Sky View Observatory

The Columbia Center is the talelst building in Seattle, and second only to the U.S. Bank Tower in L.A. on the West Coast.

(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)

The building itself is an impressive sight from the outside.


Columbia Center


Columbia Center

But it also has a wonderful observatory -- the Sky View Observatory, which offers panoramic and breathtaking views of Seattle and surrounding areas. One day during lunch I went up there (in fact, I ate my lunch in the same building as well).


View from Sky View Observatory (looking north, with Seattle downtown and Space Needle in view)


View from Sky View Observatory (looking southwest, with Seattle Harbor Island in view)


View from Sky View Observatory (looking north, with Seattle downtown and Space Needle in view)


View from Sky View Observatory (looking northwest, with Puget Sound and Seattle downtown in view and the Olympic Mountains in the distance)


View from Sky View Observatory (looking west, with Pudet Sound in view and the Olympic Mountains in the distance)

Inside the observatory, there is a mural of famous people from Seattle. It is amusing to see Bruce Lee in the center, pushing aside even Bill Gates.


Mural with Bruce Lee

The nice thing about the Sky View Observatory is that you can buy a day ticket and go back again. This I did, at sunset.


View from Sky View Observatory (looking southwest with part of Seattle, Tacoma in the foreground and Mount Rainier in the distance)


View from Sky View Observatory (looking southwest with part of Seattle, Tacoma in the foreground and Mount Rainier in the distance)

To take full advantage of our day ticket, we lingered until after sunset, when the city glows in the dark.


Seattle skyline at night from Sky View Observatory


Seattle skyline at night from Sky View Observatory



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