sight.
 
The next day, we headed for the City of Seattle, but rather than being caught in the traffic and parking jams around the Pike Place Fish Market, we opted to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, which is only a short trip west from Seattle.  As with much of suburban Seattle, Bainbridge’s architecture features a mixture of “woodsy” and contemporary that is unique in the U.S.
Contemporary studio featuring glass-wall architecture at Bainbridge Island, Washington - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
Bainbridge Island has a down-home feeling to it, despite real estate prices that would amaze most people.  According to the local newspaper, it can be a curmudgeonly place, where locals have fought for ten years to avoid building a public restroom in the downtown area.  Apparently, they are happy to relieve you of your money so long as you do not try to relieve yourself anywhere in their shopping area. 
 
On the afternoon ferry trip back to Seattle we were treated to harbor and city views.  Large cargo craft were dockside while a cruise ship left port.  Pleasure craft mixed it up with ferry traffic in a slow-motion water ballet.  All of this activity took place with the Seattle skyline as a backdrop.  From the ubiquitous Space Needle to the glass-sheathed skyscrapers of Downtown Seattle, a trip across Puget Sound offers clear views of a great American city.
Vessel traffic includes a cruising sailboat and an ocean-going cruise ship, Puget Sound, Washington - Click for larger image. (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
On the afternoon ferry trip back to Seattle we were treated to harbor and city views.  Large cargo craft were dockside while a cruise ship left port.  Pleasure craft mixed it up with ferry traffic in a slow-motion water ballet.  All of this activity took place with the Seattle skyline as a backdrop.  From the ubiquitous
 
Much has changed in Seattle since its Skid Row days and most of it for the better.  Best of all, it has Viewed from the bay, a cruise ship departs Seattle, with the city skyline as a backdrop, Puget Sound, Washington - Click for larger image. (http://jamesmcgillis.com)avoided the pitfall of too much self-referential kitsch.  With property prices as high as they are, infill development has kept its core areas vital and alive.  In terms of keeping their older neighborhoods up to date and relevant to citizens and visitors alike, other Western cities, like Phoenix and Los Angeles could learn a lot from Seattle.
 

By James McGillis at 01:13 PM | Environment | Comments (0) | Link