Sunday was a beautiful blue-sky day.
I took the No 10 bus to Westlake Center, and from there, the Monorail to the Space Needle, so that I could walk around Climate Pledge Arena.
Just departed West Lake Center on the monorail train. Look for the Space Needle in the distance.Arrived at the Space Needle. Climate Pledge Arena is just a short walk away.I walked through the Seattle Armory building on the way to the Arena. Originally built in 1939 as the old Armory Building, it housed the 146th Field Artillery and its half-ton tanks. It now houses a food court and a little bit of some entertainment for families (games to play and a few TV screens).The trees are bare — and the shadows are already long, even though it’s only 3.15 pm or so! The Pacific Science Center in the distance.Food vendors at Seattle Center are connecting their offerings to the new Seattle Kraken franchise.All right, here is the first view of the Climate Pledge Arena, this from its southeast corner.Looking back at the Space Needle. The Arena and the Needle were both conceived and constructed for the 1962 World’s Fair.Rounding the corner to the side facing 1st Ave N in Uptown, the neighborhood just south of Queen Anne. The roof looks heavy and is heavy: 44 million pounds or 22,000 tons (20 million kg or 20,000 metric tons).Mt Baker (10,781′/ 3 286 m) is up north in Washington State near the Canadian border. The mosaic artwork is by artists Laura Hadad and Tom Drugan. That would be the Stanley Cup, and ribbons and rainbows morphing into tentacles, lashing at an ill-fated wooden ship on the oceans.The center support beams, seen from 1st Ave N.These black window frames (and window panes, I think) from the old Key Arena were salvaged and reused.From the north side, one can stand on a low wall and peer into the bowl with the ice-rink bottom. The enormous LCD screen (46 ft wide by 25 ft high) is playing clips of local interest, and commercials. Just a few hours later, at 6.00 pm, the Seattle Kraken took on the New York Rangers right there on the ice. The Kraken lost 1-3.Almost back to the corner where I had started.Looking back at the Arena, as I enter Seattle Center park to walk back to the Monorail station.Beautiful Art Deco entrance to the Armory building.And here is the monorail train that will run back to Westlake Center. It’s just 1.3 miles, and there are two trains, so they arrive and depart every two minutes or so from each end.Arriving at Westlake Center, and peeking through the skylight before stepping off the train. On the right is the new 58-story Rainier Square Tower, 850-foot (260 m) tall.
