Seattle Viewpoints
Thomas Street Park

Location
Corner of Bellevue Avenue E. and E. Thomas Street, on the northeast side of downtown.

Admission
Free.

Getting there by car
Click on the map below for directions.


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Map of Thomas Street Park viewpoint, SeattleGetting there by bus
From downtown, via bus number 14 (Summit).
Board the the eastbound bus at the corner of Pike Street and 4th Avenue.
Alight from the bus at the corner of Summit Avenue E. and E. Thomas Street. Walk westwards downhill along E. Thomas Street for one block, and you will see the park to your right.
It is about a 10-minute ride each way.
Bus number 14 (Summit) returns to downtown along Bellevue Avenue E.

The walk from Westlake Center, via Olive Way across I-5, is about 20 minutes each way.

Notes and Tips
This is a small, quiet park, surrounded on all sides by mid-size apartment buildings. It is a pleasant place to stop for a rest, although unfortunately you can't see the views across downtown from any of the seating. There is a cafe diagonally across on Bellevue Avenue E.

The Views
The park is not promoted as viewpoint, for the very understandable reason that the view of the Space Needle is best seen when standing in the middle of E. Thomas Street! It is a rather interesting angle on the Needle, with the Experience Music Project building providing a splodge of color at its base .

By continuing to walk downhill along E. Thomas Street you will come to Melrose Avenue.  This runs above and parallel to I-5. All along the Avenue are vistas over the Space Needle, downtown and Lake Union that escape the power-lines from further uphill. You might bump into other adventurous tourists who have figured the ridge must have a vantage point.

The following photos were taken around midday on an overcast day in early March. Click on photo for full-size image.

Thomas Street Park viewpoint, Seattle
Looking down E Thomas Street towards the Space Needle (47kb).

Thomas Street Park viewpoint, Seattle
A little further along Melrose Avenue E, looking towards the Space Needle (49kb).

Thomas Street Park viewpoint, Seattle
Looking from Melrose Avenue E towards the Space Needle (45kb).

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