Seattle Center
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. The 74 acres (299,467.6 m²) campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
. It is located just north of Belltown
Belltown, Seattle, Washington
Belltown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States, in the 98121 Zip Code, located on the city's downtown waterfront, on land that was artificially flattened as part of a regrading project...
in the Lower Queen Anne
Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Washington
Lower Queen Anne is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, at the base of Queen Anne Hill. While its boundaries are not precise, the toponym usually refers to the shopping, office, and residential districts to the north and west of Seattle Center. The districts to the west of the Center are also...
neighborhood.
Attractions
- The International Fountain: located in the middle of the campus, the fountain operates all year round. Built for the 1962 World's FairCentury 21 ExpositionThe Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
, the fountain was built as a modernist water sculpture. With over 20 spouts, the fountain goes through programmed cycles of shooting water patterns, accompanied by recorded world music. The music is changed every month, and chosen to coordinate with the water patterns. Since 2004, World Naked Bike Ride SeattleWorld Naked Bike Ride SeattleWorld Naked Bike Ride Seattle is an umbrella reference for Seattle's collection of local World Naked Bike Ride-affiliated events including WNBR Downtown Seattle , the permaculture-oriented Gardens Everywhere Bike Parade, WNBR Seattle Night Rides, WNBR West Seattle, Seafair Cyclists and Hemp Ride...
(and later Body Pride Ride) clothing-optional bike ridesClothing-optional bike ridesA clothing-optional bike ride is a cycling event in which nudity is permitted or expected. There are many clothing-optional cycling events around the world. Some rides are political, recreational, artistic or a unique combination...
often have the fountain as a major stop during their events.http://worldnakedbikeride.org/countries/us/seattle/fountain.html - The Space NeedleSpace NeedleThe Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington and is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over...
, an official city landmark - Seattle Center MonorailSeattle Center MonorailThe Seattle Center Monorail is an elevated monorail line in Seattle, Washington, that runs a little over one mile along Fifth Avenue from Westlake Center in Downtown to Seattle Center in Lower Queen Anne...
terminus - Center House (formerly known as the Food Circus). This includes the Center House Theater, home to Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-It Repertory Theatre, as well as the Children's MuseumSeattle Children's MuseumThe Children's Museum, Seattle in Seattle is located on the lowest floor of the Center House at Seattle Center. Visitors to the main floor of the Center House can look down into a large open space in the floor which is part of the museum; this was once the site of the bubbleator.The Museum is .The...
and The Center High School. Before the World's Fair, the building was an armoryArmory (military)An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
. Center House is an official city landmark. - The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
- The Fisher Pavilion
- The Kobe Bell, an official city landmark
- The Mercer ArenaMercer ArenaMercer Arena, previously known as the Exposition Building, the Civic Ice Arena and Seattle Center Arena, is a performing arts venue located at the corner of Mercer Street Fourth Avenue North in Seattle, Washington. It was built in 1912 next door to the Seattle Civic Auditorium , as part of the $1...
, Formerly a sports, concerts, and opera venue before sitting dormant. - The outdoor Mural Amphitheater, featuring a mosaic mural by Paul HoriuchiPaul HoriuchiPaul Horiuchi was an acclaimed artist born in Japan who immigrated to the Pacific North West.Horiuchi's worked in both painting and collage.Honors received** 1968 awarded honorary Doctor of Humanities degree by the University of Puget Sound....
: the Horiuchi Mural is an official city landmark. - The Northwest Rooms, a small conference center
- The Pacific Science CenterPacific Science CenterThe Pacific Science Center is a science museum in Seattle, Washington.-Organization:Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science museum based in Seattle, Washington...
, home of the Boeing IMAXIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Theater, Eames IMAXIMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Theater, and Seattle Laser Dome - The Seattle Center Pavilion
- Seattle Center Skate Park aka Sea Sk8 Park
Performing Arts
- Seattle Repertory TheatreSeattle Repertory TheatreSeattle Repertory Theatre is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and Theatre Communications Group. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore...
, home of the Bagley Wright Theatre, the Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre, and the PONCHO Forum - Center House Theater, home of the Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-it Repertory
- Theatre Puget SoundTheatre Puget SoundTheatre Puget Sound is a not-for-profit organization devoted to supporting the performing arts in the Puget Sound area of Washington. It was founded in 1997.Both individuals and organizations can be members of Theatre Puget Sound...
- The Center SchoolThe Center School (Seattle)The Center School is a small arts and college preparatory public school in Seattle, Washington. It is located in the Center House, a multi-purpose building on the grounds of the Seattle Center...
- The Intiman PlayhouseIntiman PlayhouseIntiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 1972 by Margaret "Megs" Booker, who named it for August Strindberg's Stockholm theater. With a self-declared focus on "a resident acting ensemble, fidelity to the playwright's intentions and a close relationship between actor and audience", the...
, home of the Intiman theater company - McCaw HallMcCaw HallThe Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...
, home of the Seattle OperaSeattle OperaThe Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
and shared as a performance space with the Pacific Northwest BalletPacific Northwest BalletPacific Northwest Ballet is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per...
, whose ballet school is adjacent. This is the third performance space on this site, the second being the Opera House built at the time of the World's Fair. - SIFF Cinema, the year-round home of the Seattle International Film FestivalSeattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
features world cinema all year, as well as during the regular Festival Season in May and June. - The Seattle Children's TheatreSeattle Children's TheatreFounded in 1975, Seattle Children's Theatre is the second-largest resident theatre for young audiences in North America and among the 20 largest regional theatres in the United States, with an annual operating budget of approximately $6.5 Million...
- The Vera ProjectThe VERA ProjectThe Vera Project, or VERA, is an all-ages, non-profit youth arts organization in Seattle, Washington.-About:Based on the Vera club in Groningen, Netherlands, Seattle's VERA Project was founded in 2001 by James Keblas, Shannon Stewart , and Kate Becker , along with the help of many other...
(or VERA)
Athletics
- KeyArenaKeyArenaKeyArena at Seattle Center , is a multipurpose arena, in Seattle, Washington. It is located north of downtown in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, the Century 21 Exposition...
is the current home court of the Seattle UniversitySeattle UniversitySeattle University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA.SU is the largest independent university in the Northwest US, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight schools, and is one of 28 member...
Redhawks men's basketball team. Additionally, the Seattle StormSeattle StormThe Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...
of the WNBA also play at Key Arena. It also served as the home court of the now defunct Seattle SuperSonicsSeattle SuperSonicsThe Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
and the now relocated Seattle ThunderbirdsSeattle ThunderbirdsThe Seattle Thunderbirds are a junior ice hockey team based in Kent, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Hockey League, and play in the ShoWare Center...
(Western Hockey LeagueWestern Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
) ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. KeyArena is a rebuilt version of what was once the Seattle Center Coliseum. - Memorial StadiumMemorial Stadium (Seattle)The Memorial Stadium in Seattle, Washington, is located in the northeast corner of the Seattle Center grounds. The stadium currently seats approximately 12,000 people. This was expanded to 17,000, during 1974-75, while the Seattle Sounders, of the North American Soccer League, played at Memorial...
, a high school footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and soccer stadium, which predates the World's Fair.
Festivals
Seattle Center hosts many cultural, music and arts festivals. Major attractions include:- BumbershootBumbershootBumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend at the 74-acre Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Seattle Center includes indoor theaters,...
- FestálFestalFestal is a brand name drug containing pancreatin, hemicellulase, and certain bile components. Festal is indicated for use in people with gastrointestinal problems in order to help actively digest food .-Sources:*...
, a year long series of world cultural events, the largest of which is Northwest Folklife - Seattle International Children's Festival
- Gay Pride PrideFest
- Bite of SeattleBite of SeattleThe Bite of Seattle is an annual food festival that takes place over three days in July at Seattle, Washington, USA's Seattle Center.Founded by Alan Silverman, the president of Festivals, Inc., the first festival was held in 1982 at Green Lake, with 25 restaurants participating and 75,000 in...
- Winterfest
Winterfest
Winterfest runs from the day after Thanksgiving to January 1. It is an annual celebration including ice skating, artistic and cultural performances, concerts, student showcases from area schools, storytelling, exhibits and movies. Winterfest also includes the Seattle trademark miniature train and village and New Year's Eve concert.Winterfest includes several collections of performances, such as:
- Winter Worldfest: A festival within a festival, represting cultural traditions
- Worlds of Storytelling: storytelling, puppet shows for children and adults
- Winter Solstice Celebration: a sunset extravaganza celebrating the winter solstice
- Peace on Earth: an interfaith celebration
Other events include
- Circus Contraption and the Aerialistas, performance troupe
- Seattle's Best Jazz
- Womanipura, fire dancing troupe
- Magic Mystery Show
- Lelavision, modern and aerial dance
College Performance Series
The College Performance Series premiered in the 2007 Winterfest. It features outstanding performing arts groups of Washington state colleges and universities. The project allows high-level college performers to contribute to the celebration, and to showcase the state's university community during the winter season.
PrideFest
Seattle PrideFest is the Official Seattle Gay Pride Festival held annually at the Seattle Center over Pride Weekend. The festival takes place on the last Sunday in June between 11am and 7pm. This event used to take place in neighboring Capitol HillCapitol Hill, Seattle, Washington
Capitol Hill is the most densely populated residential district in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the center of the city's gay and counterculture communities, and is one of the city's most prominent nightlife and entertainment districts....
's Volunteer Park, but had out grown its residential location. It was decided to move the annual parade to downtown and festival to the Seattle Center to better accommodate the growing attendance. In 2007, Egan Orion of One Degree Events took over the Seattle Pride Festival just six weeks before the event was held in order to save the event and help preserve the move to the Center the year before. 2008 had record numbers at the Seattle Center with over 50,000 people attending on a 95 degree day in June, with over 100 vendors and dozens of sponsors participating.
Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award
Every year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Seattle Center awards three youth peace awards to three individuals or organizations. These awards have become an honor of Seattle, and are heavily applied for. The award, along with $100, recognize outstanding youth and youth organizations who promote community, peace, leadership, justice and civil rights in the spirit of the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Nomination forms are distributed to various organizations and schools in Seattle, but anyone can make a nomination. Forms are available at the Seattle Center programs office, and the deadline is usually November 30 for the January MLK Day award.Future plans
There is a long history of plans for revision of the Seattle Center. In 2007, the 17 member Seattle Center Century 21 Committee appointed to consider potential changes presented a set of four plans.External links
- Guide to the Seattle Center Annual Reports 1966-(ongoing)
- Seattle Center Century 21 Committee
- "Seattle Center", p. 18–24 in Survey Report: Comprehensive Inventory of City-Owned Historic Resources, Seattle, Washington, Department of Neighborhoods (Seattle) Historic Preservation, offers an extremely detailed account of the history of the buildings and grounds.