Seattle

Jesse had a job interview in Seattle, WA on Wednesday, so we decided to drive up together since neither of us had ever been. The interview was weird (and rescheduled to meet almost 2 hours early), which left us both sort of scratching our heads when it was all over. Anyway, since we weren't supposed to have very much time in the city after the interview, I didn't bother researching cool things to see -- my mistake.

Jesse finished up around 1:30pm and we didn't really have any plans until dinner time when we were meeting up with his good friend, Allicia. We decided to drive around a bit to see if we would stumble on anything fun. We found Pike Place Market and walked listlessly around ogling the giant fish and great-smelling food. We also drove by the space needle, but decided not to get out and walk around. That morning I dressed for Portland weather (rainy and chilly), but Seattle was at least 10 degrees colder and I was freezing. After stopping for coffee and a snack, we regrouped and decided to drive down closer to Allicia's house, which is near Tacoma, WA.

Then, as we were driving out of the city we saw the new Seattle Public Library. Jesse parked the car on a crazy hill and we took a quick walk-through (or rather a jaw-dropping roam). The library was designed by Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004. It is probably one of the more stunning public spaces that I have seen in a while. Even on the rather grey day, people were bustling around and lounging in the many areas for reading, surfing the internet, and just relaxing.

Every level is a new experience -- varied flooring, colors and textures -- that is punctuated by the steel and glass skin. Each corner provided a new vista of the city. The vast interior space was definitely designed to feel comfortable on the human scale with nooks and reading areas tucked away in the stacks and along corridors invisible from the ground floor, but it was also meant to be appreciated from multiple viewpoints and levels.

I'm not sure if the neon yellow escalators with the weirdo eyeball art installation will withstand the test of time, but travelling from one horizontal space to another was quite exciting. I somehow managed to not take a photograph, but the freestanding escalators took on a sculptural form that was quite nice. The glowing yellow encasement also provided a view of the inner workings, which was kind of cool too.

Even though I tired easily of the yellow transportation tubes, I have to say that the use of color and supergraphics (both inside and outside) provided a certain softness in what could have been a very mechanical and cold structure. In sum, awesome building.

After touring the museum for almost an hour we decided to leave Seattle (for real) and head down to Tacoma. We arrived in Tacoma around 4pm, took a scenic drive to Point Defiance Park, and wished that we had come straight to Tacoma after the interview. I was sad that we didn't have time to take in the Museum of Glass, or the Washington State History Museum, or the Tacoma Art Museum. Dinner with Allicia was great and I'm so glad we stayed around so I could finally meet her.

Needless to say, we'll be back to Washington, probably sooner than later, because there's so much to see and do!