Walk outside the doors of The Century and look straight up. You will probably notice that you are standing in the shadow of the Space Needle. But did you know how its history plays into the name of your home?
If you’ve lived in Seattle a long time, you’ve heard the story of how the Space Needle was built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair. But what most people don’t know is that the official name of the event was The Century 21 Exposition.
See the similarities in the logo and the unfinished Needle?
A Little History
The Century 21 Exposition was held between April 21 and October 21, 1962 and drew almost 10 million visitors. A 28-acre parcel of city-owned land near Queen Anne Hill was eventually chosen for the site of the Fair over larger and more nominally attractive sites such as Fort Lawton (800 acres) and Sand Point Naval Air Station (350 acres).
The site’s proximity to the downtown area, as well as the interest in converting the Exposition’s permanent facilities into a Civic Center after the fair made this location attractive to the planners. (Source: Seattle.gov)
The US Government, wanted to demonstrate country’s scientific prowess to the world, and committed over $9 million to the fair, chiefly to build the NASA-themed United States Science Exhibit (now the Pacific Science Center). An (at the time) ultra-modern Monorail line was also developed to ferry tourists from downtown Seattle to the fairgrounds.
Source: http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Classroom%20Materials/Pacific%20Northwest%20History/Lessons/Lesson%2025/25.html
But the visual centerpiece would be the Space Needle, so construction began. By the time it was completed, it came in at 605-feet, cost $6.5 million and had a rotating restaurant. It was considered a risky investment because of its grandiose dimensions and spectacular design, but became wildly popular. (Source: Seattle.gov)
The ‘King of Rock and Roll,’ Elvis Presley, shot a film here, “It Happened at the World’s Fair.”
A number of celebrities came to the Exposition as tourists, including Vice-President Lyndon Johnson, Walt Disney, and Prince Phillip of Great Britain.
By the close of the fair on October 21, a total of 9,609,969 people officially visited.
Nearly half of its surface area was occupied by the state’s own circular exhibit “Century 21—The Threshold and the Threat”, also known as the “World of Tomorrow” exhibit, billed as a “21-minute tour of the future”. The building also housed exhibits by France, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), General Motors (GM), the American Library Association (ALA), and RCA, as well as a Washington state tourist center.
In “The Threshold and the Threat”, visitors rode a “Bubbleator” into the “world of tomorrow”. Music “from another world” and a shifting pattern of lights accompanied them on a 40-second upward journey to a starry space bathed in golden light. Then they were faced briefly with an image of a desperate family in a fallout shelter, which vanished and was replaced by a series of images reflecting the sweep of history, starting with the Acropolis and ending with an image of Marilyn Monroe (but, again, including a mushroom cloud).
Last week we brought you some recipes to elevate your BBQ to the next level. This week, we have some suggestions for tasty libations. Lower Queen Anne is home to some fantastic bartenders. So here are some drinks based on each of our favorite spirits, from some of our favorite localicious neighborhood bars.
Note: Most of these recipes don’t list measurements for each ingredient. In general, start with 1.5oz of the alcohol involved, and distribute the rest to taste. You’ll probably just need a dash of things like bitters, peppers and lime juice, and a little more soda or other fillers. Most of these are meant to be served in a cocktail or martini glass, which only hold 5 – 6 oz total.
Vodka:
Tini Bigs: Chill-Hooly – Tangerine Vodka, Orange Curacao, Sour mix
New York Pizza & Bar: Liberty Lush – Smirnoff Passion Fruit vodka, Captain Morgans Passion Fruit rum, Mango, Lemon Juice, Sour, White Cran
Tequila:
Triumph Bar: El Cartel – Tequila, Dry Vermouth, Cucumber, Lime, Black Pepper
The 5 Point Cafe: The Breakfast Paloma – Milagro Tequila with fresh Pink Grapefruit Juice and a splash of soda
Whiskey:
Tini Bigs: Big Kahuna Bourbon – Bourbon, Fresh Basil, Pineapple & Lime Juice, Ginger Beer
The 5 Point Cafe: The Pancake Breakfast – Jameson with a flow of Butterscotch Liqeur served with a side of Orange Juice.
El Gaucho: Barrel Aged Gaucho Manhattan – Jacob’s Ghost White Whiskey, Bourbon, Cherry Liqueur, Sweet Vermouth, Bitters
Gin:
Triumph Bar: Burning Bush – Gin, Pastis, Raspberry Shrub, cava, Lemon
El Gaucho: French – House infused cucumber gin, lemon, simple syrup, champagne, served up
Share your favorite homemade cocktail recipes with us in the comments below.
We’ve flown through Fourth of July and sailed through Seafair. But everyone in Seattle knows the sun will be shining another couple of months, with sunsets that stretch clear into the late evening. And what is a better way to celebrate the back half of summer, than grilling on the rooftop of your building?
You may or may not know that you have a handy gas grill up there, with great views and plenty of room to cook for, entertain and delight your guests. So over the next two weeks, we thought we’d provide some tips and recipes to take your barbecue past the burgers and hot dog stage and into something completely memorable.
Tips from an Expert
Before we get started with some recipes and other helpful resources, let’s get some grilling advice from an expert. Andrew Brays is the owner of Pinky’s Kitchen, one of the finest places to enjoy barbecue in the Puget Sound. Pinky’s is located in a little truck in Wallingford, but the small location packs huge flavor. Pinky’s has giant smokers where they season their meats for a long period of time, but we asked Andrew for his number one tip for using a gas grill.
“Here’s a general tip to help every beginner. Keep an eye on the “hotspots” on the grill. Inevitably most non-commercial grills have hotspots and things will cook unevenly especially, when trying to sear at high temperature. Keep an eye on them and be ready to shuffle things around to get even cooking and sears. Also, when cooking steak use a internal thermometer probe (they are cheap and easily available) if you want to really be sure you are doing rare, med rare, med and well done requests. The thermometer is also great for chicken and sausages. Pull the meat immediately as soon as it hits 165 (or less if you want rarer meat) to stop it from drying out.”
Seattle Barbecue Recipes
Next, we found some Puget Sound recipes that will make you look more like Bobby Flay than Ronald McDonald. Here are some links to some great recipes from Seattle’s famous restaurateur, Tom Douglas.
Besides his grilling tip, Andrew provided us a recipe that’s not on his menu at Pinky’s. As a native Australian, he knows a little about Shrimp on the Barbie. Here’s his authentic Australian recipe.
Ingredients:
2lbs Easy-peel headless shrimp
Jar of Mama Lils Honkin Hot Peppers
4 TBSP oil from the Mama Lils jar
1 head cilantro
15-20 medium to large Garlic cloves
1/2 cup orange juice with pulp
1 TSP salt (or to taste)
4 limes halved
Metal or soaked wooden skewers
Instructions:
To make fresh whole shrimp easy peel, simply remove heads and snip open their backs using scissors down to the tail. Clean under running water if necessary. Prepping them this way enables the marinade to permeate and the shells easy to remove when eating.
Cut the stalks off the cilantro just under where it starts to bushel.
Rough chop all the ingredients EXCEPT the lime in a food processor using the pulse, or fine chop by hand. You want a consistency that is a little runny and not too combined so the ingredients still stand alone. A medium to fine chop.
Place prepped prawns in a zip lock and add the paste. Mix it around well by squeezing the bag to get the paste into all the nooks and crannies of the prawns.
Place in fridge for 2 to 4 hours. (If you are pressed for time 1/2 hour works.)
On a tray double skewer the prawns (don’t refer to the picture they are not single skewered). But this is VERY important because the cook time is fast and if you are dealing with hot and cold spots on your grill you want to be able to flip them and move them without them spinning. To double skewer like in the picture but you put two skewers parallel to each other through the prawn about 1/2 inch apart.
Heat your grill to as high as it will go. You want to char the shells before the prawns are overcooked ideally. If you can’t get it hot enough for a rapid char, don’t worry. It’s more important to just pull the shrimp off before they overcook.
Place skewers on grill. There should be a definite sizzle. Cook for two to three minutes a side depending on the prawn size. Flip them the first time when the colour has changed half way through and hopefully the shells have charred. You may need to shuffle them around. The prawns are cooked the minute the opaqueness is gone in the centre of the prawn.
While they are cooking, liberally squeeze lime juice over them.
When cooked, remove skewers and serve in a bowl with a bowl for shells. Grab plenty of napkins and some extra lime wedges.
Where to Get Meat
The epicureans among you will know that the best and worst chefs in the world can benefit from high quality ingredients. So we found a place in your neighborhood if you want to step up your meat and serve something really special.
BB Ranch in Pike’s Place MarketBB Ranch was founded to connect consumers looking for local, grass-fed beef and other meats directly with local ranchers raising animals on grass. They’re alocal butcher shop selling beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, duck, and eggs raised locally by farmers in Lopez Island, Bow, Duvall, Marysville, and ranchers in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties as well as Eastern Washington.
Get Wine
What night on a rooftop deck with a gourmet meal would be complete without the perfect bottle of wine? Again, if you want to go a class above your typical grocery store, we suggest a trip to your neighborhood wine store where you can ask the proprietor for a selection hat will go perfectly with you menu.
Champion Wine Cellars at 108 Denny Way is Lower Queen Anne’s own wine cellar, was recipient of the first retail wine license in the State of Washington. At any one time you can find some 1,500 different labels, including a broad selection of French wine. Whether you are looking for Bordeaux, Burgundies, Champagne or Rhone Valley wines, or something from California, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Australia or New Zealand, you’ll probably find it here.
Champion Wine Cellars
Next week we’ll bring you some recipes for Specialty Cocktails from your local neighborhood bars. If you have a favorite recipe or BBQ tip to share with the community, tell us in the comments below.
The Century personifies Seattle style and living in the heart of it all gives you the chance to appreciate everything our great city has to offer! Nestled at the base of the Space Needle, in the center of the city, The Century puts Seattle in your backyard. Shop and dine in South Lake Union, take in an exhibit at the Experience Music Project or just enjoy the fountain in the sunshine at the Seattle Center. When you have explored the city, your apartment home at The Century offers you an inviting urban nest with a stunning roof top deck.
