Seattle is
a city of hills
It is a complex
topography built by both man and nature.
At one point,
there was said to have been 3000
feet of ice above Seattle.
So it really sculpted
a lot of the landscape
and created a lot of hills
and to battle those hills.
Seattle has built stairs a lot of them.
OK. How many stairways?
I'm going to guess.
286.
There are roughly 650 publicly
available stairways in Seattle.
Oh, wow. I guess I was off a bit.
I guess there are some neighborhoods
I haven't tried.
Those 650 stairways
became a bit of an obsession
for Jake and Kathy.
How Romeo
or friends
don't come and visit us anymore
because we take them on too many stairway
walks.
It's an obsession
that began over 20 years ago.
Great view over here.
We just kind of
took off around the neighborhood
and here's the stairway
and it goes up the side of a hill
and disappears into foliage
and we're gone.
Where does this stairway lead to?
That first stairway led to another
and another and another.
And I'm looking out the window
and I go, Jake, look.
And there's just hillsides
full of stairway.
And I think that's what sparked us.
That spark ignited an idea.
Oh, and look for somebody with our book
oh, yeah. They got our book.
Come over here.
You're
meeting the authors of that book.
Did you know
did you know if you're
going for a walk on level?
It turns out Jake and Kathy weren't
the only ones obsessed
with Seattle stairways,
but nobody had written a guidebook.
All right.
So thanks.
The stairway slow you down
and take you to sites that you wouldn't
otherwise see.
But for some it's not about slowing down,
but speeding up.
I'm just trying to,
you know, get my fitness back.
I got a new knee back,
you know, early May
just an old, old fogy out here, you know,
try not to give up.
But when you're staring up at the 388
steps of Seattle's longest stairway
not giving up is easier said than done.
It's very steep.
This is the first portion of the stairs.
The lower half is actually
I think, twice
the length of this one
that you're looking at.
This is a brutal set of stairs here.
And, you know, people get a little too
you know, expect too much of themselves.
And this is a very humbling set of stairs
here.
It's a good day
to be outside and out of the gym
on any dry day in Seattle,
the stairs of the city transform
from mere route to bona fide destination.
Seattle
stairways aren't just
about kicking up your cardio, however.
Sarah, for some of us, you're
more like the senior citizen crowd.
I just take my time.
And taking your time has its own rewards,
I think.
I think the funnest thing
is the exploration.
Wandering around for a day
looking at different stairways
and different
nooks and crannies of the neighborhood.
Every stairway is different.
Every neighborhood is different.
What exactly gets you out into parts
of neighborhoods
you wouldn't have seen otherwise?
The stairways are like scenic
byways, byways that lead
you into tunnels
made of trees
through green spaces and urban oases
and around corners
that contain discoveries that every band.
This is a way to actually explore
with your own body
the topography of Seattle
and get the views
and also
see the neighborhoods
and all the quirky
things that you'll see by
doing it on foot.
So don't let gravity get you down.
There's a set of stairs out there
for everyone.
These stairs don't limit you.
You can only limit yourself.
You can start from the very top
and go halfway or a quarter way.
And when you reach the top
or the bottom, don't forget
that while Seattle built the stairways,
the stairways in turn built Seattle,
you see history
you see different kinds of architecture.
They're really important to what we are.
I like to see more people be aware
of our legacy of stairways in Seattle.
Because only if you use them and value
will you preserve them.
Let's go take a walk on the stairs
come on.
watched City Stream
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