Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
Pioneer Square
PIONEER SQUARE
NEIGHBORHOOD
See
Click here
.
KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
MUSEUM
(
www.nps.gov/klse
;
117 S Main St; 9am-5pm; International District/Chinatown)
F
This is a shockingly good museum eloquently run by the US National Park Service
with exhibits, photos and news clippings from the 1897 Klondike gold rush, when a
Seattle-on-steroids acted as a fueling depot for prospectors bound for the Yukon in
Canada. It would cost $10 anywhere else; in Seattle it's free!
The best aspect of the museum is its clever use of storytelling. At the outset you are
introduced to five local characters who became stampeders (Klondike prospectors) in
the 1890s and you are invited to follow their varying fortunes and experiences periodic-
ally throughout the rest of the museum. Sound effects and interactive exhibits are used
to good effect.
The museum is housed in the old Cadillac Hotel (built in 1889) that was rescued
from a grisly fate after nearly being toppled in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. It
opened in 2006.
KING STREET STATION
LANDMARK
(303 S Jackson St; International District/Chinatown)
One of the pillars upon which
Seattle built its early fortunes, the old Great Northern Railroad depot has suffered a lot
of neglect since the 1960s - although the tide is now turning. The western terminus of
the famous
Empire Builder
train that still runs cross-country between Seattle and Ch-
