August 8, 2021 - Then and Now - Alaska Way

 

The transformation of the Seattle waterfront has been pretty dramatic.  The removal of the double decker Alaskan Way Viaduct and replacement with an underground tunnel has removed the arterial gash that separated downtown from the waterfront.  Development is proceeding and the transformation will only continue.

December 2017 (above) and April 2019 (below)

In April 2019 the viaduct was in the process of being torn down and the $3.3 billion, 2 mile tunnel underneath downtown, the longest road tunnel in the contiguous United States, had opened. 

Today (below) Alaska Way is more open and the development where the viaduct used to be is progressing.  

Below is a July 2016 southbound view from one of the 90,000 vehicles, that utilized the viaduct until its closure in January of 2019.  The view was often scenic, but it was hard not to think about when the next seismic event would suddenly bring it down. 

April 18, 2021 - A Chamber of Commerce Day

 

The small harbor town of Gig Harbor, population 7,000, makes for a pleasant scene on this sunny day. 

Located on Puget Sound west of Tacoma, it was incorporated in 1946.  Prior to the completion of a bridge across Puget Sound at the Tacoma Narrows, Gig Harbor was accessed from Tacoma by ferry.  The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, "Galloping Gertie", collapsed in November 1940 after four months of operations.  A replacement bridge wasn't built until 1950.  In 2007 a second bridge was added which allows for well over 120,000 vehicles a day to cross Puget Sound here.

June 18, 2017 - Around (and Above) Seattle

A 20 minute circuit around Seattle in a float plane beginning and ending from Lake Union provides a perspective most don't typically see.  Being able to look down on the buildings of downtown, the University of Washington campus, Husky Stadium, the new 520 floating bridge, Safeco and Century Link Fields and the waterfront is a great way to see Seattle! 

August 3, 2016 - Seattle Waterfront

A visit to the Seattle Aquarium turns into more than viewing fish, octopi and seals when it happens during Seafair Fleet Week.

On this day, at a pier near the aquarium, a US Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin from Port Angeles put on a demonstration with their rescue swimmer deploying from the aircraft as it hovers next to the USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer stationed in Everett.  A restored 1937 Douglas DC3A flies across Elliott Bay towards Boeing Field.

The Seattle waterfront is a busy place during the summer.  Tourists, both the home town and out of town variety, jam the sidewalks to take in the views, or visit the Seattle Aquarium or the Great Wheel.  These days navigating the waterfont is a little challenging as the 80 year old seawall is being replaced.  The seawall is part of the project that will replace the the Alaskan Way Viaduct with an underground tunnel and completely redevelop the city's waterfront.   

May 18, 2010 - Mobius Strip

The Seattle skyline as viewed through the sculpture "Oushi Zokei Madoka". The sculpture was a gift from the city of Kobe, Japan, commemorating 25 years as Seattle's sister port and is located at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on the waterfront. The artist, Keizo Ushio, has introduced Mobius Strips to the world on a grand scale using his stone sculptures.

Wikipedia tells one that Mobius Strip "model can easily be created by taking a paper strip and giving it a half-twist, and then joining the ends of the strip together to form a loop."