Sights
Pike Place Market
(photo: Fiona Scott)
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The Symposium will be held at the
Washington
State Convention and Trade Center, which is centrally
located in downtown Seattle. Many of the city's unique
attractions are within easy walking distance or a short cab
ride. A must see in Seattle is the famed
Pike Place
Market, featuring a tremendous variety of fresh local
produce and seafood, as well as an eclectic assortment of
shops and restaurants. Tucked away just across the street
from the market is
Post Alley, home to several small
restaurants and shops. Also along the Elliott Bay
Waterfront is the
Seattle Aquarium. Downtown is home
to the
Benaroya Concert Hall, worth a short walk to
take in the magnificent glass sculptures by the renowned
artist Dale Chihuly.
Benaroya Concert Hall
(photo: Nate McCrady)
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The recently opened
Seattle Public Library
is an innovative design by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.
Seattle's icon from the 1962 World's Fair, the
Space
Needle offers 360 degree views of the city and Puget
Sound from
Seattle Center. Here you will also find
the
Experience Music Project, a museum dedicated to
the exploration of music, housed in a notorious building
designed by Frank Gehry. The
Monorail, another relic
of the Fair, links downtown to Seattle Center, with
departures every 10 minutes from the
Westlake Center
Mall in downtown. For further retail therapy, try
Pacific Place, just two blocks from the convention
center, or the smaller
City Centre Mall, notable for
its collection of artworks. Downtown Seattle is also home
to the flagship stores of
Nordstrom and
outdoor outfitters
REI. The original
Starbucks coffee shop, complete with
original signage, is located across the street from the
Pike Place Market. Further afield are the
walking neighborhood of Capitol Hill, adjacent to downtown
with glittering Broadway as its heart, and the campus of
the University of Washington, just across the Ship Canal
Bridge north of downtown.
Seattle Public Library (photo: Lara
Swimmer)
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Bars & Restaurants
For a quick lunch during the AAPF and AAS
meetings, be sure to make the six-block walk down Pike
Street to the
Pike Place Market. The Market offers
an assortment of diners, food stands and fresh produce. The
Sound View Cafe in the Market offers spectacular
views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Several
excellent dinner choices are near the market as well,
including
Etta's Seafood,
Campagne, and
Cutters Bayhouse. The
Pacific Place mall has
a serviceable food court for lunch near the meetings, as
well as a
Gordon-Biersch Brewery. Other dinner
options in downtown include the excellent pan-Pacific
cuisine of
Wild Ginger, great sushi at
Wasabi
Bistro, and terrific Northwest seafood at
McCormick
& Schmick's and
Brooklyn Cafe.
Experience Music Project (photo: John
A. Vink)
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After dinner, there is plenty of nightlife near
downtown. The
Pike Place Brewery in the Market brews
their own, and the snug
Alibi Room, tucked in an
alley under the Market, is worth a visit for the name
alone. Other good nearby options include the Irish-style
pubs
Fado on First Avenue and
Kell's in Post
Alley, and the stylish
Palace Kitchen under the
Monorail tracks. Just up the hill along Pike and Pine
Streets are several bars, including the
Elysian Brewing
Company and the
Baltic Room.
Cafes in Post Alley
(photo: www.floatabout.com)
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