Welcome to Downtown Seattle...

Welcome home. Downtown is fairly dense compared to other city centers on the West Coast because of its geographical situation: hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by the Elliott Bay, and on the south by cultivated land that was once tidal flats. In the vicinity of the axis of Downtown is the Metropolitan Tract, owned by the University of Washington, the location of the university's pre-1895 campus. Downtown is Seattle's foremost financial district, waterfront, and shopping area (surrounding Westlake Center and coupled to Seattle Center by way of a monorail), which compose the bulk of Downtown. It is also home to the landmark Pike Place Market.