Exploring sights around Lake Union

Exploring Sights around Lake Union

When  Scott and I moved to Downtown Seattle, we knew that we would be exploring the city and we’ve been amazed at how many things there are to see around Lake Union.

Our apartment is on Dexter Avenue and we face east. Directly across from us is St. James Cathedral and above it, is Volunteer Park. Neither of us have ever been to the park, so we decided to explore it.

Volunteer Park

Volunteer Park is a 48 acre park that includes a conservatory and the Asian Art Museum. The history of the park is fascinating and told by different placards in the water tower observation deck. In 1885 the city had planned to make it a cemetery, but that was overruled and it became Lake View Park. By 1909 the Olmstead brothers began adding improvements including gardens, a children’s pool and a performance stage. The Olmstead brothers were dedicated nature and creating parks throughout the city. It’s pretty cool that they were so committed about nature and ecology back in the 1900’s.

There is plenty of parking inside the park and there are walkways throughout. We parked and headed towards the Asian Art Museum. Unfortunately it is closed for renovation and will open next summer.

The photo above is actually the children’s wading pool.  I wouldn’t recommend using it today.  Scott and I then headed towards the Water Tower Observatory. The water tower is reportedly haunted and I will tell you, this is the last place I would want to be at dusk or at night!

There are stairs that take you up both sides and it’s a climb!

What’s really cool about this water tower is that not only is it still being used today, but that they enclosed it in brick to make it look better! That’s a lot of work just for a water tower. Remember what our water tower looked like in our driveway of the house we just sold? LOL

History of Seattle Parks

Once you get to the observation deck of the water town, you have a 360 degree view from Bellevue to Seattle. You can also read about the history of the planned parks in Seattle by the Olmstead brothers.

The statement above is so true!! It’s one of the reasons we love living in the Pacific Northwest.

From the water tower observatory, we walked the grounds to enjoy some fall scenery.

The conservatory was closed, so we didn’t get to go inside. Right outside the conservatory, is a statue dedicated to Henry Seward – who knew his importance to Seattle? So fun!

If you haven’t visited Volunteer Park, I highly recommend it for a fun afternoon!

Borealis Light Festival

The following weekend, MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry) hosted the Borealis Light Festival. This was an international contest and it was one of the coolest things we’ve seen in a long time! It’s too bad it wasn’t here longer. We tried to capture as much footage as we could, which you can watch on our next YouTube episode.

Stay tuned for our next blog and we’ll update you on our boat search and hopefully our plans for the Spring! As always, thank you for following us! Be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

#BoatingJourney