Seattle
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Home Call for Participation Program Committee Past UISTs Registration Seattle Sponsorship

 

The Emerald City has plenty to offer

Seattle is a diverse city, nestled in a natural setting of incomparable beauty. Even though the population of the region is 3.5 million and java jolts can be found on every corner, Seattleites are still laid-back enough to wait for the WALK signal to cross the street (in fact you can get a ticket for the offense).

Weather

What will the weather be like in late October? Well sure, there will be a bit of precipitation, but mostly it will be drizzling at odd times. You'll want  intermittent wipers if you rent a car. Really. Actually, the average annual rainfall in New York and Atlanta is greater than it is in Seattle.

Oh and be sure to know what a "Sunbreak" is. There will be a test.

What to do while in ...

Whatever your interests, from hiking to pro sports to a night at the symphony, Seattle's got it-and you can do it.

...Seattle

Pike Place Market:  A wonderful open air market with hundreds of shops, food, and artisans selling their wares.  You can find this at 1st and Pike Street in downtown Seattle. See http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/.

Seattle Waterfront:  Just down the hill from Pike’s Market, the section of the water front between Main and Broad Streets has a lot of souvenir shops and places to eat.   If you walk far enough to the north you will find Myrtle Edwards Park.  A trolley runs the length of the waterfront courtesy of the Metro Bus system. See http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/tour/water.htm.

Seattle Aquarium: On the Seattle Waterfront at Pier 59.  They have a beautiful exhibit of indigenous and exotic fish, birds and marine mammals and an emphasis on education and wildlife conservation.  They also have an attached Omnidome IMAX theatre.  Open 10-7 Daily.  See http://www.seattleaquarium.org/ or call  206-386-4300.

Washington State Ferries: One of the Puget Sound area's many ferry terminals is located at the south end of the Waterfront. It’s fun just to take a ferry to Bremerton and back, particularly if you can time is so you return at dusk to see the Seattle waterfront beautifully lit. See http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/.

Argosy Cruises:  Take a short boat tours, a one-hour cruise of Seattle harbor, or a 2 ½-hour cruises through the Hiram Chittendon Locks.  See http://www.argosycruises.com/ or call 206-623-1445.

Seattle Center: Built for the 1962 World's Fair, it is still a bustling place that entertains. Aside from the many festivals (including Folklife, Bumbershoot, and the Bite of Seattle), Key arena (host to the Super Sonics, the Storm and Thunderbirds), the Pacific Science Center, Space Needle, and many theatres including McCaw Hall (home to the Pacific Northwest Ballet) and the Seattle Children's Theatre. It is a quick trip from Westlake center (across from the conference hotel) by way of the original Seattle Monorail.  See http://www.seattlecenter.com/.

Pacific Science Center: The science center is located under the white arches in the Seattle Center.  They have many hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, laser shows and an IMAX theatre.  Open 10-6 daily.  See http://www.pacsci.org/ or call 206-443-2001.

Experience Music Project: What is that building? Is it fascinating? Is it ugly? Really the design (by Frank Gehry) was based on pieces of electric guitars.  The EMP contains static and exploratory exhibits all related to music. See http://www.emplive.org/ or call 1-877-EMPLIVE (1-877-367-5483).

Science Fiction Museum: Housed inside the Experience Music Project, the SFM will be host to UIST's Conference Reception, so we'll leave you to experience it for yourself :).  See http://www.sfhomeworld.org/ or call 206-724-3428.

Seattle Space Needle: Enjoy panoramic views of the Seattle area and Puget Sound from the observation deck and/or have a meal in the Space Needle Restaurant.  Call 206-443-2100 or 1-800-937-9582.

Downtown Retail Core: The heart of downtown’s retail marketplace that includes Westlake Center (4th Avenue and Pine Street) and Pacific Place (6th Avenue and Pine Street). 

Pioneer Square: Seattle’s first neighborhood with shops, galleries, Occidental Mall, and restaurants.  An underground walking tour is available, which tells of Seattle’s past and takes you down to the original first floors of many buildings in the area.  Pioneer Square offers a lively night life, with a variety of jazz and dance clubs.  This area is located Alaskan Way Viaduct and 2nd Avenue, and between James and King Streets.

Safeco and Qwest Fields: Safeco Field is the home to the Seattle Mariners, complete with a retractable roof. Qwest field is home to the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders. It's unlikely that the Mariners will still be playing in late October, but you can tour the facility.

Capitol Hill: Another retail corridor, with a *lot* of character, located along Broadway between E. Pine Street and E. Roy Street.  ‘nuf said.

Fremont: This area of Seattle is the self-proclaimed “Center of the Universe” complete with rocket ship, and bronze statue of Lenin and a Troll under the Aurora bridge. Be sure to visit some of the cool, funky shops and take a picture next to the "Waiting for the Interurban" sculpture or Rapunzel letting down her hair from the tower of the draw bridge.  See http://www.fremontseattle.com/.

Ballard: Yah Sure Yabetcha! This section of Northwest Seattle, with it's proud Scandanavian heritage, is home to the Hiram Chittendon locks, the Nordic Heritage Museum and the best place to get knick knacks in the world. Yes, that's right, I'm talking Archie McPhees! Worth the trip for that place alone! See http://www.inballard.com/Webroot/index_2.shtml.

Hiram Chittendon Locks: Located in Ballard and run by the Army Corp of Engineers, this is where the salmon jumping up the fish ladder from Puget Sound to get to the fresh waters of Lake Union, Lake Washington and the streams beyond. Oh and the locks also allow boats to be raised or lowered 6 to 26 feet, depending on tide levels. The walk to the Locks is through the pretty Carl S. English, Jr., Botanical Gardens. A further drive down 54th Ave NW will take you to Golden Gardens, one of the many beach front Seattle Parks.

Gasworks Park:  This park is the former site of the Seattle Gas Light "gasification" plant and was bought by the city in 1962, cleaned up and made into a park. It is located between the University District and Fremont on N Northlake Way.  It’s a great place to fly a kite, which you can buy at a nearby shop, or a great place to start a bike ride on the Burke-Gilman trail.

Woodlank Park Zoo: This zoo contains beautiful exhibits of indigenous and exotic animals in natural settings. Their emphasis is on education and wildlife conservation.  They also now have a bird feeding experience. The zoo is located at 5500 Phinney Avenue North and is open 10-7 daily.  See http://www.zoo.org or call 206-684-4800.

Green Lake:  This lake is near the Woodland Park Zoo, and is surrounded by a 3 mile pedestrian/biking/rollerblading trail.  There’s also a great kids park on the north west section of the lake (near the community center), and swimming, wading in the wading pool and boating in warm weather. There are also shops and restaurants surrounding the lake, in particular, you can rent wheels from Gregg’s Greenlake cycle. See http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/parkspaces/greenlak.htm.

The University District: University Way (commonly known as “The Ave”) is the heart of the University district. Well that and the fact that it's one block west of the University of Washington campus.  University Village, down the hill just to the north east of the campus on 25th Avenue NE, includes a Barnes and Nobles, Gap and Eddie Bauer, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and, of course, Starbucks, as well as a lot of nice smaller shops. . 

...  Western Washington:

The Eastside: This is what anything east of Lake Washington is called, basically any place that requires travel across a floating bridge or along the top or bottom of the lake to get to Seattle. The Eastside includes Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Issaquah, Sammamish, Bothell, Renton and even (to some degree) Kent. See http://www.microsoft.com/MBA/sea_eastneigh.mspx.

San Juan Islands: This cluster of beautiful islands offers a lot of small towns, hiking and biking trails, shops and interesting places to see.  To get there, most people take the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes, about 1 ½ hours North of Seattle.  One fare allows you to island-hop until you return back to Anacortes.  People typically stay on Orcas or San Juan Island.  See http://www.sanjuanisland.org/.

Whidbey Island: This island northwest of Seattle has many charming towns, shops and restaurants. It has many nice bed and breakfasts, inns, and nice biking trails. You can take a Washington State Ferry from Mulkiteo. It takes about 1.5 hours to get there from Seattle.  See http://www.southwhidbey.com/.

Olympic Peninsula: This area encompasses the Olympic Mountain Range, the Olympic National Forest and the Hoh Rain Forest. The national park offers lots of hiking and biking trails and has educational centers outside points of interest. To get to the peninsula, take either the Bremerton ferry from Seattle, or the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry from Edmonds. The entrance to the Olympic National Forest in Port Angeles is 2.5 hours west of Seattle.  The Hoh Rain Forest, near the Pacific Ocean, is 3.5 hours from Seattle.

Victoria, British Columbia: Take the Victoria Clipper from Pier 69 in downtown Seattle. The cruise take 2.5 hours each way or you can take the ferry from Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. Visit the city of Victoria and the Buchart Gardens, as well as many nice shops and restaurants.  See http://www.tourismvictoria.com/.

Vancouver, British Columbia: Just three hours north on I-5, Vancouver is a wonderful city with shopping, and beautiful Stanley park (home of the Vancouver Aquarium).   See http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/.

Casinos: There are many Indian reservations in Washington which sponsor legalized casino gambling. Among these are the Swinomish nation, the Jamestown Clallam nation, and the Tulalip nation.

Tillicum Village:  A four hour trip, Tillicum village is located on Blake Island Marine State Park. Activities include a Native American pow-wow, the Northwest Coast Indian Cultural Center, and Indian Baked salmon dinners. Tours depart from Piers 55 and 56 daily. See http://www.tillicumvillage.com/ or call 206-933-8600 for more information.

Snoqualmie Falls:  A beautiful day trip just outside of Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls is located next to the Salish Lodge (Resort spa, brunch and dinners are expensive but incredible). This trip is recommended just for the views, the hike and the food if you are so inclined. I-90 East, take the Snoqualmie Falls Exit (Hwy 202) and follow the signs to the lodge at the head of the falls. See http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com/.

Fun Links for Seattle

Home Call for Participation Program Committee Past UISTs Registration Seattle Sponsorship

 

Design: Daniel C. Robbins
Photos: Daniel C. Robbins
Matt Uyttendaele

Patrick Baudisch
©2005 ACM