Although it was sad to see Dad leave, we had an amazing sight-seeing day. We started the day in the Seattle Underground Tour. The tour took us to the original sidewalks of Seattle. Modern downtown Seattle is actually built upon burnt ruins. After a devastating fire in 1889, the city decided to fix a plumbing problem by raising the city. Unfortunately, increasing the altitude of the city meant a 3 to 5 year construction time in the business district. The local businesses decided the construction time was too long and rebuilt their businesses at the pre-fire height. Undeterred, the city decided to just raise the streets. This created 10 foot ditches on either side on the street, where the sidewalk and business fronts were located. Eventually, the ditches had to be covered up because of fatalities and the Seattle underground was born.
Walking in the Underground. The guide said there were reports of ghosts.
Maybe if you look close enough you might see one!
Junk in the underground.
Skylights were built into the sidewalks when the underground was first created.
The tour group in a large portion of the underground.
After the Seattle underground tour, we got tips that a great view of the city was from the top of Smith Tower. The tower was built in 1901 and was the fourth tallest building in the United States. Although no longer the 4th tallest building in the United States, Smith Tower’s observation deck provides gorgeous views of the cityscape and Pudget Sound.
After viewing Seattle from a great vantage point, Dad and I traveled to Chinatown for a bite to eat and then went to the Klondike Museum. The food was great in Chinatown and the museum was very interesting. Afterwards, I said goodbye to Dad and plan on relaxing tomorrow.
A beautiful view of Pudget Sound from Smith Tower.
The observation deck was originally called the China Room. The artifacts were gifts from the emperor of China.
Retro-Elevator that we took to the observation deck.
This is a view of the Seattle Downtown area. In the distance you can see the Seattle Space Needle.
According to the guide, this chair is 200 years old.
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