First Hill and Marion/Madison to 3rd Avenue

A doctor's appointment brought me back to First Hill to add to an earlier walk in this neighborhood dominated by hospitals and medical buildings.

I took the bus to the Convention Place Station and crossed I-5 filling in streets north of E Union Street, then walked a few streets east of Broadway, finishing up walking through the Swedish Hospital complex and down Marion and Madison Streets to 3rd Avenue to the bus tunnel to catch my bus home.

This walk was about 6.5 miles and I was rewarded by a glimpse of Mount Rainier as I crossed I-5 at the end of the walk.

First Hill is very close to the downtown core and is a real mix of residential, commercial, educational and almost industrial. There are quite a few car dealerships and service centers. Residences were in the minority on the streets I walked today. I wouldn't park a car on a few of the smaller streets because I saw a good bit of broken glass.

I passed First Covenant Church, St. James Cathedral, Gilda's Club, Seattle Central Community College, Seattle University, the Northwest School, the Egyptian Theater, Seattle Museum of Mysteries and the main branch of the Seattle Public Library. St. James was opened so I stopped in to admire the interior. I had already been in the downtown library many times so I didn't visit today but it is well worth taking a tour of this unique building.

Along the way, I stopped in at Cafe Presse and had a great baguette with butter and orange marmalade (I will return) and noted a sign at Linda's Tavern instructing hippies to use the side door. I also noted two cobblestones streets (Summit and Belmont between Union and Pike).

There were sidewalks everywhere and lots of people out walking. The weather was pleasant and I really enjoyed the walk.