Didja ever think, looking west into the sunset, that the highest peak on the horizon was Mt. Olympus? Logical, right, since the mountains are called The Olympics after all. But you'd be wrong. It's Mt. Constance. Because you can't even see Mt. Olympus from this side of the moutains. You could win a bar bet with this one.
And here's why we know... There's a new Best Thing in Seattle, the Sky View Observatory on the 73rd floor of the Columbia Center at 5th and Columbia, which opened this week. Seriously.
If you've had the good fortune to attend an event or two at the Columbia Tower Club, this is even better. No tables crowding the windows, no kitchens, no bathrooms or mundane impediments to a 360-degree view from the tallest building in the Northwest.
You look down at the Space Needle. You look across at Mt. Rainier, which seems to float in the middle distance.
The landlord, Columbia Center, has tried for many years to lease this space to commercial tenants. Hard sell. Columbia Tower Club perches a couple of levels above. but who's going to claim Level 73?
Smart move: the landlord gets into the tourism business! This isn't some stuffy private club, after all; it's open to the public! So a big push to hotel concierges, travel writers and similar tourism types to announce that there's a new observation platform in town, and it's twice as tall as the effing Space Needle!
You want to host a private party here? Great! For the moment, Columbia Tower Club is doing the catering. You just want to come and gawk, bring Aunt Minnie from Minneapolist or Cousin Charlie from Chattanooga? No problem. It's open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and admission is an entirely reasonable $12.50.
· Sky View Observatory [Sky View]