Unusual Things Around Seattle

An Overview of Seattle

Seattle is a bustling city surrounded by the waters of Puget Sound, vast evergreen forests and huge swaths of outdoor parklands. The city is known as a hub for the United State’s booming tech industry, with Microsoft and Amazon headquartered in the city. Also famous for its unique culture, a heavy grunge-music scene, a robust coffee-appreciation and numerous outdoor activities, there are many unusual things to do in Seattle.

Unusual Things Around Seattle

Fremont Troll

This underpass monster is a concrete layer over the corpse of a VW Bug.  The Troll is a famous feature which continually grows as more concrete layers are added to cover graffiti.  The troll is one of the more unusual things around Seattle to visit. Climbing on it is encouraged. 

Sound Garden

The Sound Garden is a huge musical art and music installation which creates musical murmurs and whistles as wind blows through them.  There are other artworks around here on the NOAA campus which merit a visit. Campus visitations are free but entry requires a photo ID.

Seattle Pinball Museum

This is an active pinball museum where people can play the archaic games for just a few coins.

Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden

A Rhododendron is a species of flowering woody plants and shrubs found in the heath family. The beautiful plants have an enormous garden showcasing numerous species and colors.

Magnuson Park Fin Art

Magnuson Park Fin Art is a strange larger-than-life recycled art field which uses metal arcs to create rising shark fins across a grassy plain.

Freeway Park Brutalist Masterpiece

Found in Freeway Park, this unique artwork is a stunning brutalist series of stark concrete platforms. This landscape architecture was created by Lawrence Halprin and Angela Danadijieva.

Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Café

This cat café allows guests to spend time with feline companions by reservation. The center is especially popular for it’s artisinal coffees, which often pours foam into the shapes of cat-paws or whiskered kittens.

Salty Dog Pottery Studio

The Salty Dog Pottery Studio is a famous counter-culture pottery studio created out of a foreclosed bakery in 1975.  It serves as a cheap-and-functional artist squat for painters, muralists and sculptors. 

Bruce Lee’s Gravesite

Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong and American martial artist who brought international recognition to martial arts through his acting, directing and philosophies. He founded a unique hybrid martial arts discipline known as Jeet Kune Do, which eventually influenced a wide range of modern mixed martial arts. His grave rests next to his son, Brandon, in Seattle.

The Official Bad Art Museum of Art (OBAMA)

Located inside Café Racer, this museum and coffee shop has absurd paintings that are purposely sub-par.  Paint-by-numbers, children creations, slap-dash artworks and unusual menu items are all location hallmarks. 

Gum Wall

This is a truly disgusting public artwork.  Located in an alley near Pike Place, the Wall of Gum is a colorful, chewed-gum display coating an entire section of the street.  It’s an intriguing sight and concerningly pleasant smell. Despite being a bit gross as an art attraction, this is one of the more unusual things around Seattle.

Beacon Food Forest

Located on Beacon Hill, this neighborhood provides a unique educational foraging project.  Visitors can wander through the park while picking and eating a wide range of berries and greens. 

Add-a-Ball Bar and Arcade

This is a low-key, retro arcade with pinball machines, coffees, and beers.

Franklin Falls

Franklin Falls is an amazing and gorgeous woodland hike culminating at an impressive waterfall that can be easily accessed. The trail leading up to the falls is easy to reach and the waterfall itself crashes into a shallow, rocky pool.

Gas Works Park

Overlooking the Seattle Skyline via a smooth lake, this park is decorated with the massive structures of a coal gasification plant.  The rusted structures standing on open fields are visually impressive. Additionally, local geese seem to really enjoy the area.

Lake Serene

A stunning alpine body of water, Lake Serene is one of the cleanest, most picturesque swimming lakes in the entire United States. It’s a popular area for kayaking, hiking, fishing and swimming.

National Nordic Musuem

This unique museum focuses on Nordic history, art, culture and heritage. The museum overlooks the waters of Salmon Bay.

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific

This is a strange and interesting Asian heritage Museum which focuses on the culture, traditions, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans

Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square is Seattle’s oldest neighborhood with interesting outdoor galleries, cafes and book stores.  The area also contains the Klondike Gold Rush Museum, which is a must-visit for any Jack London fans. 

Chihuly Garden and Glass

This permanent exhibit inside the Seattle Center next to the Space Needle showcases the stunning glass designs of Dale Chihuly. There are bright, impossibly twisty glass sculptures found both inside and outside the venue.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery near Capitol Hill

This is the de facto capital location to get a Starbucks Coffee. The interior is decorated with almost-Steampunk-looking coffee-making equipment. The site is quite popular and there’s often a line waiting to order.

Full Tilt Ice Cream Parlor and Pinball Arcade

This is an Ice Cream shop which includes vegan options, soda and beers and a small space set aside for arcade games and pinball machines.

Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks

This is a complex locks leading into Salmon Bay. Passage is free to all vessels. The Locks were cleverly designed to prevent salt water from Puget Sound from mingling with fresh water from the lakes. The locks include a special fish ladder which allows salmon to migrate upstream. King Salmon can be seen migrating from July through November, with the largest crowds seen during the last two weeks of August. Meanwhile, Silver Salmon can be seen August through November, with the most popular viewing time being the last two weeks of September.

MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture)

This is a strange contemporary museum of clashing blends with interactive exhibits allowing a person to perform in a personal rock band or view the Fantasy Hall of Fame regarding musical counter-culture. 

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

This is a 75 minute underground tour wandering sections of subterranean Seattle, following ruins buried in the aftermath of a massive fire in 1889.

The Spheres

A trinity of hyper-modern glass orbs sit in front of the Amazon office building. The orbs contain lush botanical gardens, allowing Seattle workers to walk-through and work-within a rainforest greenhouse.

Olympic Sculpture Park

This outdoor park created by the Seattle Art Museum is a modern sculpture area with an indoor pavilion, a beach on Puget Sound and several sculptures on uniquely-designed landscapes.

Alki Flower Houses

This local gem blooms to colorful life each summer as flowers blossom along the house’s walls, roof and awning.

Read more about unusual things around Seattle and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Blog.

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