Capitol Hill
Hilltop neighborhood of grand mansions turned nightlife strip, anchored by an Olmsted-designed park and water tower.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Capitol Hill in Seattle starts with a wager: in the 1890s, developer James Moore platted this ridge and named it hoping to lure the state capitol north from Olympia. You'll hear how that political bet failed while a different one paid off, as timber and shipping fortunes built a private playground along Millionaire's Row, and the Olmsted brothers turned a former cemetery into Volunteer Park with its brick water tower. Climb the tower's observation deck, built for nothing practical but looking, for the same view Seattle's wealthiest once came to enjoy.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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