The Emerald City's Best Kept Secrets: 6 Hidden Gems in Seattle
We’re sure you’re familiar with Seattle’s popular sights and iconic tourist destinations, such as Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the infamous gum wall at Post Alley. But if you think you know all there is to know about the city of Seattle and its surrounding areas, then you might be surprised by these six hidden gems found within the area. And hey, that’s not even including all the hidden-gem restaurants!
1) Wooden Alligator Tree West Seattle
The Wooden Alligator Tree is a curiosity that lives on the coast of West Seattle, Washington. The tree is located near the intersection of Fauntleroy Way SW and California Ave SW. The tree is not actually an alligator; it was named by its owner who, in 1977, carved alligators into the trunk of a maple tree he found while he was working as a logger. He then turned the tree upside down to create this unusual sculpture.
Since then, other people have added their own carvings to the wooden alligator. It has become a popular tourist attraction for those traveling through West Seattle because of its unique design and whimsical feel!
2) Georgetown Seattle Trailer Park Mall
The Trailer Park Mall first appeared in 2010 and moved to its current site on Airport Way in 2012. There are eight antique trailers that live there, and there is also room for pop-ups and other neighborhood sellers. You may go over to Lowrider Cookie Company for half a dozen cookies, browse the artwork and merchandise at Royal Mansion Gallery created by artists from the Pacific Northwest, and test out skincare options at Badder Body. At Moda B. Vintage and the art-driven, upcycled Seattle Seamstress Union, browse vintage garments. There is also a wedding chapel for couples looking for a unique and unusual setting for their nuptials!
3) Bathtub Gin Seattle
Bathtub Gin is a speakeasy-style bar that has been called Seattle's best kept secret. It's the perfect place to spend a relaxing night with friends, or to meet someone new and have some fun. They're open every day at 5 p.m., so you can stop by for happy hour, or stay all night long and enjoy their live music. It's a tiny two-story venue known for their craft cocktails, moody lighting, and quirky eclectic furniture and book lined walls. Located in an alley near Pike Place Market, it's easy to miss with it's indistinct unmarked door! Shh. Let's keep this one a secret.
4) Montlake Spite House
After a heated argument between neighbors in 1925, this little house in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood was constructed.
The owner of a tiny 3,090-square-foot plot of property nearby is thought to have been approached by his next-door neighbor, who proposed a modest sum of money in exchange for the land in order to plant a garden. However, the landowner was so offended by the meager offer that he chose to erect a little house on the plot in its place.
The outcome? A two-story, 860 square foot house that is only 15 feet wide at its widest point and less than 5 feet wide at its narrowest point. The neighbor who had allegedly made the meager offer to the landowner then allegedly left because the house blocked his view!
5) Orient Express Restaurant Seattle
The Orient Express is an old TRAIN where you can get meals and sing along to your favorite songs at a karaoke bar, but that is only a small portion of the train's history. Even one of the restaurant's seven cars brags about having once been used as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal transport!
Roosevelt traveled the nation in the $18,000 vehicle he had bought more than 30 years earlier when he ran for reelection in 1944. With wooden wall paneling throughout, pictures from its illustrious past, and several original fixtures remaining in situ, like a light button that Roosevelt could use to call personnel, the FDR train still retains some of its former presidential glamour!
6) Wedgewood Duck House Seattle
This undiscovered gem will make you quack! Visit the house known as the Wedgwood Duck House by going to the Wedgwood area. The home's owners, Robert and LaFaye, set up rubber duckies in the most ornate arrangements in their yard about once a month. The youngsters will undoubtedly swoon over their amazing creations. What began as a single duck Easter decoration has already multiplied into more than a thousand donations of ducks from around the globe, which this creative couple uses to make the most inventive masterpieces!
