Downtown Tours

Through The Looking Glass

What is it that you simultaneously see and not see in the buildings around you? How does one build in such a way that we can control both temperature and light during different times of the day and seasons of the year? Glass!

Join the Seattle Architecture Foundation for a two-hour walking tour of Seattle’s unique relationship with glass. While modern buildings are often fully wrapped entirely in glass, Seattle’s older buildings have smaller scaled windows as you recede into the history of building design. Learn how architects and developers went from using glass as an opening nestled into a stone wall to today’s modern buildings sheathed in glass. On this tour, you will discover how glass is used from the past to the present as Seattle has grown in the last few decades. 

PNW bonus tip! At the end of the walking tour, guests learn how young salmon find their way to the ocean through the innovative use of glass in urban architecture.

The group will meet on the steps by the Amazon Spheres at 6th and Lenora (near the dog run). 

Please note: The interiors of the Amazon Spheres are not included in this tour. The Spheres are open to the public with reservations on the first and third Saturday of the month. Register here.

Photo: Jacky Wong

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Through the Looking Glass
Rainier Square Tower, Jacky Wong

Downtown Tours

Our Downtown tours begin in various locations.

Please review your confirmation email to ensure that you have the right address.

Tours are approximately two hours in length, unless otherwise noted. Tickets purchased in advance cost $25 for General Admission, $20 for SAF Members, and $22 for Students and Seniors over 65. Advance registration is strongly encouraged. Walk-ups are limited to space available and cost $30. Ticket sales close at 9:00am the morning of the tour. Online registration is handled through Bold Type Tickets. For our tour policies or to learn about booking a private tour, visit our Tours FAQ page.

Please note: A minimum of three people must be registered for tours to take place. Tours with fewer than three registered attendees on the Thursday before the tour will be cancelled. SAF may cancel tours in cases of extreme weather. We do not cancel tours due to rain. If you purchased a ticket for a cancelled tour, you have the option of transferring the ticket to a future tour date or being issued a refund.