Seattle - Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest - page 133

50 Elliott Bay Book Company F1
51 Pure Food Fish B3

Downtown & First Hill

What most people mean by 'downtown' is the collection of office buildings, hotels and
retail shops between 2nd and 7th Aves. It's home to much of the city's most important ar-
chitecture. The jungle of high-rises teetering on the steep streets makes for an imposing
skyline, though the core is quite compact and walkable.

Seattle Art Museum MUSEUM
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(SAM; www.seattleartmuseum.org ; 1300 1st Ave; adult/child $17/11; 10am-5pm Tue, Wed, Sat &
Sun, to 9pm Thu & Fri; University St) While not comparable with the big guns in New
York and Chicago, Seattle Art Museum is no slouch and is constantly updating. Over the
last decade it has added over 100,000 sq ft to its gallery space and acquired about $1 bil-
lion worth of new art, including works by Zurbarán and Murillo. The museum is known
for its extensive Native American artifacts and work from the local Northwest school, in
particular by Mark Tobey (1890-1976). Modern American art is also well represented.

Seattle Public Library LIBRARY
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( 206-386-4636; www.spl.org ; 1000 4th Ave; 10am-8pm Mon-Thu, 10am-6pm Fri & Sat,
noon-6pm Sun; ; Pioneer Sq) There's not much chance you'll miss glimpsing
the Seattle Public Library, but it's worth going inside for a closer look. Conceived by
Rem Koolhaas and LMN Architects, the $165.5-million sculpture of glass and steel was
designed to serve as a community gathering space, a tech center, a reading room and, of
course, a massive book-storage facility. The main room, on level 3, has especially high
ceilings, a teen center, a small gift shop and a coffee stand.

Frye Art Museum MUSEUM
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