Long before
Bellevue had them, the art of the “skybridge” was practiced in Seattle. Check out the vintage 50′s/60′s photo from Max R.
Jensen showing the Bon Marche to parking garage link.
Here is the modern day view. Click for the high res.
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| Seattle’s Third Avenue (looking south) between Stewart and Pine Streets is flanked by The Bon Marche department store and a 10-story, self-parking garage, both linked by an enclosed bridge across the street. Towering in back the new Washington Building and Northern Life Tower. Color photo by Max R. Jensen. |
Seeing this instantly brought back childhood memories of going downtown with my mom. Although I’m too young to have been alive when this photo was taken, every time my mom took me shopping downtown when I was little, we would park in that garage and walk across that sky bridge to the Bon. The sky bridge put you into their housewares department and you’d have to pass the blenders, etc to get to the escalator. After shopping, we stopped by a little window, showed our receipts and received little coins that could be used to pay for the parking in the garage. I think they could also be used for other things like the bus, but I’m not sure. Do they still have those coins? And if not, when did they get rid of them? Does anyone else remember those?
I too love this picture, as my favorite building – the Seattle Tower – is prominent in this photo.
There were a few more around Seattle that are now gone, and a few more that are new…
Gone? There was one that connected the “financial Center” with what was at the time the Westin Olympic, crossing 4th. Rarely used, it is hard to spot the evidance today. If you look VERY carefully at the second story west facing arch windows…
Other skybridges include the one that runs from First Ave, under the viaduct to the WSF Coleman Dock, and a few up at the Swedish campus. Threre is one that connects the County Admin bldg with the Jail 12 floors above us… and the one that connects Nordies with Pacific Place… and the Sky bridges over Alaskan Way and BNSF at Lenora and at Bell Street.
There is also a hidden one on the EAST side of the Seattle Tower Bldg that crosses the alley below and connects to the Financial center on 4th (above the wine bar)… Others? Dive in…
At one point I was trying to collect all the known tunnels for pedestirans as well…
Made me think of the skybridge between Balmer and MacKenzie Halls at the UW Business School. A custodian told me during my first ever visit to UW in the late 90s/early 00s that if you got enough people in there it’d collapse. You can still feel it bounce when there’s too many people walking in it! Probably a good thing they’re building the new business school now.
Actually, the jail skybridge connects the jail and the County Courthouse, not the Admin Building, which the bridge passes over. The Admin Building’s roof merely provides structural support.
Thanks Tom… did not know that. Just assumed the cut a door while passing through…
I was in Minneapolis for the first time a few months ago and I was amazed at all of the skybridges downtown. Literally almost every block has one. Some of them are quite old and ornate. As a planner, I was horrified at the sight of them all, and sure enough, when it was raining they were full of people and the sidewalks were empty. But when the sun came out everyone poured onto the street. Very odd place.
This photos of the skybridge shows a part of the innovative, coiling concrete parking garage structure, in all its constructivist, kinetic glory, now lost behind translucent panels and desecrated by the “naturalistic” wwody facade of the Columbia sportsware retail store at its base on 3rd Avenue — what justaposition!
@SeattleGreg,
This is fascinating. I want to go check out the evidence of the bridge at the old Westin Olympic, but I don’t know what the “financial center” is. Where is this exactly?
The Olympic had two skybridges: One to the Financial Center (the NW corner of Seneca and Fourth) and one from the hotel to the Olympic Garage, across Seneca street at fifth Avenue.
The garage skybridge was removed when the renovated the hotel in 1980. The Financial skybridge left sometime after I stopped working there in the late 1990′s.
Better go cross it now if you never have, the city has raised the fee on this skybridge to over $31,000/yr.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012055911_skybridge08m.html