Arts & Entertainment Community

Day Tripper | MOHAI and some old friends

What’s a day trip without at least one element that focuses on the great outdoors? Even my previous museum explorations usually included checking out at least one location representative of our region’s abundant natural beauty.

Not this month! The way things are going, future day trips may have to be by kayak or canoe.

I love looking at the water. Many times, I find it to be peaceful and soothing. However, I prefer gazing at it rather than traveling in it.

Unfortunately, this month, a day trip in the great outdoors would leave me feeling, and most likely smelling, like an old wet dog.

It’s also well-established that I’m not particularly fond of day trips that stretch into darkness. While I am totally nocturnal, I prefer that my winter evening activities occur in a comfortable, cozy, and toasty-warm location. That means that this time of year, I need to stay pretty close to home. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of things to do and places to go no more than an hour or two from the Harbor.

This month, I decided to focus on a trio of places in Seattle. One I’ve visited nearly every year for a couple of decades; another I used to visit fairly frequently, but for reasons we’ll discuss in a bit haven’t been to much in the past few years; and a third that I’ve wanted to check out for a long time, but just haven’t gotten to. All three are indoor venues that kept me warm and dry.

Pacific Place

My first stop was Pacific Place at the corner of Sixth and Pine in downtown Seattle.

Pacific Place used to be one of my favorite places to shop and eat. It also has a fourth-floor footbridge that crosses over Sixth Avenue directly into my personal dream destination – the flagship Nordstrom, the only remaining multi-floored department store in the original downtown area.

The footbridge at Pacific Place in Seattle. Photo by Mary Williams

My kids and grandkids loved Pacific Place, with its remarkable escalator that curved around a central atrium. The pandemic took its toll on the entire downtown Seattle area, but probably nowhere more than Pacific Place. In its heyday a decade ago, it was a bustling shopping venue with more than 100 specialty stores and a handful of fine dining establishments. It was also home to several major retailers, such as Restoration Hardware and Barnes & Noble. No holiday season was complete without a shopping trip to the big city.

But today, it is a shell of its former self. One by one, the places we loved to visit have disappeared. First to go was Frederick & Nelson. A decade later, we lost Macy’s (née the Bon Marché) and its famous windows, although the Christmas star remains.

The Macy’s star is still there, even if the store isn’t. Photo by Mary Williams

Last store standing

The one retail mecca still standing is Nordstrom, but there is a twisted tale there. Frederick & Nelson was once the grande dame of Seattle retail, while Nordstrom was the new kid on the block. Nordstrom was a hodgepodge of sites cobbled together as the store grew and added departments. In 1992, just two years after Frederick & Nelson closed, a fancy, new, and much larger Nordstrom opened in the old F&N location.

The flagship Nordstrom in downtown Seattle. Photo by Mary Williams

Pacific Place is in the process of re-creating itself. Opened in 1998 and considered an essential element in revitalizing the downtown area after F&N closed, two decades of prosperity ended with the pandemic. What was once a major venue fell upon extremely hard times. The property sold several times and its anchor properties departed. The retail site was mostly four stories of vacant shops with a movie theater perched on top like a cake topper.

New ownership

In 2023, BH Properties acquired Pacific Place just as Lululemon, Nike and Columbia Sportswear closed their downtown stores. Major tenants at Pacific Place now include AMC Theaters, Din Tai Fung, Haidilao Hot Pot, Pike Place Chowder and Johnny Rockets. Notice the preponderance of places to eat and absence of any major shopping venues.

Pacific Place in Seattle is heavy on eateries, light on retail. Photo by Mary Williams

It’s evident that something is in the works. BH Properties has promised expansion and new tenants. It’s hard to appreciate the symmetry of the signature escalators because much of the interior is covered with four-story-high scaffolding.

Scaffolding at Pacific Place in Seattle. Photo by Mary Williams

Right now, it’s hard to imagine what the outcome will be because so much of the building is boarded up. We’ll keep an eye on what’s going on and pay a return visit, most likely next Christmas, to see what really comes about.

At least the boarding on vacant storefronts at Pacific Place looks nice. Photo by Mary Williams

Parade of Gingerbread Houses

Fortunately, on the day I visited, the weather alternated between drippy and just gloomy. I walked the couple of blocks south on Sixth Avenue to the Sheraton Grand Hotel. For decades, it has been home to an annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fundraiser held during the holidays, the Parade of the Gingerbread Houses. This year is the 31st display.

A visit to the gingerbread houses is a longtime family holiday tradition. Back around the turn of the century, my daughter worked at the Sheraton. Every winter we made it a point for the entire family to meet there and admire the elaborate creations. Back in those days, there were several dozen houses, some much more elaborate than others.

The fundraiser took a year off during the pandemic and returned in a slightly different format. The lobby area where it is displayed was reimagined and remodeled, and the houses moved into a smaller space. When it returned, it was only a half dozen structures.

A display at the 2024 Parade of the Gingerbread Houses. Photo by Mary Williams

This year’s theme is Toy Story Time Machine. All of the structures, designed by teams made up of a prominent local architectural firm and a teenager with Type 1 diabetes, were amazing. One of my favorites was Timeless Treasures.

Mary’s favorite 2025 gingerbread house.

This year, there are only six projects. The good news is that visitor donations remain strong.  The bad news, at least from my perspective, is that the event is no longer the family activity it once was.

The Museum of History and Industry on Lake Union. Photo by Mary Williams

MOHAI

My third and final stop was the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) on the south shore of Lake Union. I’ve wanted to go for many years. Many websites rank it among the top museums of its type in the country, although I found it to be much smaller than I expected. (In fairness, I grew up in Northern Illinois, so what I was mentally anticipating was something more along the lines of Chicago’s incredible Museum of Science and Industry. Unreasonable!)

MOHAI has an expansive collection of artifacts, images, archival materials and oral histories, totaling over 6.5 million items. Only a fraction of them are on exhibit at any time. Most of the material at MOHAI can be explored without ever leaving the comfort of your own home by visiting the online collection.

MOHAI is at 860 Terry Ave N., next to the Center for Wooden Boats. Its first home was in the Montlake neighborhood. Seattle’s best-known architect at the time, Paul Thiry, designed the original MOHAI, which opened in February 1952. Thiry later planned the grounds of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and the old Seattle Coliseum.

The museum’s first exhibits featured stories of early settlers, the Alki landing, the founding of Seattle, and its growth from frontier port to a modern city. Highlights included Boeing history, the Great Seattle Fire, and an old cable car.

In 1963, the completion of Highway 520 forced the museum to move its entrance from the front of the building to the back. Homeowners in the Shelby-Hamlin and Montlake neighborhoods were not happy and fought museum expansion plans at every turn.

A new home

By the mid-1980s, after acquisition of a lot more stuff, the museum was looking for a new home. The city of Seattle offered the former Naval Reserve Armory near Lake Union, and MOHAI moved there in 2012.

Exhibit space expanded to 50,000 square feet, increasing room for the collections by almost 10,000 square feet.

MOHAI is a combination of rotating artifacts and exhibits. Admission to the museum — ranging from $25 for adults to free for kids 14 and younger — provides access to all of it.

As you enter, you can pretty much see a macro view of the entirety of the facility. It reminded me of an adult version of a children’s museum. There are enticing things to see in every corner of the four-floor expanse. Most of it is visible from just inside the doors, beckoning from every turn. But most of it is see, look, and read, rather than touch and do.

An iconic R

A Boeing B-1 hangs from the rafters, as if it were poised to land on Lake Union, but there are several walls in the way. At first glance, I thought I was back at the Museum of Flight. The B-1 was one of the first seaplanes in the area, used to ferry mail from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia.

A B1 seaplane on display at Seattle’s MOHAI. Photo by Mary Williams

To the left, a 65-foot tall wooden installation soars from floor to ceiling, barnacle-like knobs covering its exterior. The wood was salvaged from an 1897 schooner built with locally harvested timber.

An exhibit at MOHAI in Seattle. Photo by Mary Williams

On the opposite side of the atrium is the Rainier ‘R’. The 12-foot neon sign was once the first thing you saw when coming over the hill on I-5, alerting you that the old Rainier Brewery in the Industrial District of South Seattle was nearby. Today, it is part of an interactive display of Seattle icons. Each icon lights up and/or moves when you turn the corresponding crank below (a nod to that children’s museum concept).

A quintessential Seattle icon on display at MOHAI. Photo by Mary Williams

My personal favorite was the ruby slipper adorning a nearby wall. It is a 1990 custom built Stiletto Art Car. I saw a very similar car on display at the LeMay Car Museum in Spanaway on a recent visit.

A Stiletto Art Car on display at MOHAI. Photo by Mary Williams

Going up

A modern glass elevator took us to the second floor and delivered us to the rooms featuring Washington state and Seattle history.

One room features early Washington state history and emphasizes the role of railroads and the timber industry in the development of much of the state, particularly the Puget Sound region. Another room featured a display about anti-Chinese discrimination in the region, including their deportation. The parallels to some of our current political movements was evident and also alarming.

The third floor is primarily dedicated to a kids’ construction zone and an explanation of the ship figureheads that are suspended from the wall between the third and fourth floors.

Ship figureheads suspended from the walls of MOHAI. Photo by Mary Williams

The figureheads greet you as you depart the elevator on the fourth floor, which is dedicated to the maritime history of the Puget Sound. Small, square windows around the exterior perimeter of the round room frame the views of Lake Union.

A sign explains the significance of the ship figureheads. Photo by Mary Williams

This room also features a Fresnel lens installed in the Smith Island lighthouse in 1885. It guided ships in the Strait of Juan de Fuca until 1957. Many of the lighthouses that Day Tripper has investigated have been powered by Fresnel lens.

A Fresnel lens from a lighthouse on Smith Island, west of Whidbey Island. Photo by Mary Williams

Kickstands Up!

The second floor is also home to featured temporary exhibits. The first is “Kickstands Up! 125 Years of Motorcycling in the PNW.” The exhibit traces the history of motorcycling in the region, starting with the first motorcycle to arrive in Seattle in 1901. Highlighted activities include innovations, competitions and the cycling community.  It also features rare bikes and personal histories.

A featured exhibit at MOHAI celebrates Washington’s motorcycle culture. Photo by Mary Williams

In the next room, the Peggy Corley Showcase on Seattle History, is a smaller exhibit: “Riding Together: 135 Years of Cycling in Seattle.” While Kickstands Up! explores motorcycles, Riding Together looks at the development of bicycle culture in the Seattle area. The display brings together several collections, including a 19th-century women’s safety bicycle and cycling suit. It also spotlights local bicycle clubs and nonprofits.

Bicycles get some props in the 125 Years of Motorcycling exhibit. Photo by Vince Dice

Both exhibits will be at MOHAI through April 26, 2026.

South Lake Union

There’s a great deal more in the South Lake Union area that I’d like to explore, but I didn’t do it on this trip. In the first place, this is a primary example of “so much to do, so little time!” Second, we’ve already established that I went into this vowing to stay dry, or at least as dry as possible. Since much of what there is to see and do on a lake necessitates getting wet, deliberately or otherwise, I’m going to go back in better weather. When I do, one of the things I want to check out is the extensive collection of public art in the area.

When I started writing the Day Tripper column, I thought I was familiar with the area and its attractions.  I marvel at how wrong I was. I am always surprised at the way the dominos seem to fall when I’m researching a story. One thing always leads to another and at least one more entry joins the list of places I want to investigate. This month was no exception.

As we move around completing the tasks that make up the fabric of our everyday lives, we repeatedly drive the same roads and cross the same bridges without really being aware of how the areas connect and what’s just out of view. Studying maps of the area gave me a new understanding of how all these various bodies of water create the interconnectedness that makes this the greater Puget Sound region.

This month’s story also made me aware of not only how much South Lake Union has changed over the decades, but also how much has stayed the same. I want to investigate the old and the new and will in the coming months.

Much has changed at Lake Union in recent years. Photo by Mary Williams

The fourth floor Maritime room featured a large map of Lake Union that gave me perspective on all the things to see and do on the lake. We’ll be back. I guarantee it.

About the Day Tripper column

Gas prices are sky high, and a night in a hotel is approaching astronomically expensive.  So, for the foreseeable future, I imagine many of you are going to find yourselves taking day trips rather than the road trip vacations we’ve grown to love. 

This beautiful region in which we live is ripe with opportunities to explore new places, see new things, and learn a little something at the same time. I promise to keep the longest journeys to a one-way distance of under 200 miles. Whether you want to make it an overnight trip, a weekend, or just a very long day trip, we should be able to pull it off.   

I hope you’ll grant me the honor of your virtual company as we travel these roads together.  Happy trails!