Photo of the Overlook Walk. The walk is on the right with people walking, In the middle is a row of vegetation, On the the left is a view down to Puget Sound.

Picture, if you will, a renovated waterfront. The Overlook Walk between Pike Place Market and the waterfront opened October 4th. The Urbanist has a detailed description. I took a walk on it two days later, on Sunday in the late afternoon. This photo was by Martin Pagel on opening day, but the crowd was similar when I went. Is it like the High Line in New York City? I’ve never seen the High Line so I can’t compare, but I hope it becomes as popular. It might be something to do this holiday weekend.

From Pike Place Market street level west of Stewart Street, there’s a new plaza deck at the back of the market overlooking the waterfront. A stairway goes down to the walk, or use the walk’s eastern elevator to go down one level. The walk itself is a switchback promenade with a white concrete surface. A lot of people were promenading everywhere. Along the walk are two wider concrete plazas that could be used for small events. The walk ends on the roof of a new Aquarium building, its third building with additional exhibits. A second stairway goes down one level to the waterfront street, or use the walk’s western elevator.

The waterfront street is Alaskan Way or Dzidzilalich (dᶻidᶻəlɑl’ič), the name of a former Native American village there, meaning “little crossing-over place”. (Here’s a Lushootseed pronunciation guide if you need it.)

At the bottom of the walk is the Aquarium. The next pier north is Pier 62, which is now a flat plaza with a wood-plank surface. Alongside the pier a gangplank goes down to a floating dock. The dock is the closest I’ve ever been to the water in the central waterfront; it reminded me of the docks in Kirkland’s Marina Park. Both the dock and the gangplank sway with the waves, so that may be too much for some people. I held on to the gangplank railing while I went down and up.

The next pier north of that is the cruise ship terminal, and a ship was in. I didn’t realize the terminal was so close to Pike Place Market; I thought it was further north.

South of the Aquarium is where the future Waterfront Park will be, but it’s still a closed construction site. You can see a metal sculpture in the middle.

To get back up to the Market, I could go back the way I came. Or I could cross Alaskan Way to the eastern side and go directly to the walk’s eastern elevator. Or I could find the old elevator on the east side that goes from inside a parking garage to inside the Market. I didn’t see the entrance to it but I assume it’s still there somewhere. There’s another new elevator at Union Street, but it only goes up to Western Avenue, and it was broken the last time i tried it. A bit further south is the the Harbor Steps elevator. There the one-block walk to Western Avenue is flat, and the elevator is inside a building on the east side of Western, and goes up to the Harbor Steps apartment plaza on 1st Avenue. But I decided to see the new ferry terminal and its skybridge on Marion Street.

The ferry terminal elevator is just south of the skybridge. At the bridge level, the bridge continues west to the terminal and east to 1st Avenue. A pair of overhead signs say “Marion Street, 1st Avenue” and “Link Light Rail, 3rd Avenue”. I walked to 1st, not looking forward to the steep two blocks up to 3rd. On the right I saw the RapidRide C station on the next block and thought about taking it but decided not to.

Then I remembered that RapidRide G exists now. On 1st Avenue I went 1 1/2 blocks north to the station. This was my second trip on the G. The bus was only 2 minutes late, which was better than its initial performance. It sat for two more minutes while a second Metro person in front advised the driver. I’m not sure if it was a driver switch or a consultation. In the downtown segment, people got on at almost every stop, and the bus got stopped every block by a red light. But after walking I was just glad to sit down and have a bus take me up the hill eventually. I got off at Boyleston. The display said the second bus would come in 4 minutes (normally 15), so there’s still some bunching.

Musical accompaniment: All the Cats Join In, Catherine Russell version. “So rip, everybody swing, yeah swing, till the rafters ring, and all the cats join in.” As you swing around the switchbacks along the walk, or sway on the dock with the waves.

43 Replies to “Impressions of the Overlook Walk”

  1. “A lot of people were promenading everywhere.”

    I love this sentence. Evocative of 4th grade gym class, when they made us square-dance, co-ed. “Do-si-do your partner!. Do-si-do your corner! Promenade!”

    Though I like your swing accompaniment better.

  2. The Overlook Walk is amazing! What a great asset to the city. I’ve been going there on my lunch breaks. The unobstructed views of Puget Sound to the west and the city skyline to the east are unprecedented. I can’t wait to see it at night!

    1. Concur. I’ve only been there once, but it is great. I’m looking forward to spending more time there.

      I do think the promenade along the waterfront has a bit too much concrete. I would have preferred more actual landscaping, but oh well.

  4. Two details that got lost in editing: if you look at the walk from the water’s edge, the side wall is a brown wood design. And there’s a niche in the wall with amphitheater seating facing the water, that I imagine could be used as a small performance stage.

    1. The side walls in many places consist of wooden slabs attached at an angle with a gap between each slab.

      My first thought upon seeing this was, “are swallows going to nest in there?”

      My second thought was, “will yellow jackets make nests in there?”

      1. I thought it was a great idea: With the angle, water can easily run off and the wood can dry, but it still protects the outside of the building from rain hitting it directly.

  5. Didn’t they open it in October and not September.? I’m confused. Isn’t there a huge Ferris wheel near that area? I’m new to Washington.

    1. It was October; I corrected the article. The ferris wheel is the Big Wheel; it’s a couple piers south of the Aquarium.

    1. There are porta-potties on Pier 62. Otherwise there are two or three restrooms in Pike Place Market on the floor below street level.

      1. Sad that this seventy million dollar package couldn’t come with a public restroom. I work at a store nearby and folx are always asking for one. We do not have one and they don’t believe us.

      2. There are facilities on the pier, although temporary. There are more waterfront projects still being built, so one of them might have restrooms. The facilities on the pier may be a stopgap.

      3. There is a public restroom facility being built across from Pier 58. You can currently see the framing for it being completed. It should open by the end of Winter.

    2. Miners landing has bathrooms, as does the ferry terminal. And many of the restaurants along the promenade will let you use theirs if you ask nice enough ;)

  7. “The dock is the closest I’ve ever been to the water in the central waterfront; it reminded me of the docks in Kirkland’s Marina Park.”

    Only place you can get closer without falling in is the “Pocket Beach” area north of the sculpture garden.

    1. There is also a pocket beach just south of the ferry terminal which you can touch the water and find a moment of calm

    2. Yeah, I forgot that was officially called “Pocket Beach”. It is essentially part of Myrtle Edwards, which has a long stretch of beach from Belltown to Pier 90. It is interrupted by the grain terminal and a fishing dock but otherwise you can follow the water the whole way. Much of it is breakwater rocks, but there are gaps. I haven’t been there when the tide is out (I don’t know if you can easily walk along the short or not).

      The beach that Matthew mentioned is a new addition (if I’m not mistaken) and sounds great. I think the area around Pike Place gets a lot of the publicity but the area around Pioneer Square also looks much better. It is too bad there are all the lanes of cars — that is mostly due to the (car) ferry.

    3. Yes, I’ve been to the small rocky beach in Myrtle Edwards Park, that was built as part of the waterfront renovation at the same time as the Sculpture Park. It’s not the same thing as being right next to the central downtown buildings though, which is what I was talking about.

      The southern beach between Yesler Way and S Washington St was built more recently, during/after the Viaduct demolition. I’ve walked outside it and it seems there’s hardly anything there. So I would look at it when you’re in Pioneer Square anyway, not make a special trip to it like we did.

  8. Thanks for your work, Mike. Are there/will there be seating areas where those who use a cane can sit and rest? How ADA compliant overall is the project?

    2. I went again yesterday and took my roommate. I couldn’t remember how much seating there was on the walk or how full it would be, so we got sandwiches at Michou’s and sat down at the first bench we could find, on the street-level plaza above the walk, a small 2-person bench facing sideways (so missing the view). Afterward we went down to the walk and found two very long benches built into the wall, and there several empty spaces on them even though the entire walk was more crowded than last week (or the photo).

      I also saw a group of terraced seating at the bottom of the walk (the aquarium roof level), accessed from the top of the seating. And at street level on Alaskan Way, another group of terraced seating. Those two could be the same, but it looked like they were different.

      I don’t know specifically what disabled users would require, but I think any of the benches in the first paragraph would be OK. And the one at Alaskan Way street level, maybe the bottom row (although there may be a step).

      Pier 62 didn’t have any seating that I noticed. (I looked to see if could have had lunch there, but it seemed to be standing only.) The pier seems to have different activities available every day. There’s a small green astroturf field, and an oversized chess set and checkers set on the ground. And the row of porta-potties, including what looked like a portable toilet building.

      The eastern elevator is well marked with a large arrow and sign “Elevator” on the side. The western elevator isn’t marked, so look for the gray outdoor shaft.

      1. Pier 62 has so much seating! Chairs around 10+ tables and several wheelchair accessible tables as well. There are several lounge benches lined up at the end of the Pier as well. So much seating is available on Pier 62. It’s kind of remarkable that you didn’t notice ANY seating, especially if you walked on to the Pier to see the turf field and large game sets…. ?

  9. Downtown Seattle;
    Bring more retail, restaurants, bars!
    Why can’t Seattle have a Primark store or Aldi’s market..
    Primark could of taken over closed up macy*s!

    1. Aldi’s is up to the owner. Trader Joe’s is owned by the same person as Aldi’s. It’s a different concept and not as cheap, but it has items that are a level above a discount supermarket at the same price. E.g., nothing has high-fructose corn syrup, so you don’t have to go looking through all the ingredient labels trying to find the few tubs of ice cream that don’t.

      I’ve never heard of Primark; what is it?

      Central Co-Op will return to the second Rainier Square building (4th & Union) that it opened for a year or two and then closed. The new supermarket incarnation will be smaller than the previous one, as some of the space will be the co-op’s offices.

      WinCo is eying the former Sam’s Club/Price Savers space at 135th & Aurora. I’ve heard WinCo is the lowest-cost supermarket in the region. My roommate has gone to the one in north Kent, but when I was there and looked to see where it is, I couldn’t find it.

      The office ghetto between Pike Street and Yesler Way needs more retail and housing to give people a reason to go there, and so it doesn’t become a ghost town at 5 pm.

      Everyone hopes 3rd Avenue retail will revive someday and the city will succeed in containing/dispersing the sketchy people and deterring the stolen-goods salesmen. So far it’s still a work in progress.

      2. Correct, Al, the brothers split their territories into two when they inherited the company (North and South Germany but also various countries/brands).
        Mike, Aldi is actually lower price than Trader Joes and smaller footprint. Unlike most American stores, they offer the basics and fewer options but the stores are less overwhelming and in many urban neighborhoods – designed much more for walk/roll than huge car lots.

      3. I’ve only seen one Aldi, in Ratingen (Germany). it’s different from any American supermarket: the staff put the boxes or shrink-wrapped cases on the shelf and just cut the lid off, and the selection is limited, and the prices are remarkably low. I knew Aldi Süd has opened stores in the US, but not anywhere I’ve been.

        Trader Joe’s selection/prices are more like Costco: many items are a step above regular supermarkets at the same price; for instance, ice cream or bread without high-fructose corn syrup.

    2. Uniqlo is already taking up two floors of the Bon Marché building. And the rest is office space.

  11. Great article Mike. I made it down yesterday afternoon. Stunning October afternoon.

    The promenade is world class, something you would see in Barcelona. I didn’t see any drugs or street people but I do think police should be able to remove people playing “music” who can’t play and are just begging loudly.

    We had some beers and Bolivian food at Copacabana overlooking the market. I agree they should ban cars. The only cars I saw drive through were Alki wanna be beaters with young men in sweatshirts with the sleeves cut off driving through the market repeatedly. There is a massive parking garage along the western edge of the market that is only $5/hr. with elevators and stairs into the market

    We then walked down to Ivars for happy hour clams and beers and watched college football at the bar. Really incredible. Seattle has such bones.

    Walking back to Belltown we went up Pike to 4th. My fear is the retailers will feel the city abandoned them for their shiny new park and promenade. 3rd is a no man’s land like a DMZ and east of 3rd was dead.

    I understand the city is down 500 police officers and can’t hire any but it is ridiculous that 10 years later the city still has not cleaned up the Pike/Pine corridor and connected the convention center to Westlake to the Market to the waterfront park.

    Where is Harrell? This was a goal in the early 1990’s under Norm Rice This corridor should be priority number 1. I don’t care if they have to go Chicago style police on the bad guys something has to be done.

    To have a huge cruise ship parked across the promenade and thousands of people milling around with money but no safe way to get to Westlake Center or the retail is mind blowing. I just don’t get it. The promenade cost $70 million and yet the city can’t clean up existing streets along Pike to connect the convention center, Westlake, the Market and waterfront. Instead Harrell and Constantine talk about a pipe dream utopia next to CID N/S when there won’t be a second tunnel or CID N/S.

    1. Thanks, and I’m glad you enjoyed the new amenities.

      When we were walking on Pike around 1st and 2nd, I noticed an unusually large number of middle-class/ordinary pedestrians that seemed enough to overwhelm and drive away the sketchy people that could have been there. So that’s what downtown overall needs.

      Pike Place Market and 1st Avenue south of there has had a complete retail revival since at least 2022. Since the Overlook Walk and waterfront are adjacent to it, the success has just expanded to there. And the cruise ship is just a block away.

      So there’s that bubble of success, but then the challenged 3rd Avenue where a couple entire block-rows of storefronts are closed, and then retail to from 3th to 7th (Pacific Place) is still struggling with an unusual number of empty storefronts.

      So the solution is to keep and expand the the success bubble where there’s low-hanging fruit (the walk and waterfront), and to try to improve the retail district east of it.

      “east of 3rd was dead”

      What exactly do you mean? 3rd has entire block-rows of storefronts closed, but east of it has live retailers in every block, even if some scattered storefronts are closed (and half of Pacific Place is empty). The businesses are challenged but not dead. Middle-class pedestrians have returned to Pine Street between 4th and 7th; I see them every day.

      There’s also a new Museum of Illusions at 5th & Union, which I want to visit someday.

    2. “To have a huge cruise ship parked across the promenade and thousands of people milling around with money but no safe way to get to Westlake Center or the retail is mind blowing.”

      Westlake is just a mall. I’ve not seen any stores there that cruise ship passengers couldn’t find back home, or more likely buy online. The unique stuff is mostly in Pike Place, along the waterfront, and to some extent along First. CID also has unique things. Capitol Hill, Fremont and Ballard all have stuff that’s more unique than Westlake.

    3. I walked from the waterfront near the cruise ship, up the promenade, through Pike Place, and all the way up Pike to Capital Hill and never felt even remotely unsafe, other than some dude on Capital Hill playing an aggressive form of basketball imagining all the pedestrians as his defenders. More funny than alarming.

      I did see a bit of congregation at Pine and 3rd, but easily avoided if it makes you feel nervous. The sidewalks were absolutely bustling with tourists. Remarkable for mid-October.

    4. I have been going up and down Pine Street between Capitol Hill and downtown almost every day for twenty years, and less often for forty years. I’ve never found the sketchy people or homeless people to be more than an annoyance. The worst I’ve gotten is a few people swearing at me if I don’t give them money, or people who talk to themselves nonstop. That and a few smells or occasional drug smoke.

      The “unsafe” perception goes that people will attack you or kill you every day, but that’s 90% overblown. Some people call the sight of even one unpleasant person “unsafe” even though it’s not really a safety issue.

      The number of sketchy people and their behavior varies day by day, so some days it’s worse, other days it’s better. Some days may give the impression everything is mostly fine; other days there are fifty people loitering on a block.

      They also concentrate on a different block on different days. It’s all between 2nd-4th-Pine-Union though, so you can simply go around those blocks, as I sometimes do if I’m in a contrary mood. You can go up Union Street or Stewart Street/Olive Way to avoid them. 2nd Avenue has far fewer than 3rd. 4th Avenue has fewer still.

      You could also carry a whistle and blow it if anybody bothers you more than a one-off swearing. That should deter them.

  12. Does Seattle have a Hop On Hop Off bus? It would connect cruise ships South Lake Union to Pioneer Square/Stadiums, and from Waterfront/Ferries to International District.

    I’ve ridden them in San Francisco – great way to Hop On to ‘tour’ the city and Hop Off to shop, stroll, eat, etc.

    1. Grey Line has a couple of different types of tours like that, but at $59 they’re not exceptionally economical.

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