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Columbia Center Observation Deck
Rating Details »
Category: Tours
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square701 5th Ave
73rd Fl
(between S Airport Way & Cherry St)
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 386-5151
18 reviews for Columbia Center Observation Deck
I've lived in the Seattle area for nearly 20 years and always wanted to go to the Columbia Center Observation Deck, but never got around to it. It's only open weekdays, but if you really want the best view of the city, skip the Space Needle and head here.
First, the views are spectacular from nearly 1,000 feet above the city. You're looking down on the Space Needle across downtown. Second, it's only $5 (seniors $3); the Space Needle is $16. Third, you practically have the place to yourself. Except for a scattered few out-of-town tourists and the studio of Metro Traffic Control (the folks you hear doing the traffic reports on most Seattle stations) you have the space to yourself. Pretend it's your penthouse view and soak it in. It's an office building, not a zoo of screaming kids and full of tourist trinkets.
The observation deck wraps around the east, south, and west sides of the building so all you're going miss is Capitol Hill. You'll have a view of the Cascades and Olympics and a panoramic view of Harborview Hospital, the towers on Capitol Hill, the 520 floating bridge, around to Bellevue, the I-90 floating bridges, Beacon Hill, I-5, the shipyards, ferry docks, West Seattle, Queen Anne, and of course, downtown Seattle.
Getting there is easy. Enter the lobby from 5th Avenue and stop at the security desk. They'll take your $5, have you sign in, and then send you on your way to the elevators up to the 40th floor. Once there, another person will meet you and take you on the second elevator ride up to the 73rd floor and the locked observation area.
It's $5 admission sure does beat the Space Needle at $16!
Fortunately, I held out on the Needle for it's high expense, and had decided to do a little more investigating. Turns out my friend (who had just moved to Seattle) hadn't been here yet either, so it must've been karma when she ended up suggesting it :-)
Since it's not openly advertised in the building, you gotta ask the front desk in the lobby for more info. Then you wait for the security guard to escort you through two different elevators.
Once you get to the correct floor, you are free to roam; there is no seating, so they don't really promote sitting around, nor is there some fancy-schmancy preso. The windows from which you can observe only span about 180 degrees of what you could get (at the Needle for instance), but it certainly is enough, and I'm not complaining. Also, I'd rather have the ability to *see* the Needle for it's uniqueness.
With it being the tallest buiding in Seattle, you can't beat the view!
Cheap. Magnificent. Quiet.
The easiest way into the lobby is through the entrances on 5th Ave. Just ask the gentleman behind the counter how to get to the observation deck: express elevator to the 40th floor, then another elevator to the 73rd. Once you get off at the 73rd floor, a sign points toward the observation deck, but it's almost redundant -- the man behind the desk is hard to miss. No one escorted me from the lobby to the 73rd floor, but I found the correct elevators easily. I expected to pay the full adult price of $5, but he offered me the student price of $3, and I didn't even have my (expired) college ID with me! I was also asked to sign a guest book. Easy-peasy.
The views from the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest are hard to beat. On a good day, you can see for miles in every direction, but I almost think it would be more interesting to see how things down below appear and disappear on a foggy, misty day.
The observation deck is pretty quiet, partly because of the paucity of tourists and partly because the Metro Traffic center (also on the 73rd floor) has a posted placard asking people to keep quiet. There are plenty of comfy chairs, so you can even sit and drink your coffee if you want. There were moments when I thought I could detect the faintest swaying motion, but I couldn't be sure. The observation deck is a great way to kill an hour or so.
I can sum this review up in 4 words: EFF THE SPACE NEEDLE!
Better views, costs less, no annoying tour guides, no annoying touristy BS, and the amazing satisfaction, and feeling of superiority you get from looking DOWN on the Space Needle is priceless.
Instructions: Check the weather. If it's a nice, clear day, go during normal business hours on monday through friday, walk in to the street level, and ask someone who looks important how to get to the observation deck. When you arrive there, make sure you have cash. If you don't, there are a few ATMs littered about the building.
I would bring my family and friends here instead of the space needle. The view is a thousand times better for a fraction of the cost of the ticket for the Space needle.
Just hope that your family and friends are visiting you on a good sunny day. It's only open during the week during business hours. The bonus is that there isn't any touristy crap like the group picture before the elevator ride up or the souvenir shop!
I lived here so long and finally did it! It is worth the 4 bucks!
The view from up here is AMAZING and, frankly, I think it's a bit more fun to be able to SEE the Space Needle than to see from it.
A couple of years ago I did a temp job on this level, and when the internet was down they let the temps hang out on the Observation Deck for free. I ended up staying here for about an hour just being mesmerized by everything I could see.
I wasn't in the Observation Deck for this, but I happened to also be working there when the Blue Angels were practicing and (at least once) they flew by the office windows. So freaking amazing... and probably a nice surprise if anybody did happen to be there at that moment!
Great views, but not all around.. just partially around the building..
$5 per person..
you can see the little space needle from there as well as the huge mt rainier!
just go to the security guard on the first floor and ask to go to the observation deck. it's great!
Cool.
I just wish I'd timed my visit better. I picked a Monday, mid-morning so had the place entirely to myself which was awesome. But the light at that time of day was a little flat and hazy.
I don't know if anybody else has mentioned but there is a fee for visiting this: 5 bucks. But that's way better than the Needle and the view is WAY better.
Remember: they're closed on weekends and you want to go when the light is good for taking pictures.
Bring a tripod !!! (wish I had)
My friend and I headed here on a recommendation from the airport shuttle driver, who said the view was better than the Space Needle and a lot cheaper at only 5 bucks.
We went on a rare, sunny fall afternoon, and the view was GORGEOUS. The tower's incredibly tall, so you can see mountains far into the distance, lots of water, the path of the highway between parks/trees, and the Space Needle. You don't get a 360 view, but most of one. It's indoors and there are seats lining the wall, so it's great just to relax for a bit if you've been out most of the day. A handful of other tourists came and left, as did some louder business people (deck is long but not huge, so sound carries), but other than that it's peaceful.
Like Jennifer M. says, someone takes you up to the deck (and through two sets of elevators), which I got a kick out of because it feels momentous. I think they do traffic reporting up there, which is kinda cool, too.
I haven't been up the Space Needle, so can't compare. But I did look down on it from the tower. : )
After visiting the Empire State Building and spending literally hours in line with no air conditioning and a troop of Junior Woodchucks surrounding me the whole time, I made it a point to visit the *less* famous observation decks of whatever city I find myself in.
Granted, when I was in Seattle, it was the worst storm in ten years, so I'm pretty sure the Space Needle wasn't all that crowded. BUT, when it cleared for a bit, I headed to the Columbia Center anyway. It was five bucks, you get an escort up to the enclosed viewing deck, and they leave you alone to spend all the time you want. I spent maybe half an hour there, but I'm pretty sure I coulda spent three.
The beams between windows and the angles of windows themselves can cause for some awkward shots if you're trying to get a clear picture of some random thing, and it's not actually a 360 view... part of the north is cut off. You can still see the Needle, Queen Anne Hill, and Capitol Hill, but some of the area in between is lost.
But aside from those complaints (more like petty annoyances), it was a great place to get a good view of the Seattle area. I'd recommend it to anyone.
My Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/...
If you are visiting Seattle, especially for the first time, forsake the $16 Needle ride and go to this tower's observation deck. For $5, you get an amazing view of the city and a much better tourist trap to ooh and ahh ratio. A partial northern view is blocked by the bathrooms and the elevators, but you can still see the Olympic Mountains. Trust me on this one.
Just walk in and tell them what your plans are, give them five bucks, and wait for someone to take you up. It's cake from there.
This place seemed like a secret as I wandered into the Columbia Center, looking for signs that the observation deck existed. After wandering through the food court and a Bank of America branch, I finally found a security guard and asked him if the observation deck still existed. I was told that it did, charged five bucks and given directions on how to get to the seventy-third floor.
The observation deck itself was like an empty corporate office but the views themselves were great. Of course, it didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day.
I've never been to the Space Needle but the Columbia Center is the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest, so I imagine that the views are better. Not to mention that there are no crowds and no one bothers you once you're on the deck. You're free to spend as much time there as you want and there are even chairs set up if you want to rest for a bit.
Obviously this is a very touristy activity but if you're going for that sort of thing, I'd recommend this observation deck.
What an awesome view! All the way up on the 73rd floor, you can really see the lay of the land. The Space Needle from foot to.. needle.. is quite visible in that "check out that push pin" way. You are looking down at the tops of buildings... and You can see all the way around a couple of islands out yonder... and far, far off...
I could only wish that:
a. It was 360 degree view, instead of 270 degree view.
b. Perhaps some fresh air access. Splotchy window kinda gets in my way sometimes.
I am still grateful to be able to see Seattle from way up high.. and that I am protected from my own paranoia and fear of heights. I am debating walking down here from work one really rainy day, to get some shots of rainy Seattle.
Wow, it's so easy to get here! No security, no lines, nothing. Just follow the (rather small) signs. The view is great and they have a nice brochure that lets you know where everything is. You have to be hush hush because the traffic control is in the middle of this tower. Why, I have no idea! From their vantage point they can't really see much at all, and they keep the blinds closed anyway. And they have these big comfy chairs, you can even take a nap to get your 5 bucks worth.
Fantastic view, less than a third of the cost of the Space Needle, and the view actually includes the needle. Check this out. Best view I've ever had.
I realize that the Space Needle's landmark status makes a visit to it almost mandatory for tourists in Seattle, but as far as the view is concerned, Columbia Center beats it hands down. There's nothing particularly special about the building. It's just a very nice office building in the middle of downtown. The observation deck itself feels just like an unoccupied office. But on a clear day, the views here are spectacular, with the Cascades and Lake Washington to the east, the Olympics and Elliot Bay to the west, and Mt. Rainier to the South. You can even look DOWN on the Space Needle. It's uncrowded and quiet, and you can spend as long as you want. To top it all off, it only costs $5.
As others have mentioned, it does seem like a little bit of a secret, as there is no signage to direct you to it (Hint: Just ask at the security desk in the main lobby near the Bank of America. If you entered through the food court, just take the escalators up until you reach the lobby). In addition, the view isn't quite 360 degrees, but it's not a big deal.
All-in-all, if you're into this type of thing, this is definitely worth a visit, for both tourists and locals.
Somewhat of a strange observation deck. Not only does it feel like you've just stepped into an office (albeit a large one), but the space is also partially shared by the traffic control department. The views may not be 360˚, but it's still well worth the trip.
