Capitol Hill is a neighborhood that doesn't fit easy stereotypes. Part hip and urban, part wooded and stately, it is a community that often feels like a small town in itself, one that a huge variety of business — and people from all walks of life — call home.
Tattooed twentysomethings stroll alongside moms with strollers on main thoroughfares such as Broadway Avenue East or 15th Avenue. There’s a welcoming and thriving gay and lesbian community. And artists, foodies and other creative types help define Capitol Hill, too.
Perhaps it’s the diversity of the businesses and attractions that brings such a diverse group of people to this neighborhood. Highlights include the Broadway Farmers Market, a seasonal fiesta of food, flowers and music; Cal Anderson Park, which is full of dog walkers, Frisbee players and children dipping their toes in the streaming fountain; and the Pike/Pine Corridor’s vintage clothing stores, furniture shops and coffeehouses.
There’s a happening after-dark club scene and Broadway Avenue East itself is home to a couple of the city’s favorite pieces of public art: bronze dance steps set into the sidewalk that encourage passersby to break into a little rumba, and a statue of one of the city’s most famous past residents, Jimi Hendrix
The 12th Avenue Business District brings bustling new restaurants and a niche theater scene. There’s also plenty of green. At the north end of Broadway sits Volunteer Park, a large, forested urban oasis, replete with a glass conservatory built in 1912, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and a water tower with splendid 360 degree views of downtown Seattle and neighborhoods near and far. From here, all the favorite Seattle landmarks are visible, from the Space Needle to Lake Washington’s floating bridge to Husky Stadium.
After taking in the views, explore the streets bordering the park and enjoy stately homes built when city forefathers envisioned Seattle as the capitol of Washington State. While the designation did not come to be, the mansions and single-family residences with Craftsman and Victorian style contribute to the historical character and elegance of the neighborhood.
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