Tag Archives: Seattle

Seattle, WA: Space Needle

In 1962, taxpayers footed a lot of the bill for the World’s Fair in Seattle. More than 85% of the money they paid in was guaranteed to go to permanent structures including the entire Seattle Center. (I wish today’s city planners had the same restriction!) The centerpiece of this area was the Space Needle, a 600-foot structure that continues to be Seattle’s number one tourist attraction almost fifty years later. For the cost of $4.5 million, Seattle gained not only an attraction for the fair, but also an icon for the Northwest. Every time we have out of state visitors, … Continue reading →

Seattle, WA: Mariners’ Tour

Are you a Major League Baseball fan? Even if you’re not, you’ll love this tour. Safeco Field offers a variety of tours. For just $7 ($5 for children), you can take a 60-90 minute tour “behind the scenes.” We’ve done this a few times and always learn something new every time we go. For the general tour, we learned all about the history of the Mariners, and saw the ins and outs of running things at such a huge venue. We were a small group, made up of six in our family, a couple of Japanese exchange students we had … Continue reading →

Christmas Tree-less In Seattle

If your holiday travels take you through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport you may notice something missing—holiday decorations. Did the Grinch descend upon the Evergreen State and steal its holiday décor? Not quite. It’s more like Captain P.C. (as in politically correct). Here’s the real story: According to local newspapers, airport staff stripped the building of all holiday decorations, including nine large Christmas trees, rather than add a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested. Maintenance workers boxed up the trees during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice. “We … Continue reading →