Inspired by both Margaret and Bruce, bloggers who recently shared experiences visiting the Space Needle in Seattle, I thought I'd get out my own Space Needle photos.
These are from a trip I took to Portland and Seattle in August 1996. I was with my friends Sue and Arthur, and I was excited to visit the Space Needle because I love mid-century art, architecture and design. The Space Needle, built for the 1962 World's Fair, is a prime example.
Above is the view of downtown Seattle from the top.
And here I am with Sue on the observation deck. Hard to believe this was almost 30 years ago, but I do look much younger!
Weirdly, I don't remember much else about being up there. I don't think we ate or drank anything, probably because it would have been expensive or maybe we were underdressed. I think we literally rode up in the lift, took pictures and rode back down again. If I took a picture of the needle itself, I can't find it now.
But here's another Seattle photo, of the landmark Elephant Super Car Wash at the corner of 6th Avenue and Battery Street. Being a fan of old neon signs, I couldn't resist a picture, though why I didn't take about ten steps to the right to get that pole out of the way I'm not sure. (Maybe something was blocking my path?)
This car wash was still standing right up until 2019, but it closed in 2020 and is now gone. The pink elephants themselves, however, have endured. The larger elephant sign was donated to an area museum and the smaller one was re-erected by Amazon on its nearby campus. I'm glad someone appreciated them enough to save them.
As I recall we were only in Seattle for one night. We went to traditional tourist destinations like Pike Place Market and Capitol Hill, where I remember there were brass footprints in the sidewalks showing how to do various dances. I thought that was pretty cool. I also remember being excited to go to Starbucks on its home turf. (This was back when Starbucks was a relatively new phenomenon in much of the country and still retained an allure of coffee glamour.)
Another fun fact about this trip: We discovered the zine "Pathetic Life," which we bought in a bookstore and loved. (I think we bought it at Powell's Books in Portland.) Remember zines? In the pre-Internet era they were independently produced small-scale magazines, and I suppose they were, in a way, a precursor of blogging. "Pathetic Life" was a guy writing diary-style about his titular existence working odd jobs and living hand-to-mouth in San Francisco, and it was funny. I remember reading it on the drive between Portland and Seattle.
And I've already written about posing for a picture with Ethel Merman (sort of) on this same trip.
So, anyway, there you have it -- a few more of my experiences in the Pacific Northwest 28 years ago!
22 comments:
Nice view from the space needle. I have never heard of Zines, perhaps they didn't make it this far south.
You didn't look so different back then.
They are nice memories for you.
I think River is correct, zines never made it this far south, but I do remember the name.
I, too, love the Jetsons-ishness of the Space Needle and had to go there and ride to the top [and not eat] and ride back down!
I can guess what prevented you from sidestepping to get a better picture of the signage - a bloody great big pink elephant!
I am glad to hear that Super Wash elephant has been saved and appreciated. We mourned the dismantling , I thought it was gone for ever. If you ever want to go back , let me know. We could meet up top! I had dinner up there when I was young, I was disappointed because “ rotate” to me meant “ spin”.
Pacific Northwest is an area that interests me and that I have never been. It looks like a terrific trip!
Hank used to be passionately involved in making and distributing zines. You've reminded me.
I spent the night in Seattle once, only to fly out the next morning. It was when Glen and I had a wonderful trip to the west coast. I do not remember much about it except that the motel we stayed in was horrible. I too, remember when Starbucks represented "coffee glamor." Ha!
I now know 4 people living in the Seattle area - a niece, a nephew, and 2 friends (one who works for Starbucks). But I have never been there myself. My niece lives nearer Tacoma as she said Seattle is so expensive. She loves the hiking and outdoor activities there.
Among my great uncle's slides, is that exact view from the top of the Space Needle except in 1966. It is nearly unrecognizable though some of the smaller buildings are still there in your photo. None of the tall ones are there yet though.
Interesting to look back at what the world as like 28 years ago.
Wonderful memories of a good trip. Looks like you had fun. I've never been to Washington State. It is on my bucket list. Signs become much loved landmarks. Boston has a much loved Texaco sign that looms high in the sky. The gas station is long gone but people fought to keep the sign.
I am catching up on blog reading this morning. I love your photos using the waterlogue app. I am intrigued and I think I need to try this myself! I have never been to the Pacific northwest. Hopefully this summer.
Fun photos from past travels. It looks like you had some typical Seattle weather. I was just there a few years ago and I did just what you said, rode the elevator up, took a few photos and then went back down. I love the pink elephant signs. It's good to know they have been preserved.
Pretty cool to see a visitor's impressions of a visit to Seattle, we lived and worked there for years, interesting to see what sticks in a visitor's mind. The demise of the Elephant Super Car Wash was sad to see. Like so many other places Seattle is losing the things that made it unique, a victim of the developers. Pike Place Market is a case in point. It used to be a place where one could actually go and shop for fish, meat, fruits & vegetables. It has now morphed into a tourist trap of flower and t-shirt shops. When a cruise ship is in port it is impassable! Alas....
This sent me down a Wiki rabbit hole! Evidently there were World Expos, which the one in Seattle was, and Specialised Expos, which included the HemisFair '68 in San Antonio.. I attended the latter and it also had a structure similar to the Space Needle that was called Tower of the Americas. It doesn't appear there have been any in the US since the one on NOLA in 1984, but other parts of the world have hosted them and there are several in the works. Interesting!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_fair
One of the pink elephants is in Mohai, I think. (Museum of History and Industry) John and I are talking about going up there because there's the history of rowing in Seattle and we just saw "The Boys in the Boat." I will try to verify the pink elephant for you!
Seattle is a great city for many different reasons: Pike Place, the Space Needle, Chihuly, Elliott Bay Bookstor, the Library, fantastic restaurants, drizzle and fog and water. It's just a wonderland.
Oh Kelly. You brought me a memory. I was taken on a date to the Tower of America. I felt so very special!
The restaurant in the Space Needle has a dress code, and I think you have to make reservations. We ate there one evening when it was snowing. It was beautiful. I don't remember the pink elephants. Starbucks didn't exist yet. It was so long ago. My baby who was born there, so close to Microsoft, is 37. And I miss her.
Love,
Janie
River: Or maybe you had them but they were known by another name?
Andrew: Not having hair helps keep one's appearance relatively constant!
Bob: I kind of wish he had eaten, actually, but maybe the food is bad.
YP: That's as good a guess as any!
Linda Sue: Ha! A "spinning" restaurant might be hard to stomach!
Ms Moon: I can totally see Hank as a zine person! They were usually typewritten, too, so that would have indulged his love of typewriters.
Ellen D: I'm sure it's as expensive as many big cities, particularly given its large tech sector.
Ed: You should scan that slide and show it to us! I'm sure there are zillions of versions of that view out there.
Red: In some ways so different (rudimentary Internet), in some so similar (Starbucks).
Susan: I like it when signs outlive their purpose and become community landmarks in their own right.
Michael: Yes! Try Waterlogue! I don't use it a lot but I do enjoy it.
Sharon: Yes, apparently it was cloudy, though I don't remember that!
Jim: I remember Pike Place (in '96) as a mix of food and tourist stuff. I'm sure even then it wasn't as authentic as it was in earlier years. But I specifically remember fish for sale.
Kelly: Interesting! I never went to one myself, though I remember my dad and stepmother going to the one in Knoxville in the early '80s. I guess in the years before theme parks, a World's Fair served a similar purpose.
Margaret: Yes, if it's on display, get a picture! I think the article I linked to mentions which museum it's in.
Catalyst: I spent more of my time in Portland than Seattle, so unfortunately I didn't get to see all that. Next time!
Debby: Is the Tower of the Americas still standing? I wonder...off to Google!
Jeanie: (You were in spam again, sorry!) Yes, it was terrific.
Janie: Ah! That could be why we didn't go.
I’m so glad the elephants are still there. Great photos of one of my favorite cities. And you look exactly the same!
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