Emerald Cities and Space Needles
Visiting the lush Emerald City should entail a visit to the iconic Space Needle. It is, after all, a modern architectural marvel. Built for the 1962 World’s Fare, the Needle still stands out as the defining landmark for Seattle, much the same way the Transamerica Pyramid does in San Francisco. This luminous landmark on the horizon punctuates every stay in the city.
A credit to its natural beauty and bounty, the area in and around Seattle has been inhabited for approximately 4,000 years. It wasn’t until 1850 that the first European settlers arrived. Though the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes initially tried to seek a peaceful co-habitation with the settlers, the tribes were forcibly removed from the area and resettled in the Port Madison Reservation. A good many Duwamish natives stayed in the city, however, refusing to be moved.
Since the turn of the 20th Century, Seattle has seen a number of industries take root and flourish. Though some industries fail, most notably the presence of Boeing in the mid-1970s, the majority of them, especially the technological firms, have flourished in Seattle. Indeed, Seattle has vied with Silicon Valley in terms of technological wherewithal. Companies like Amazon.com, Real Networks, and T-Mobile call Seattle home.
But the one company that drew worldwide attention to Seattle had nothing to do with technology, but had everything to do with a cup of coffee. The original Starbucks was opened in Pike Place Market in 1971, where it still remains. The corporate headquarters moved into the old Sears Roebuck building and renamed the building The Starbucks Center. Currently, Starbucks is the single largest coffee company in the world, with 16,120 stores in 49 countries.
Seattle’s beauty speaks volumes. Situated at he mouth of Puget Sound, the city enjoys the lush verdant canopy that has made the Pacific Northwest so famous. Indeed, one of the city’s numerous nicknames is “The Emerald City,” a fitting tribute not only to its surrounding beauty, but the extensive city planning that has enervated it with numerous parks and beltways.
There are numerous Seattle hotels to pick from when planning a trip westward. pick well, because the last thing you want to spend your time on in Seattle is getting around. Find a hotel nestled right in the city.