Overlook Stroll opens Friday, lastly linking Pike Place Market to the waterfront—no road crossing required.
One thing’s afoot by the water, and we do not imply Elliott Bay. When the Seattle Aquarium debuted its new Ocean Pavilion in August, it was a spectacular achievement—on the within. Now, Friday’s grand opening of the encompassing Overlook Stroll completes downtown’s latest evolution. In brief, now’s lastly the time to lastly go to.
Consider the Overlook Stroll as a pedestrian reimagining of the long-dead Viaduct. A Metropolis of Seattle park suspended over Elliott Means, it connects Pike Place Market’s MarketFront (say that 5 instances quick) with the waterfront sidewalk. It contains seating and native greenery on the roof of the brand new aquarium constructing in addition to steps and an elevator.
The Overlook Stroll results in the Seattle Aquarium’s new addition.
The Ocean Pavilion itself is a notable addition to the realm; its 50,000 sq. ft will increase the Seattle Aquarium measurement by 50 p.c. What’s extra, it has the swagger of recent, light-filled building, a distinction to the cavern-like constructing on Piers 59 and 60. For all of the allure of the contact tanks and indoor-outdoor circulate of the otter and sea lion displays, the 47-year-old aquarium feels newly thrust into the twenty-first century with the addition.
It helps that the brand new area is all in regards to the Coral Triangle, so there is a sturdy sense of the sunny South Pacific inside. (Sort of like a fast journey to Tahiti.) Its massive multistory tank—the Reef—has noticed eagle rays, brightly coloured fish, and a cool wanting bowmouth guitarfish that resembles a Dr. Seuss character. Altogether, it’s going to have greater than 100 species.
Inside, the Aquarium’s Ocean Pavilion reveals off South Pacific sea life.
However the Overlook Stroll grand opening additionally reveals a notable facet of the brand new constructing: a public-facing window. Whereas aquarium admission is required to get inside, everybody will get a peek on the Reef by the 17-foot opening. Although the aquarium expects a customer bump with their growth (do not forget that Washington residents get a reduction), the general public window reinforces the establishment’s academic identification, and the sustainable building and recycling water techniques converse to its environmental objectives. Town, a serious contributor to the funding, owns the constructing.
All collectively, it looks like town is lastly getting a style of the reimagined downtown that the Viaduct elimination was supposed to herald. Locals know snake down hidden stairwells from Pike Place Market to the waterfront, nevertheless it was by no means fairly. Whereas the Overlook Stroll will undoubtedly fill with vacationers, its fall debut implies that locals will get to interrupt it in—earlier than subsequent cruise season washes up on our shores.
