“Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest” and other ways to get around in the “Jet City”.
"Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest" This notable mnemonic is helpful in remembering Seattle's core streets. Twelve streets named in first letter pairs represent the mnemonic (from South to North - Pioneer Square to the retail core) Jefferson & James, Cherry & Columbia, Marion & Madison, Spring & Seneca, University & Union and Pike & Pine - JCMSUP.
Due to a disagreement among the cities founding fathers and the desire to build the streets to accommodate the curve of Elliott Bay and Lake Union to the north, there are about four differently angled sections that connect to one another with short streets, angles and some triangles. Most of the north-south avenues (numbered) are one-way, with Third Avenue being a two-way street.
Pay attention to the directional in an address, it can tell you what section of town you are headed for, there are eleven directional sections used in and around the city. If it is used as a prefix it is for streets that run east-west. A suffix it is for avenues running north-south. If no directional is used it may be in the downtown core (or not). "S" would be south of Yesler and "N" is north of Denny (unless you're on a street (east-west) in this area which they decided not to prefix).
To make it more interesting I-5 was built along the back side of downtown so much of the downtown region averages about 8-11 blocks deep with a sometimes steep elevation gain between the bay and the freeway. Then continuing on up past the freeway is the eclectic area known as Capitol Hill (sometimes noted with "E" directional).
Only one street, Madison Street, runs uninterrupted from the salt water of Puget Sound in the west to the fresh water of Lake Washington to the east. The continuous nature of this street is due to the fact that a cable car at one time ran along this route. And only I-5 and highway 99 (along the picturesque Alaskan Way Viaduct) run continuously through town in a north-south direction.
The tour maps http://www.tourmap.com/ available when you check into a downtown Seattle hotel is not only charming but they are quite functional as well! Tiny picture ads and historical nuggets highlight the colorful map. It even shows where the I-5 onramps are located-something I've never been able to remember from one trip to the next (with the exception of the Mercer St. onramps-which appears to be the only one which enters the freeway in both directions!)
Visitors might save them selves some headaches by not bringing a car into the downtown area. If you do bring a car, don't panic. A little advance planning will make it easier. If you like to walk a bit, shuttling from the airport might be a nice option. But beware Seattle hills and rain. Check with your hotel as some offer transportation around the city and some don't.
