Seattle from the top of the B of A Tower

[gs3]

Here are some photos from the top of the B of A / Columbia Center tower:

[Inkdaub]

Great pics...keep 'em coming.

Rainier and the Olympics look awesome.

The Square will look even better when they get rid of the sunken ship.

[Lone Ranger]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the secondary skyline in this picture?

Please & thanks.

[Sundodger]

^ Downtown Bellevue

[Mith242]

Nice looking pics.

[Lone Ranger]

^ Downtown Bellevue

Thanks again.

Lord. For a place I've never heard of, they have quite an impressive building boom going on there. Bellevue is obviously a place coming into its own.

[gs3]

Thanks again.

Lord. For a place I've never heard of, they have quite an impressive building boom going on there. Bellevue is obviously a place coming into its own.

Bellevue is a very nice suburb and growing like crazy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Bellevue (or the Bellevue area) is where the Microsoft campus is. Downtown Bellevue has taken on a rather urban feel in the last few years, with great street level shopping and multiple highrise projects. It's quite urban for a burb and tends to remind me of Arlington, VA.

[PghUSA]

^^Isn't it in Redmond? Not 100% on that but I seem to remember it in Redmond.

Those pics are fantastic, I like Seattle a lot in so many ways it seems like Pittsburgh but simultanously nothing like Pittsburgh. Think waterworld, weather, demos, traditions, technology. I love how the city has grown up into a global center the last few generations.

[Inkdaub]

Microsoft is in Redmond, yes. Bill Gates house..which is about as big as the Microsoft campus...is in the Medina hood of Bellevue, though. Redmond would be considered Bellevue area so everyone has their geography right as rain.

Bellevue has a Fatburger and Seattle, or Portland for that matter, doesn't which pains me no end.

[Sundodger]

The Microsoft campus is located near the Bellevue-Redmond city limits in the Overlake area off of 520. Nintendo is across the freeway from Microsoft. The new Eddie Bauer Tower under construction, adjacent to the new 450 ft. tall Lincoln Center, will be home to Eddie Bauer's HQs and the rest will be filled by Microsoft. PACCAR's HQs (Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks) and Puget Sound Energy's HQs are also in downtown Bellevue. T-Mobile USA is HQed in Bellevue too. Costco's HQs are in nearby Issaquah and many dotcoms and tech companies are dotted throughout the eastside such as Drugstore.com, expedia.com, housevalues.com, Attachmate, Sierra-On-Line, Onyx Software, Asymetrix, Esterline Technologies, Western Wireless, Interlinq Software, Bsquare, Courtlink and many others I can't think of right away. And others such as Precor USA, Spacelabs Medical, Medtronic, ATL Ultrasound, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and many more I can't think of. Also downtown Bellevue is becoming a major retail destination. It is already home to the region's best mall, right in the middle of its downtown. From jobs to shopping, the Eastside is kicking Seattle's butt right now. Seattle is doing fine, it is just that Bellevue is on fire right now.

[Sundodger]

This picture shows the area well. Microsoft's campus is the massive business campus below the freeway in the lower middle of the pic. Nintendo's HQs are across the freeway. Microsoft is buying land across the freeway too. Below is a map of the campus. Follow the denser development towards the middle of the pic to find downtown Bellevue. Downtown Seattle is visible across Lake Washington.

[Sundodger]

Here is a picture of downtown Redmond. Follow the freeway up the hill to see the Microsoft campus. If you see an office buildings, odds are it belongs to Microsoft. Marymoor Park is located on the north end of Lake Sammamish between the lake and downtown Redmond. The 640 acre park hosts concerts and other events. Cirque du Soleil was their recently. On the south end of the lake is Issaquah, home of Costco. A lakeside bike/walking trail links the two. The trail then continues along the Sammamish River (trail visible in pic, bottom, along river) to Lake Washington and then on to Seattle. Bellevue is on the west side of the lake (right) and Sammamish, home to Sahalee C.C., is on the east side.

[gs3]

Also downtown Bellevue is becoming a major retail destination. It is already home to the region's best mall, right in the middle of its downtown. From jobs to shopping, the Eastside is kicking Seattle's butt right now. Seattle is doing fine, it is just that Bellevue is on fire right now.

Thanks for all the info Sundodger!

Downtown Bellevue certainly has become it's own city. I remember the first time I visited Bellevue Square, it seemed much more like a typical surburban mall (that was YEARS ago). It's been amazing to watch the area around it transform into a real live "downtown". The new Westin tower is INCREDIBLE!!

[Lone Ranger]

Bellevue is a very nice suburb and growing like crazy. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Bellevue (or the Bellevue area) is where the Microsoft campus is. Downtown Bellevue has taken on a rather urban feel in the last few years, with great street level shopping and multiple highrise projects. It's quite urban for a burb and tends to remind me of Arlington, VA.

A suburb, he calls it! That place qualifies as a city in its own right, and a little dynamo at that. Very impressed.

Oh ... umm ... the Seattle pics were nice too.

Must be a very exciting area to call home these days.

[Charlotteman]

Lone Ranger I totally agree. Bellevue is anything but a suburb. It is a separate city with its own mayor, with a different identity and "feel" than Seattle.

I've been in the area for 11 years, and from the very start I thought Bellevue is the most desireable place in the Puget Sound region. Everything about Bellevue appeals to me, especially the great variety of shopping, the great service ethic in the city, and the neatness and tidiness.

Bellevue is exploding with development for one simple reason---it is a damn nice place to live, and lots of people apparently wanna live there:)

[gs3]

Hey guys, didn't mean suburb in a negative sense. Bellevue is definitely it's own place now and definitely a city. It's history though, was a suburb to Seattle, just like Redmond, Kirkland, Mercer Island, etc. Bellevue has exploded as the "city center" of the eastside.

[Inkdaub]

Right on Sundodger, great info and pics.

[Randy@Tacoma]

Those pictures are amazing! KeEp eM CoMiN'

[PghUSA]

Very cool graphics on the expansion plans for Microsoft SunD.

[Sundodger]

Since we are on a mini-Bellevue tangent:

Bellevue: Nightlife at last

The city known for staid subdivisions and empty sidewalks is finally gaining some spice, some late-night flavor. The opening of Lincoln Square in downtown Bellevue last fall was the tipping point, bringing in throngs of Eastside residents hungry for entertainment options in their backyard.

The new places — including The Parlor Billiards, McCormick & Schmick's, Lincoln Square Cinemas and Maggiano's — are attracting crowds every night while older stores and restaurants are reporting revenues up by double digits.

And it seems likely things will only get busier, with a dozen new high-rise, mixed-use projects under construction or in the pipeline.

[MJLO]

I had no idea that Bellevue Washington existed like that. The more I research the Seattle area, and Washington in General. The more I am craving to either just go there to visit, or move there all together.`