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All the United States Washington Seattle Howe Street Stairs
AO Edited

Howe Street Stairs

Spanning an elevation of 160 feet and containing 388 steps, this is Seattle's longest staircase.

Seattle, Washington

Added By
Kavya Ram Mohan
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Near the top of the stairs (January 2025)   Joe from Bellingham / Atlas Obscura User
The Howe Street stair corridor is the longest in Seattle.   Lava Baron/CC BY-SA 4.0
It consists of 388 steps.   Martin Criminale/CC BY-SA 2.0
A view of Lake Union from the steps.   Joe Mabel/CC BY-SA 3.0
It is popular with runners and climbers.   Lava Baron/CC BY-SA 4.0
  Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
Cat Keeping Fit Running Stairs   Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
Running Stairs   Aty Trocious / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In September 1884, a nickel could have bought a ride on Frank Osgood’s new horse-drawn streetcar that ran along Seattle’s Second Avenue. The horses, or “hayburners,” were slowly replaced by more effective electric streetcars, but the city’s hilly topography made complete urban connectivity a challenge.

To ease the daily commute, staircases were built all around the city, to connect transport lines and neighborhoods located at varying altitudes. The Howe Street stairs, built-in 1911, is one of the longest stairways of its kind, spanning an elevation of 160 feet.

The stairwell was originally built to link two streetcar lines, but is today used as an outdoor gym of sorts for runners and climbers who turn to the steps for a thorough workout. The I-5 Colonnade park rests at the base of the stairs and is a natural starting or ending point for runs.

On the way up, Lake Union and Portage Bay slowly come into view, and with some squinting, so do the distant Olympic mountains. The staircase consists of 13 flights with 388 total steps. It runs along Capitol Hill, ending at Howe Street, which gives it its name. 

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Stairs Urban Planning Cities Transportation Streetcars

Community Contributors

Added By

Kavya Ram Mohan

Edited By

melissawent, Aty Trocious, Joe from Bellingham

  • melissawent
  • Aty Trocious
  • Joe from Bellingham

Published

May 24, 2017

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Sources
  • https://www.parentmap.com/article/fantastic-stairwalks-for-seattle-family-climbing?page=3
  • http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattles-streetcar-history/
  • http://www.trover.com/d/zaWQ-east-howe-street-stairs-seattle-washington
  • http://kuow.org/post/hidden-legacy-seattle-stairways
Howe Street Stairs
810 E Howe St
Seattle, Washington
United States
47.635942, -122.32055
Get Directions

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