Downtown Seattle | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Downtown Seattle, 2023 | |
 Downtown Seattle and Downtown Neighborhoods Highlighted in Yellow | |
| Coordinates:47°36′29″N122°20′10″W / 47.60806°N 122.33611°W /47.60806; -122.33611 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | King |
| City | Seattle |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| Zip Code | 98121 |
| Area Code | 206 |
| Website | downtownseattle.org |
Downtown is thecentral business district ofSeattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S.West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east byhills, on the west byElliott Bay, and on the south byreclaimed land that was oncetidal flats. It is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which areLower Queen Anne (sometimes known as "Uptown"),Seattle Center, andSouth Lake Union; on the east byInterstate 5, beyond which isCapitol Hill to the northeast andCentral District to the east; on the south by S Dearborn Street, beyond which isSodo; and on the west by Elliott Bay, a part ofPuget Sound.
Belltown,Denny Triangle, the retail district, the West Edge, the financial district, the government district,Pioneer Square,Chinatown, Japantown, Little Saigon, and the western flank ofFirst Hill west ofBroadway make up downtown Seattle's chief neighborhoods. Near the center of downtown is theMetropolitan Tract which is owned by theUniversity of Washington; prior to 1895 it served as the location of the university's campus. Downtown is Seattle's financial and commercial maritime hub as well as its center of nightlife and shopping. The downtown shopping mallWestlake Center is connected toSeattle Center by amonorail.
Downtown Seattle'sColumbia Center has 76 floors, a greater number than any other building west of theMississippi River (although there are taller buildings inTexas andCalifornia).Smith Tower, in the Pioneer Square area, once held the title of tallest American building west of the Mississippi. Other notable buildings are the1201 Third Avenue (formerly the Washington Mutual Tower),Two Union Square,Nordstrom'sflagship store,Benaroya Hall, theSeattle Central Library designed byRem Koolhaas, and the main building of theSeattle Art Museum (built 1991, expanded 2007), the main facade of which was designed byRobert Venturi. Downtown parks includeWestlake Park,Freeway Park, andVictor Steinbrueck Park. TheOlympic Sculpture Park was completed on the Belltown waterfront in January 2007. Downtown is also home to the landmarkPike Place Market, the oldest continually operatingfarmers' market in the United States and the core of activity in the area.
The neighborhood had dozens ofstreet clocks in the early 20th century to advertise businesses; by 1950, only 24 were left in the entire city. As of 2024[update], downtown has four remaining street clocks.[1]
After abandoning "New York Alki", theDenny Party moved across the then-namedDuwamish Bay in April 1852 to a low level marsh situated with a safe deep water harbor, located roughly in the city'sPioneer Square district. They named this new frontier "Duwamps".[2] In the late 1850s, present day downtown Seattle became the main residential outskirts of the city.[3] After theGreat Seattle Fire, the business district was moved to the area.[4] Several of thecity's hills around downtown wereregraded starting around 1876.[5]
With about 65,000 people living in Seattle's core neighborhoods as of 2015, the downtown area's population is growing. Downtown saw a 10 percent increase in the number of occupied housing units and an 8 percent increase in population between 2010 and 2014, outpacing growth in the city as a whole.[6] As of the end of 2014, there were 32 apartment and 2 condominium projects under construction, representing over 5,000 units.[7]
In 1989, building heights in Downtown and adjoining Seattle suburbs were tightly restricted following a voter initiative. These restrictions were dramatically loosened in 2006, leading to the increase in high-rise construction. This policy change has divided commentators between those who support the increased density and those who criticize it as "Manhattanization."[8]
As of 2018[update], Downtown Seattle has 82,000 residents and 300,000 jobs, including 48,000 added since 2010 in the Denny Triangle area. The downtown area has 71 million square feet (6,600,000 m2) of office space, representing 79 percent of citywide inventory and 55 percent of commercial properties in the city.[9] Office construction continues apace in Downtown Seattle, with 6.4 million square feet (590,000 m2) planned to open in 2019, along with 161 projects.[10][11]
Downtown Seattle is the largest employment center in thePuget Sound region, with an estimated employee population of 243,995 in 2013, accounting for half of the city's jobs and 21 percent of King County jobs.[12] There are severalFortune 500 companies headquartered in Downtown Seattle, includingAmazon,Nordstrom, andExpeditors International.[13] South Korean online retailerCoupang moved their headquarters from Seoul to Downtown Seattle in 2022.[14]
TheUnited States Postal Service operates the Seattle Main Post Office (also known as the Midtown Post Office[15]) at 301 Union Street at Third Avenue.[16][17]Seattle City Hall is located at 600 4th Ave,[18] adjacent to theKing County Courthouse. Downtown is serviced by theDowntown Seattle Transit Tunnel, which carriesLink light rail trains between Westlake and Chinatown–International District. The terminus for the Seattle Center Monorail is located at Westlake Center. A large number of bus lines also run through; those operated byMetro were previously free of charge while in the now-defunctRide Free Area.[19] Other buses from the suburbs operated bySound Transit Express andCommunity Transit also terminate in downtown.[20][21]
Media related toDowntown, Seattle, Washington at Wikimedia Commons
Seattle/Downtown travel guide from Wikivoyage