A couple people have mentioned that another route from 3rd to 4th is via the Black Box, aka the Box the Space Needle Came In, aka the SeaFirst Building, aka Safeco Plaza. And, this one is all escalator, no stairs!
My daily commute is from 9th and Cherry down to 1st and Cherry. Except for rain slicked bricks that make up the sidewalk next to Columbian Tower this isn't too much of a problem. The reverse commute, straight up Cherry from 1st to 9th is a bear, however. I usually cut into the Columbia Tower on the Fourth Avenue entrance and take the escalators up three floors the the Five Avenue exit. Then I cross the street, enter the 5th Avenue side of the Municipal Tower and take the elevator up three floors to the Plaza level. Then it is a level walk to 6th Ave. But no rest for the weary after that! Cherry from 6th to 9th is brutally steep but I'll take whatever shortcuts I can before then. Glad our office towers are open again post-pandemic. There was a period of time where I had to walk the entire slope because the towers were closed to all but tenants.
Jun 22, 2023·edited Jun 23, 2023Liked by David B. Williams
alternative to: “ 3. Cross the street and enter 4th and Madison Building and its lovely marble and granite lobby. This is the one spot where you will need to go up stairs (6 of them). There is an elevator on the south side of the building, too.”
and staying 100% escalator: Go to Seafirst Tower on opposite corner to north and take escalator maze to 4th Ave.
in addition one can:
from library on 5th walk to rainier tower plaza, take escalator (down) to pcc/tunnel level
or
walk directly to tunnel entrance right of 5th ave theater, then
at end of tunnel take esclator up thru one union square (the shorter building)
walk over to two union the taller one and take escalator to freeway park.
ps: tunnel recently was closed for some maintenance.
Thanks for the story about ascending the hills. When I was a pre-teen, my father sometimes worked Saturdays at his downtown office in the Arcade Building, at 2nd and Union (now long-since replaced). He would take me along and I’d roam the streets from Pine to Madison, 1st to 6th. I, too, discovered the elevator pathways up the hill. I got to 6th & Madison, one block higher than you describe, via the Federal Courthouse elevator. But now, in the age of security, I don’t know if the 6th Avenue entrance is usable, or if people (of any age) can roam freely through the halls, especially on weekends.
I have been credited, falsely, for some of that security. On February 17, 1970, protesters gathered at the courthouse in response to the jailing of the Chicago 7 Conspiracy defendants. Police attacked, and a riot ensued. Eight activists, myself among them, were charged in Seattle with conspiracy to cause damage to federal property. But I had been in California that week. My lawyer said in court, "If Roger Lippman threw a rock at a Seattle police officer on that date, he should be immediately hired by a major league baseball team, because it was the longest throw in history."
A couple people have mentioned that another route from 3rd to 4th is via the Black Box, aka the Box the Space Needle Came In, aka the SeaFirst Building, aka Safeco Plaza. And, this one is all escalator, no stairs!
My daily commute is from 9th and Cherry down to 1st and Cherry. Except for rain slicked bricks that make up the sidewalk next to Columbian Tower this isn't too much of a problem. The reverse commute, straight up Cherry from 1st to 9th is a bear, however. I usually cut into the Columbia Tower on the Fourth Avenue entrance and take the escalators up three floors the the Five Avenue exit. Then I cross the street, enter the 5th Avenue side of the Municipal Tower and take the elevator up three floors to the Plaza level. Then it is a level walk to 6th Ave. But no rest for the weary after that! Cherry from 6th to 9th is brutally steep but I'll take whatever shortcuts I can before then. Glad our office towers are open again post-pandemic. There was a period of time where I had to walk the entire slope because the towers were closed to all but tenants.
alternative to: “ 3. Cross the street and enter 4th and Madison Building and its lovely marble and granite lobby. This is the one spot where you will need to go up stairs (6 of them). There is an elevator on the south side of the building, too.”
and staying 100% escalator: Go to Seafirst Tower on opposite corner to north and take escalator maze to 4th Ave.
in addition one can:
from library on 5th walk to rainier tower plaza, take escalator (down) to pcc/tunnel level
or
walk directly to tunnel entrance right of 5th ave theater, then
at end of tunnel take esclator up thru one union square (the shorter building)
walk over to two union the taller one and take escalator to freeway park.
ps: tunnel recently was closed for some maintenance.
Austin
Thanks for the story about ascending the hills. When I was a pre-teen, my father sometimes worked Saturdays at his downtown office in the Arcade Building, at 2nd and Union (now long-since replaced). He would take me along and I’d roam the streets from Pine to Madison, 1st to 6th. I, too, discovered the elevator pathways up the hill. I got to 6th & Madison, one block higher than you describe, via the Federal Courthouse elevator. But now, in the age of security, I don’t know if the 6th Avenue entrance is usable, or if people (of any age) can roam freely through the halls, especially on weekends.
I have been credited, falsely, for some of that security. On February 17, 1970, protesters gathered at the courthouse in response to the jailing of the Chicago 7 Conspiracy defendants. Police attacked, and a riot ensued. Eight activists, myself among them, were charged in Seattle with conspiracy to cause damage to federal property. But I had been in California that week. My lawyer said in court, "If Roger Lippman threw a rock at a Seattle police officer on that date, he should be immediately hired by a major league baseball team, because it was the longest throw in history."