Seattle Center

Seattle Center as night falls

Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the 605-foot (184 m) tall Space Needle, which at the time of its completion was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Seattle Center is located just north of Belltown in the Uptown neighborhood.

Attractions[]

Landmarks[]

Space Needle, an official city landmark, featuring an observation deck and revolving restaurant^[1]
International Fountain, located in the middle of the campus, operates all year round. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the fountain was built as a modernist water sculpture and renovated extensively in 1995. With over 20 spouts, the fountain goes through programmed cycles of shooting water patterns, accompanied by recorded world music. The music is changed twice a month; it is chosen to coordinate with the water patterns and events programming at the center.
Seattle Center Monorail terminus
John T. Williams totem pole - A 34 feet (10 m) high totem pole honoring John T. Williams
Kobe Bell, an official city landmark^[2]
The outdoor Mural Amphitheatre, featuring a mosaic mural by Paul Horiuchi: the Horiuchi Mural, also created for the World's Fair, is an official city landmark.^[3]
Artists At Play playground
Howard S. Wright Memorial Fountain

Museums[]

Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP, formerly EMP Museum)
Chihuly Garden and Glass
Pacific Science Center, home of an IMAX Theater^[4] and Seattle Laser Dome
Seattle Children's Museum in the Armory

Performing arts[]

Center House, Seattle Center

Seattle Repertory Theatre, home of the Bagley Wright Theatre, the Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre, and the PONCHO Forum
Center Theatre, home of the Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-It Repertory Theatre
Theatre Puget Sound
The Center School
Cornish Playhouse, home of productions of the Cornish College of the Arts
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, home of Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet, whose ballet school is adjacent at the Phelps Center. This is the third performance space on this site, the second being the Opera House built at the time of the World's Fair.
Seattle Children's Theatre at the Charlotte Martin Theatre
The Vera Project (or VERA)
Mercer Arena, formerly a sports, concert, and opera venue before sitting dormant for several years. It was demolished and the site is being redeveloped as the future home of Seattle Opera.

Venues[]

Seattle Center Armory (known as Center House^[5] from the early 1970s until 2012, and the Food Circus^[6] from 1962 to the early 1970s), including Center Theatre, the home of Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-It Repertory Theatre, as well as the Seattle Children's Museum, The Center High School and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Before the 1962 World's Fair, the building was an armory. Seattle Center Armory is an official city landmark.^[1]
- A piece of the Berlin Wall is in the food atrium.
Exhibition Hall, a space for trade shows, receptions, exhibits, and special events
Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center is one of the largest rental venues on the grounds and the first City of Seattle building to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The large, flexible space can accommodate a wide range of commercial, charity and community events.
The Northwest Rooms, once a small conference center, now houses SIFF Film Center, The VERA Project, and KEXP-FM.

Athletics[]

Climate Pledge Arena is the current home of the Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball team, the WNBA's Seattle Storm and the NHL's Seattle Kraken. It was the home of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Seattle Thunderbirds (Western Hockey League) ice hockey. Originally opened as the Seattle Center Coliseum in 1962, it was rebuilt in 1995 as KeyArena and renovated in 2020 as Climate Pledge Arena. The arena hosts over 100 events per year and was the region's top live concert touring venue in 2016 (according to Venues Today magazine)
Memorial Stadium, a high school football and soccer stadium which predates the World's Fair. It was the home of the NWSL's Reign FC from 2014 to 2018.

Festivals[]

Seattle Center hosts many cultural, music and arts festivals. Major attractions include:

Bumbershoot
Seattle Center Festál, a year-long series of 24 world cultural events, the largest of which is Northwest Folklife^[7]
PrideFest
Bite of Seattle
Winterfest

Gallery[]

View of the Space Needle with the International Fountain in the foreground.
Kreielsheimer Promenade and Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center.
Monorail tracks entering the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) building.
The towers of the Pacific Science Center at night.
The Kobe Bell.
MoPOP and Space Needle seen against the backdrop of the Seattle waterfront and Puget Sound.

Future plans[]

There is a long history of consecutive plans for physical revision of Seattle Center. Ever since Seattle City Council approved the Seattle Center Century 21 Master Plan in August 2008, it has effectively directed physical change on the 74-acre campus. This future-looking, 20-year plan sets forth 10 planning and design principles to effectively guide redevelopment. Completed first phase projects were realized through an innovative mix of public and private funding. They include: Seattle Center Skatepark, Broad Street Green, Seattle Center Armory (partially complete), Theater Commons, Chihuly Garden and Glass and Artists at Play (playground). Halfway through its 20-year duration, the Master Plan is primed to respond to some significant external changes, alongside exciting new opportunities on the grounds, to continue physical transformation at Seattle Center so that this unique urban campus can continue to accommodate the needs and desires of the broader community for many generations to come. These are subjective statements that were probably written by a public relations professional.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for S, Individual Landmarks, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007.
^ Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for K, Individual Landmarks, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007
^ Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for H, Individual Landmarks, City of Seattle. Accessed 28 December 2007
^ IMAX Theater, Accessed November 25, 2018
^ Press Release, Seattle Center March 26, 2012 Press release. Accessed 25 July 2013
^ Seattle Center Armory, Seattle Center Website. Accessed 25 July 2013
^ "Home". Northwest Folklife. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2020-11-08.