Nearly half way through my walk to the stadium down Occidental Avenue South, just in front of Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, I looked backed, and snapped this shot of skyscrapers towering above Pioneer Square.
The brick building with the banner at the end of the street (left side of the photo) is the FX McRory building, home of the legendary FX McRory's Steak Chop and Oyster house, immortalized by LeRoy Neimans contract painting (he received at least $100,000 in gold boullion, maybe quite a bit more, 30 years ago, when one hundred grand was still a lot of money.)
FX McRory's is now, so far as I'm concerned, the Obama campaign Seattle headquarters Annex (actual headquarters are located a few blocks away on the other end of Pioneer Square). We've held several Obama events there (with more in the pipeline), including about 200 people the night of the Washington State caucuses, which brought live coverage from multiple TV stations and an appearance by Mayor Greg Nickels.
As I walked past Qwest Field Stadium and Events Center, I encountered street vendors (buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks).
And girls selling chocolate to raise money for a Catholic school.
Jose Cuervo.
Evidence of the high level of security approaching the stadium.
The remainder of the photos were taken after I entered the Stadium.
One great thing about Safeco Field is they seemed to think of everything.
Escalators,
retractable roof,
beer shelves above the urinals,
and a kids clubhouse.
You can see the field from the concourses, and watch the game as you walk around, or stand in line for food and drink. Where the field is out of view, and even some places it isn't, there are monitors broadcasting the game.
Lots of cool and scenic places to eat an amazing variety of food.
This choice spot above is only a few yards from the left field foul pole, and conveniently close to Kidd Valley. The original (and only at the time) Kidd Valley was walking distance from my UW fraternity (yes, I was a frat boy, Republican, and atheist in college), and was my source for dinner almost every Sunday.
Bistro tables...
Excellent seats and eats are highly coveted at the "Hit it Here Cafe".
Ahhh....the sights, sounds, and smells of Safeco Field...Garlic fries...
Lemonade...
Mike's Hard Lemonade (their corporate office is upstairs from mine, and I'd like them to be a customer, so they get triple billing)...
Hot dogs...
Fluorescent clothing...
Young fan...
Cameraman...
Huggable popcorn...
Bat cracks and butt cracks...
Seagull...
Ichiro Mural...
and plenty of latte stands, of course.
Richard Kaminski, "The Peanut Man", has been razzling and dazzling with behind the back tosses for some thirty years, and used to make Rainier Beer TV commercials with the late Bill Scott, aka "Bill the Beer Man".
Flags...
Some lucky fans won the Kent & Alan Star 101.5 lounge chair seats in a radio contest of some sort.
A Mariner's game is a good place to hang with friends, or go on a date.
Party at the Pyramid Brewery Ale House, with the well-known Alaska Way Viaduct (sure to collapse during our next earthquake) in the background.
And, of course, there is the diamond itself. Welcome to Safeco Field.
This unusual field level view is from a hip little basement bar next to the bullpens. (The second shot is of the protective netting in the opening).
Game Time.
Miguel Batista got tagged for 3 runs in the first. M's never caught up. Batista left with a groin injury after walking half of the first 10 batters.
"The Big Hurt" made his Safeco Field debut in an Oakland A's uniform.
I was annoyed the Mariners didn't pick up Frank Thomas, but relieved a bit by Seattle Times Columnist Larry's Stone's report that the M's have Jeff Clement up their sleeve (or at least in AAA Tacoma).
Clement is hitting .397 after 23 games, with five homers and 20 runs batted in. His on-base-plus-slugging percentage is a superb 1.227. He has 22 walks and 12 strikeouts. He hits left-handed, and could slide between catcher and designated hitter, two moribund offensive positions so far this season.
Ichiro strikes some familiar poses.
Yo, Adrian
Richie Sexon
The best part of Safeco Field, however, might be the views.
The neon "E" in this shot marks the spot for the "fish from you window" Edgewater Inn, made famous by a Beatles stay there during their 1964 world tour.
Like mechanical Dinosaurs, giant Port of Seattle container cranes keep watch over Elliot Bay.
Here are a few for Kossack CityLightsLover.
The beacon of Beacon Hill, The Pacific Medical Center, home of Amazon.com.
The Qwest Field Events Center is sandwiched between Qwest Field and Safeco Field. In total, the three represent, in round numbers, $1 Billion in architecture.
More city at night...
Anyone visiting town for a Mariners or Seahawks game, or a convention at Qwest Field Events Center, might want to consider this brand new Silver Cloud, literally across the street from all three, and surely one of the company's best properties. I haven't seen the rooms, but the lobby is very nice, as is "Jimmy's", the adjacent restaurant and lounge. (And one of my favorite lunch spots to simultaneously eat and blog via their free wifi.)
This is the Seattle Mariners' 31st year, most of them played in the insufferable KingDome, with loyal but cynical fans singing "root, root root for the Mariners, if they don't win it's the same..."
It's nice to at least have a first rate ball park that showcases our magnificent city.
Next time you visit Seattle, if the M's are in town, take in a game. I suggest buying the cheapest ticket you can, then wander the stadium to view the game from multiple vantage points, and take in the tremendous views.
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