Everyone who has watched the famous TV series Grey’s anatomy must be familiar with the city of Seattle, as the first building that comes into view after the opening credits is the space needle rising proudly above all other buildings in the area. The city is beautiful at the time of dusk and the skyline formed by Mount Rainier is a sight to behold. The city has a rich cultural history and dates as far back as 1851, when it was found by a group of white settlers. Here are some interesting facts about Seattle that you should know if you plan on visiting the city soon

1.Seattle is a coastal city which lies on a thin strip of land sandwiched between the waters of the Washington Lake and Puget Sound. Bordering these waters are two beautiful mountain ranges, The Cascades in the east and the Olympic mountain range in the West

2.The name Seattle comes from ‘Seath’, who was an Indian Tribal chief who had made friends with the white settlers and to honor their friendship, the settlers named this town after him.

3.Talking about settlers, George Vancouver was the first European man to set foot on Seattle soil in 1792 as a part of his 4 year expedition to explore the Pacific Northwest.

4.Seattle’s early economy was primarily dependent on the lumber trade, with the construction of Henrey Yesler’s Lumber mill in 1853, located on Mill Street which is now known as Yesler way.

5.The Boeing Company was pioneered in Seattle by William Boeing. The company was originally a boat company but the owner was quite fond of Airplanes, so they dappled in this business too.

6.We all love star bucks, don’t we? What might come as a shock to some is that Starbucks coffee was originated in Seattle and the first Starbucks is located in Pike Place Market, another famous landmark and tourist attraction situated in Seattle.

7.If you’re on the lookout for some great views of the water, visit the Smith tower; a 42 story building which was constructed in 1914 and was once the tallest building to the west of Mississippi. Its ideal location on Pioneer Square near the waterfront offers some really great views of the entire city.

8.Of the many landmarks of interest in Seattle, perhaps the most famous one is the great ‘Space Needle’, which was constructed in 1962.This masterpiece of architecture stands tall at an astonishing height of 605 feet. Take the ride up the 520 feet in just 41 seconds and witness the emerald city in all of its greenish blue glory.

9.Bill Gates’ Spectacular house covering an enormous 66000 square feet is also a major attraction to tourists visiting Seattle. The house is nestled in the town of medina on the edge Lake Washington’s shore.

10.A recent addition to the sights of Seattle is the construction of the ‘Seattle Great wheel’, a monstrous Ferris wheel which was constructed in less than a year. The Ferris wheel is the realization of Hal Griffith’s (Seattle businessman) 30 year old dream. The wheel goes 175 feet up into the sky and houses 42 gondolas with the 42^nd one being a VIP gondola which offers services such as glass bottomed floor, a state of the art stereo system and comfortable leather bucket seats.

11.Want to get rid of your chewing gum? Then the Post Alley Gum wall is the place you should go to. This wall is located in pike place market and is covered in chewing gum from top to bottom, so don’t hesitate if you found yourself in the area, do leave your own unique chewing gum message!