Review · Pioneer Square
Smith Tower Observatory Bar: drinks at 462 feet
By Kevin Edry · · 1 min read
The first time I rode the brass-caged elevator up Smith Tower — operated by an actual human, running since 1914 — I assumed the bar at the top would be a tourist trap coasting on the view. I was wrong, and I’ve been back enough times since to say so with confidence. Seattle’s original skyscraper hides a wraparound observatory deck with a proper bar in the middle of it, and the 360-degree view is the best value in the city: Elliott Bay and the Olympics one way, the modern skyline stacked up behind you the other.
The Prohibition angle
The cocktail menu leans into the building’s speakeasy history, and it’s made properly, not as a gimmick. My order is whatever they’re doing with rye that month; I haven’t been let down yet.
When to go
Blue hour. I once watched the sunset over the Sound and turned around to see the city lights coming on behind me — the deck faces every direction, so you don’t have to choose.
Best time to go: 30 minutes before sunset, weeknights. The elevator line on Saturdays is real.
Photo courtesy of Smith Tower.