Aesop Travel Guide: Seattle
A detailed guide to Seattle, from A to Z.
Eighty per cent of the adult population carries wallet-sized emblems of Seattle’s unabashedly book-nerdish lean – library cards; it’s little wonder the city is the second-most literate in the US (and coming for you, Minneapolis). Over the past century, successive governments’ literacy-focused initiatives and their predilection for building, razing and rebuilding the Central Library have encouraged and nourished this bent. Further, an unbridled creative spirit and wilderness-wrapped surrounds – mountains, lakes and islands – have instigated countless poems, novels and love songs, teased from the minds of the Beats and subsequent generations of writers. A fitting start to any Seattle stay is a weekend breakfast at Ballard Farmer’s Market before refuelling mid-morning at Herkimer Coffee. If the day calls for bathing suits over umbrellas, head to Golden Gardens for an afternoon on the beach, with reading material collected en route from Open Books, the city’s sole poetry-only bookstore; or, if activity slightly more arduous appeals, enquire at Seattle Architecture Tours. Finish with dinner at unfussy and classically French Le Pichet, followed by whiskey at Blue Moon Tavern, a decades-old watering hole rickety with the history of Seattle’s counterculture, and once-favoured drinking spot of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Carolyn Kizer.
A
Art Walk First Thursdays
pioneersquare.org/first-Thursday-art-walk
Scores of live music venues, theatres and a particularly dense assemblage of galleries in Pioneer Square sustain Seattle’s strong creative pulse. Complimentary art walks through the neighbourhood are held on the first Thursday of each month – a community gesture of several decades’ duration – with most venues using the occasion to unveil new exhibits. When weary, head to Good Bar for wine and charcuterie in a stunning Gold Rush-era setting (minus the bar fights and spitting).
B
Bloedel Reserve
Nature seeps into the Emerald City from all angles. However, full immersion in the wilderness requires an out-of-town venture; thankfully, a mere half-hour ferry ride separates Seattle from Bainbridge Island. In addition to 24,000 residents, the island is home to Bloedel Reserve – 150 acres of forest and immaculately landscaped gardens established ‘to provide refreshment and tranquillity in the presence of natural beauty.’ Explore and absorb at leisurely pace; return calmed and renewed.
C
Central Library
spl.org
In 1998, a ‘Libraries for All’ initiative saw $196.4 million funnelled into the renovation and extension of Seattle’s neighbourhood libraries. Central Library – a 1960 International style building complete with drive-in book collection – was razed and resurrected in Rem Koolhaas’s bold crystalline structure of steel and glass. Although divisive when first opened, the building’s architectural clout can’t be denied; in Koolhaas’ words, its innovative ‘Book Spiral’ spine aims to undo ‘some of the sadness of the typical library.’
D
Degenerate Art Ensemble (DAE)
http://degenerateartensemble.com/
The work of Seattle’s much-lauded avant-garde performance troupe is best summarised as otherworldly, yet intensely visceral. Here, Butoh meets punk meets nightmare meets sacrificial rite meets fairytale, to transporting, transformative effect. Which is just as founders Haruko Nishimura and Joshua Kohl intended, seeking to deliver ‘immersive meditations that use light, sound, music, movement and space as tools to strip away the waking world’. If not in Seattle, you may catch DAE on tour; browse the online calendar for a current programme.
E
Elliott Bay Book Co.
Despair was widespread when this stalwart book merchant vacated its Pioneer Square home of 36 years; but short-lived as its new neighbourhood, Capitol Hill, threw a ‘welcome to the block’ party. Host to regular talks that see the likes of Annie Leibovitz and Dave Eggers through the doors, Elliott Bay Book Company plays a critical role in Seattle’s love affair with literature. Adored for its creaky floorboards, breezy pace and extensive collection, the bookshop also houses Little Oddfellows, serving decent coffee, scones and sandwiches to peckish bookworms.
F
Frank Gehry’s EMP
Aside from the world-famous Space Needle, eccentric talking-point architecture wasn’t overly common in Seattle before the clamorous arrival of the Frank Gehry-designed Experience Music Project Museum (EMP). The years since its 2000 opening haven’t entirely quelled the debate about its place in Seattle’s design lexicon; however, love or loathe its bright and bulbous form, a visit is wholly worthwhile: the interior is as electric and engaging as its never-ending Jimi Hendrix exhibits.
G
Grand Illusion Cinema
grandillusioncinema.org
Since 1968, this tiny nook of the University District has screened independent, arthouse and foreign films as the city’s only not-for-profit volunteer-run cinema. With a seventy-seat capacity, the sumptuous red-drenched Jewel Box cinema offers warmth and intimacy as well as occasional triple-feature pizza parties celebrating mutant and horror films. Fiercely independent, the cinema clings doggedly to 16mm and 35mm reels, preserving the romance of analogue while major studios, sadly, move to abandon it entirely.
H
Hoh Rain Forest
nps.gov/olym
For an immensely pleasurable day trip, hop the ferry from Colman Dock and embrace the two-hour drive to Hoh Rain Forest, which, nourished by up to fourteen feet of rain annually, glows with technicolour hues nothing short of mesmerising. Find a plot on the banks of Hoh River, milky-blue by means of glacial sediment, and ponder Robin Wall Kimmerer’s fascinating reflections on what moss can teach us, in Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.
I
Il Corvo
Tucked away inside Procopio Gelateria, twenty-seater Il Corvo serves exceptional pasta handmade on site. Inspired by the pared-back Tuscan restaurants where chef and owner Mike Easton cut his pasta-making teeth, the eatery runs on principles of fresh, honest and simple, reflected not only in its dishes’ flavours but also their modest price tags. A blackboard declares the day’s menu, informed by Easton’s whims and what’s available locally from local growers and markets.
J
Joule
Brunch of eggs and bacon sounds painfully humdrum when compared with Joule’s weekend fare, which strays from a customary Korean fusion focus in favour of a buffet feast with a monthly theme. Past months have showcased boundary-pushing takes on Persian, Taiwanese and Moroccan, each dish demonstrating impressive creativity and left-of-centre flavour combinations. A $19 cover also includes a dish from the staple brunch menu (the adventurous rarely pass up French toast with green curry chimichurri and apple compote).
K
Knee High Stocking Co.
In curious juxtaposition to its 1920s speakeasy theme, texting ahead is the only way to secure a booking at Knee High Stocking Co. While not essential, reservations are recommended as the tiny space fills quickly, even on weeknights. Creative cocktails mixed with a chemist’s precision are what draw most to the dimly lit Capitol Hill nook: pair the Kentucky Bite – Knob Creek Bourbon, Luxardo, lemon juice, Benedictine, cardamom bitters – with a few morsels from the crowd-pleasing bar menu.
L
Ludlow Co.
ludlowhome.com
Described by owner James as ‘a scratchy record whose crackles and pops and imperfections you've learned to love’, Ludlow Co. preserves the past with unabashed nostalgia. Its sprawling and elegantly assembled collection comprises odds and ends, rugs, tables and lampshades as well as plants and handmade pieces by local craftspeople. A matchmaker of sorts, James seeks to spark connections between visitors and his pieces – a pleasure sometimes lost in a climate of digital purchasing.
M
Molly Moon’s Ice Cream Parlor
In its mission ‘to make the world better one scoop at a time,’ Molly Moon is making excellent ground. Across five locations, devotion to churning the city’s best ice cream is equalled only by a commitment to sustainability, employee wellbeing, and philanthropic engagement with the community. Flavours, cones and toppings are made on-site using ingredients sourced locally from farmers, beekeepers et al… and Scouts; 180,000 Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies purchased annually result in ever-popular scoops of ‘Scout Mint’.
N
NUBE
nubegreen.com
Sustainability and support of local artisans and American manufacturing drive NuBe’s philosophy and its range of clothing, homewares, jewelry and accessories. Not only goods for sale but also shop fittings are crafted entirely from repurposed, sustainable and organic materials made locally, in an encouragingly successful effort to steer away from cheaply made landfill-destined items. An immediate favourite: the Parva Rucksack made from New Jersey-sourced canvas and leather bridle straps from Pennsylvania.
O
Olympic Sculpture Park
seattleartmuseum.org/visit/olympic-sculpture-park
Once an oil transfer facility traversing complicated, contaminated terrain, Olympic Sculpture Park represents a feat of design ingenuity - beginning with transplanting clean fill collected from the excavation involved in Seattle Art Museum’s expansion to replace the site’s original sullied earth. Its culptures and sweeping views of Seattle’s skyline, Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains are best enjoyed with snacks – swing by Pike Place Market en route for a housemade meatball sandwich from LoPriore Bros.
P
Paper Hammer
Paper Hammer sells objects and handbound books that celebrate design technologies and techniques of the past two centuries. All are made by artisans in Tieton – a town two-and-a-half hours’ drive southeast of Seattle, severely affected by a decline in small farming. In tandem with other like operations (including a kite production facility and goat cheese creamery), Paper Hammer’s initiatives are helping to revitalise a struggling economy, touting the Mighty Tieton motto: ‘an incubator for artisan businesses.’
Q
Quality Athletics
A punt’s distance from CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC, Quality Athletics is a contemporary take on the classic sports bar, with the perfect degree of polish. Drink in the city’s frenzied enthusiasm for sports (the Seahawks crowd is widely recognised as the NFL’s loudest, and for a time even held the Guinness World Record for the volume of its bone-rattling roar) while enjoying a menu that eschews the predictable with items such as pork broth ramen and smoked pig’s tail.
R
The Royal Room
theroyalroomseattle.com
Birthplace of Jimi Hendrix, homeground of grunge (and its poster boys, Nirvana), and mother of Pearl Jam, Seattle has long been an incubator for musicians possessed of a knack for generating unique sound. Accordingly, live music venues are strewn across the city and patronised with vigour; The Royal Room is one of the finest. Enjoy jazz and blues in a space designed for musicians (the giant stage boasts a full set of instruments known as ‘a permanent backline’), complemented by a solid food menu and happy hour specials.
S
Seattle Arts and Lectures
Seattle is passionately literary, and a lively campaign for recognition of this by UNESCO with a Creative Cities ‘City of Literature’ title is ongoing. Epitomising the people’s bookish lean is a web of organisations devoted in varying ways to the craft of storytelling through writers’ workshops, talks, classes, readings and student literacy initiatives. Imbibe the city’s love of the written word at regular events hosted by Seattle Arts and Letters as part of its stimulating annual programme.
T
Ten22Home
Those with a yen for mid-twentieth century chairs should bee-line to Fremont Avenue North. On a regular day, Ten22Home counts pieces such as a Herman Miller Eames Shell Chair or Frank Gehry’s Knoll Hat Trick side chair in its extensive collection. Seating aside, artefacts of classic Danish design restored to perfection consume a healthy swathe of floorspace; the fortunate might find a trio of Ludvig Pontoppidan nesting teak tables buried behind Brutalist metal wall art or an Alvar Aalto writing desk.
U
Uwajimaya
uwajimaya.com
Jump the light rail to the bustling International District and write off a few hours to wander the seemingly endless aisles of 86-year-old Uwajimaya. The mega-market of Asian food and kitchenwares, with a pointedly Japanese lean, teems with electronics and kitchen gadgets most never knew they needed but fast deem essential. Shopping-induced hunger is best conquered in Uwajimaya’s fabulous food court, and for lovers of manga and anime, Kinokuniya book store beckons.
V
Victrola Coffee Roasters
victrolacoffee.com
Hopped up on coffee more than any other American city, Seattle caters to residents’ habits with cafes on almost every corner and roasteries on every second. Standards are high across the board, resulting in city-dwellers fluent in sophisticated coffee-speak; they favour places such as Victrola Roastery and Cafe, renowned for a farm-to-cup focus, high-quality roast and weekly complimentary cupping sessions (held Wednesdays at 11am). Follow locals’ lead and linger with a book in the warmly furnished Art Deco space.
W
Wall of Sound
wosound.com
While digital music spelled doom for scores of record stores globally, many persevered, buoyed by the passion of their owners and the custom of a fiercely loyal music-mad community. For twenty-five years, Wall of Sound has serviced (and cultivated) fans of niche genres, building impressively thorough sections around things such as ‘Japanese Noise’ and ‘Industrial Indie’. Visit to flip through an unrivalled collection of vinyl, and an expertly curated jazz catalogue.
X
EXcinema
http://excinemaseattle.blogspot.com.au/
This filmmakers’ group welcomes innovators who work beyond conventions of genre and form - embracing everything from direct animation on film to experimental digital media projects. It holds monthly screenings complemented by discussions and filmmaker talks, mostly at Grand Illusion Cinema. It also commissions works from around the globe, and partners with like organisations at home and abroad. Check online for forthcoming EXcinema events, and expect reliably intelligent, unorthodox viewing.
Y
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop
yeoldecuriosityshop.com
In ‘Afternoon Seattle’, a scuttling account of his passage through a then-rundown and gritty city, Allen Ginsberg writes of a ‘Sailor's curio shop hung with shells and skulls a whalebone mask, Indian seas.’ It would seem he stumbled into the trove of peculiar treasures that is Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, now in extreme old age. Here, you’ll find not only the shells and skulls of ‘Afternoon Seattle’ but also bat skeleton paperweights and two-headed taxidermy rabbits in glass dome cloches - and much else to amaze.
Zinfadel at Vif Wine and Coffee
vifseattle.com
When it comes to food and wine, it’s always best to follow the lead of the French. Caves à manger – wine shops serving small plates – have spilled across Paris at a steady pace, and recently into Seattle as Vif Wine and Coffee. Ethically sourced coffee complements an appetising breakfast menu – try smoked sprats on seawolf rye with labneh. In the evening, attention turns to natural wines – enjoy a bottle on the spot with a selection of bar-friendly dishes that celebrate locally sourced ingredients and growers.