Seattle Underground

Well we have just returned from a tour of the Seattle Underground and lunch at the Space Needle. Both were great in different ways.
During the late 1800's Seattle was built in a low salt flat and the elevation of the city was a problem both for flush toilets and for area. After a fire destroyed most of the city it was decided to elevate the town anywhere from 8 to 35 feet. Beneath the present day Seattle lies the old first level of the city now called the Underground. Old store fronts buildings and sidewalks still exist around Pioneer Square and this is what the tour was all about along with a history of the city.
After the tour we had lunch on top of the Space Needle. Built in 1962 for the fair it was then the tallest structure west of the Mississippi. Now just a great place for lunch and we had the volcano for dessert (ice cream in a dish surrounded by dry ice which gives off a white fog.
The views as you can imagine from 500 feet up of Pueget Sound, the harbor area, Lake Washington, and the Queen Ann district were fabulous.