We had lunch at Ivar's Fish Bar on Seattle's waterfront today and stopped at Pike Place Market to buy a gift for someone. Then we took a drive past the Seattle "CHOP" to see how things looked.

The main thing I notice is that Seattle is really quiet these days due to the Coronavirus scare. Many of the offices, shops, restaurants, and bars are closed.

Here are some pictures. You can click on a photo and then click on it again on the IMGUR site to see a larger image. Everything after the IBM Building photo is on Capitol Hill in the vicinity of the "CHOP"/"CHAZ". The Capitol Hill area was really very quiet. At no point did we feel unsafe or threatened.

Seattle Waterfront looking north from Pier 54. This sidewalk is built above the water of Elliott Bay -- the glass tiles let light get down to the water below. A concrete "sea wall" separates the street from the water below and keeps the water from eroding the shore away.

Ivar's Fish Bar is unusually quiet due to the Coronavirus scare. Normally there would be people packing this space.

Feeding French fries to the seagulls is one of the best parts of visiting Ivar's.

Begging for French fries.

Pike Place Market was unusually quiet due to the Coronavirus scare.

Pike Place Market was unusually quiet due to the Coronavirus scare.

This is the famous "Flying Fish" fish market which was closed due to the Coronavirus scare.

Fifth Avenue looking south from Pine Street. The Gap is boarded up probably due to Black Lives Matter protests. Normally this intersection would be packed with pedestrians this time of day.

The IBM Building at 1200 Fifth Ave. had windows boarded up probably due to Black Lives Matter protests.

Apartments at 730 and 726 10th Ave East in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. These were built in 1927. This era of building is commonplace on the north end of Capitol Hill.

Broadway looking south from about the 300 block, Capitol Hill, Seattle.

Broadway is Capitol Hill's "Main Street" business district.

Normally this street would have much more auto and pedestrian traffic. It's quiet due to the Coronavirus scare.

Verizon Store, Hi Tea Cafe, 204 and 202 Broadway E, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. These shops are just a few blocks from the "CHOP".

New apartments under construction, southeast corner of Broadway and Denny, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. Just a couple of blocks from the "CHOP".

New apartments under construction on the left, Seattle Central College on the right, looking south on Broadway from E Howell St., Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. About 1 block from the "CHOP".

Looking south on Broadway from E Pine St, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. The "CHOP" is 1 block to the left -- the last 2 photos show the view down Pine St. from this intersection.

Blick Art Materials Store with Jimi Hendrix statue in front, 1600 Broadway, Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA. This store on the NE corner of Broadway and Pine is one block from the "CHOP".

Looking east down E Pine Street from Broadway. The "CHOP" can be seen down the street. The Seattle Police Department's East Precinct is on the right obscured by the trees.

Looking east down E Pine Street from Broadway. The "CHOP" can be seen down the street. The Seattle Police Department's East Precinct is on the right obscured by the trees.

David, thanks for those great memories of my home town. I lived in Seattle for seventy years.

I drove streetcars and trolley buses up and down Broadway, Pike Street and Pine Street for a lot of years and I've flung a few hundred french fries to the seagulls at Ivar's Fish Bar, even in the pouring rain!

The CHAZ/CHOP zone is nothing surprising to the natives, most of whom appreciate a good protest and all that goes with it. Civil disobedience is a good thing. I applaud it. Even when my bus was knocked off route or stopped dead and I couldn't find a restroom, I admired the protesters. I still do.

I know where you were standing for every one of those photos. Thanks again!!

Glad you enjoyed the pictures, Dick. The Seattle waterfront is quite a bit different these days since they have taken down the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Much quieter down there in terms of the noise level since you don't hear the thumping of tires crossing the concrete expansion joints anymore.

We walked from the waterfront up the Pike Place Hill Climb to the Market. That area should be packed with tourists this time of year, but sadly it's not.

Keep clam!

That was such a great view driving north on the viaduct.

Yes it was. The new tunnel has no view at all and no mid-downtown exits.

The West Seattle Bridge is closed these days because they found some cracks in the concrete and concluded it was unsafe. That bridge was new in the mid-1980s... it's not that old. That is a mess. If you live in West Seattle you have to detour way south to get out of West Seattle.


Photo from The Seattle Times.

It was sometime in the seventies, if I remember right, that a ship passing through the Spokane Street Viaduct, which turned to open, hit the moving part around 4:30 A. M. and mangled the whole thing beyond fixing. A rush was put on construction of a new bridge, the one now threatening to fall into the waterway. That detour lasted about four years. I think the old bridge from South Park to East Marginal Way got a lot of traffic for those years. It almost fell apart too.