Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DON'T MISS…
»
Smith Tower
»
Pioneer Building
»
Grand Central Arcade
PRACTICALITIES
»
MAP
»
btwn Alaskan Way S, S King St, 5th Ave S, 2nd Ave ext & Columbia St
Pioneer Sq
»
Pioneer Building
cing Pioneer Square Park is one of the finest Victorian buildings in Seattle, and show-
cases many of the classic components of Richardsonian Romanesque; look for the Ro-
man arches, a recessed main doorway, curvaceous bay windows and decorative flour-
ishes, most notably the two frontal columns that frame some skillfully embellished
bricks.
Smith Tower
observation deck adult/child $7.50/5; 10am-dusk)
was, for half a century after its con-
struction in 1914, the tallest building west of Chicago. The beaux arts-inspired lobby is
paneled in onyx and marble, while the brass-and-copper elevator is still manually oper-
ated. The public can access the 35th-floor Chinese Room, with its hand-carved ceiling.
Grand Central Arcade
This lovely meeting point was originally Squire's Opera House, erected in 1879. When
the Opera House burned down, it was rebuilt as the Squire-Latimer Building in 1890
and later became the Grand Central Hotel. The hotel died during the Depression, but it
underwent a major restoration in the 1970s and now contains two floors of shops.
