Downtown

The heart of the city is a showcase for grand music venues, past and present. Dress up or down and experience world-class performances every day of the week.

10. Benaroya Hall: 200 University St. The visually and acoustically stunning Benaroya Hall, occupying a full city block at Seattle’s geographic core, became the new home of the Seattle Symphony in 1998. This multi-use venue houses two performance spaces, a 4,490-pipe Watjen Concert Organ, and Soundbridge, a music discovery center for children.

11. Myers Music: 1214 1st Ave.
On this site once stood the music store where Jimi Hendrix bought his first electric guitar around 1958.

12. Pike Place Market: 1st Ave. & Pike St. Some of the world’s most famous “buskers” have played in this street-music-friendly space, including Woody Guthrie, Jim Page, and Artis – the “Spoonman” of Soundgarden’s 1994 hit.

13. The Showbox: 1426 1st Ave. This quintessential nightspot has presented an astonishing breadth of music since its cabaret origins in 1939, from jazz icon Duke Ellington and homegrown burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee to punk legends the Ramones and local heroes Pearl Jam.

14. The Triple Door: 216 Union St. This elegant and eclectic club was once the Embassy, the longest-lived vaudeville and movie house in Seattle.

15. Eagles Auditorium: NE Corner 7th Ave. & Union St. Built in 1923, this hall’s ballroom hosted decades of fabled shows by acts including Billie Holiday, Little Richard, The Doors, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin.