Seattle Info
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
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 Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:10 pm Post subject: SHOPPING IN SEATTLE / SEATTLE SHOPPING GUIDE |
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SHOPPING IN SEATTLE
Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, REI -- these names are familiar to shoppers all across the country. They're also the names of stores that got their start here in Seattle, which has long been the place to shop in the Northwest. Throw in such regional favourites as Pendleton, Nike, and Filson, and you'll find that Seattle is a great place to shop, especially if you're in the market for recreational and outdoor gear and clothing.
As the Northwest's largest city, Seattle has also become home to all the national retail chains you would expect to find in a major metropolitan area. These chains have opened flashy stores and taken over many of the downtown storefronts. They include Banana Republic, Old Navy, Levi Strauss, Ann Taylor, Coach, St. John, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, and Barneys New York. If you forgot to pick up that dress in Chicago or those running shoes in New York, have no fear -- you can find them here.
Seattle does, however, have one last bastion of local merchandising: Pike Place Market. Whether shopping is your passion or just an occasional indulgence, you shouldn't miss this historic market, which is one of Seattle's top attractions. Once the city's main produce market (and quite a few produce stalls remain), this sprawling collection of buildings is today filled with hundreds of unusual shops, including the Magic Shop, for magicians and aspiring magicians (tel. 206/624-4271); Tenzing Momo, which sells body oils, incense, herbs, and the like (tel. 206/623-9837); the Rubber Rainbow Condom Co. (tel. 206/233-9502); the Women's Hall of Fame, a feminist bookstore (tel. 206/622-8427); and Left Bank Books, a bookstore for anarchists and their kin (tel. 206/622-0195).
After tasting the bounties of the Northwest, it's hard to go back to Safeway, Sanka, and Chicken of the Sea. Sure you can get wine, coffee, and seafood where you live, but do a little food shopping in Seattle and you'll be tapping into the source. Washington State wines, coffee from the original Starbucks, and fish that fly -- these are a just few of the culinary treats that await you here.
The Shopping Scene
Although Seattle is a city of neighbourhoods, many of which have great little shops, ground zero of the Seattle shopping scene is the corner of Pine Street and Fifth Avenue. Within 2 blocks of this intersection are two major department stores (Nordstrom and Macy's) and two upscale urban shopping malls (Westlake Center and Pacific Place). There's even a sky bridge between Nordstrom and Pacific Place to make your shopping that much easier. Fanning out east and south from this intersection are blocks of upscale stores that have begun to take on a very familiar look. Small local shops have been replaced by national and international boutiques and megastores; here in this neighbourhood, you now find Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Barneys New York, Coach, Gap, Max Mara, and Niketown. Among these, a few local independents remain.
Within this downtown shopping district, you also find the loosely affiliated shops of Rainier Square (www.rainier-square.com). Although not actually a shopping mall, Rainier Square, which is bordered by University and Union streets and Fourth and Sixth avenues, is packed with great upscale shops and boutiques, including Brooks Brothers, Louis Vuitton, Northwest Pendleton, and St. John.
The city's main tourist shopping district is the Pike Place Market neighbourhood, where there are dozens of T-shirt and souvenir shops, as well as import shops and stores appealing to teenagers and 20-somethings. Pike Place Market is a fascinating warren of cubbyholes that pass for shops. While produce isn't usually something you stock up on during a vacation, several market shops sell ethnic cooking supplies that are less perishable than a dozen oysters or a king salmon. You may not find anything here you really need, but it's fun to look (at least that's what millions of Seattle visitors each year seem to think).
Just west of Pike Place Market is the Seattle waterfront, site of many more gift and souvenir shops. This is the city's tackiest and most touristy neighbourhood--save your money for somewhere else.
South of downtown, in the historic Pioneer Square area, is the city's greatest concentration of art galleries, some of which specialise in Native American art. This neighbourhood has several antiques stores, but is also home to a dozen or more bars and attracts a lot of homeless people. It's fun to explore by day but strictly for young partiers by night.
As the centre of both the gay community and the city's youth culture, Capitol Hill has the most eclectic selection of shops in Seattle. Beads, imports, CDs, vintage clothing, politically correct merchandise and gay-oriented goods fill the shops along Broadway. Capitol Hill's main shopping plaza is the Broadway Market, which has lots of small shops.
The Fremont neighbourhood, just north of Lake Union, is filled with retro stores selling vintage clothing, curious crafts, and mid-20th-century furniture and collectibles. However, the neighbourhood is becoming gentrified, which has forced many of the smaller and more unusual shops out of the neighbourhood.
A couple of miles east of Fremont is the Wallingford neighbourhood, anchored by an old school building that has been converted into a shopping arcade with boutiques selling interesting crafts, fashions, and gifts.
The University District, also in North Seattle, has everything necessary to support a student population -- and also goes upscale at the University Village shopping centre. |
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