If you time your visit right — and there aren’t too many clouds — you get to see not only the iconic Space Needle and Seattle skyline, but also Mt. Rainier in the background. This is the postcard view favored both by visitors and locals who are dying to convince themselves that Seattle is still actually an interesting place.
I suppose Seattle is still kind-of interesting. They’ve got Boeing and Microsoft and now, Amazon. Lots of things are always happening in Seattle. They even still have some live music there, I hear. But not like in the early ’90’s.
The reason the Seattle grunge sound took off was because Seattle didn’t get visits from “good” bands back in the 80’s. Tours from cutting-edge punk acts would start in the Northeast in Boston or NYC, then sweep down in a southwesterly direction, ending in LA, with maybe a few dates in San Francisco and a detour to bury a dead drummer or or groupie or two. The Jet City was too far North. Rockers in Seattle had to make their own scene. And they did.
So, if you’re in Seattle, you’re definitely going to want to check out the Space Needle. Kerry Park is the best place to do it. It’s popular, but not overrun. You can usually find a place to park on the street.