Harbor Steps

The Harbor Steps April 2010
 

 The Harbor Steps April 2010

The Harbor Steps April 2010

The Harbor Steps in Downtown Seattle is a broad flight of stairs that span the width of University Street between 1st Avenue & Western Avenue.  The planting design is spare & uninspired.  But the hardscape (a series of steps, terraces & expansive water features that qualify as both fountains & waterfalls) is quite nice.  Restaurants & shops line the steps.  There are many places to sit, some with shade from trees.  The land is too steep here to accommodate a street with vehicular traffic.  Before the Harbor Steps were built, there was a fence across a high retaining wall & a narrow staircase.  The Harbor Steps are a very pleasant way to move from Downtown to the Waterfront.  They are directly across from the Seattle Art Museum, very near Benaroya Hall & the Garden of Remembrance, close to the Pike Place Market.  Post Alley connects to the Harbor Steps at their center.