Is Bellevue the new Seattle?
The thought crossed my mind several times when I spent a few rainy April days in Bellevue this April. For years, Vancouverites have been converging on Seattle for quick weekend getaways, drawn by the malls, the kid-friendly entertainment and the city's sheer vibrancy.
But Bellevue is quickly catching up to its big sister down the road, with attractions of its own that are starting to turn heads - with good reason.
Take the shopping, for example. What do Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Jimmy Choo and Salvatore Ferragamo have in common?
The exclusive boutiques are all at The Bravern, Bellevue's outdoor courtyard mall. A few blocks away at Bellevue Square, Tesla's sleek electric vehicles rub shoulders with some of the 250 stores connected by pedestrian corridors to nearby hotels like the Westin and the Hyatt.
That means in one of the Pacific Northwest's weekend-long downpours you can move around downtown Bellevue without the need for bulky jackets and umbrellas.
It's not just the shopping that's exploded in Bellevue.
The city's arts fair, held in July each year, gave birth to the impressive Bellevue Arts Museum where the focus is on threedimensional hand-made art.
And in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency, you can peek into the future of the Tateuchi Center, a $160 million performing arts centre that will feature a 250-seat cabaret and 2,000 seat theatre when it opens in 2016.
Like the shopping environment in Bellevue, it's designed with a younger demographic in mind, says John Hayes, CEO of the Performing Arts Center Eastside.
"Younger people interact differently, in groups, so we had to make this a place they will want to go," he explains.
The cabaret is his solution, a nightclubtype arts space where the Center can present different kinds of performances - such as an emerging local band - in a smaller, more intimate space. No "please turn off your cell phones" here, where Wi-Fi will be ubiquitous and cell phones will be welcomed.
"Phones are the way younger people access things," Hayes says with a shrug. "In this building, the way we communicate with people inside and outside has to be the way younger people communicate."
If he had to see Bellevue today, Mr. Tiddy would be rolling in his grave. Tiddy, one of Bellevue's early visionaries, amassed a large collection of real estate between 1910 and 1930, convinced Bellevue was en route to becoming a high-profile, affluent and vibrant city.
At the time, streets were unpaved and the economy was largely agricultural, and no one shared his vision.
It was only when he died, in 1962, that Bellevue started to develop rapidly. Boeing attracted new residents to Bellevue, which initially became a bedroom community to Seattle.
By the '70s and '80s, city leaders began planning further growth, wedding-cakestyle, with downtown skyscrapers growing up and residential neighbourhoods spreading around the periphery.
They kept Bellevue Park, a 20-acre green space in the shadow of the skyscrapers, as a reminder to have fun. In the summer months, kids converge on the park with frisbees, dogs lead their owners along the promenade and families picnic near the waterfall.
In rainy weather, though, you'll find many of those families at KidsQuest Children's Museum.
Presently at Factoria Mall, but moving next year to downtown Bellevue, KidsQuest is a learning centre for children up to age eight, with a selection of innovative play stations where kids can learn through activity.
At Waterways, they explore the movement of water through tubes and pipes, learning how it can be manipulated to make musical notes.
At the Lab Table, they shape a slimy, playdough-like substance called "gak," while in the Garage, they play with the concept of weight and explore the insides of a truck.
There's a treehouse, a play area just for babies and a craft table where kids draw on a community art wall. Even the washroom is a learning experience, with a board on the wall that teaches about the scat shape and size of different animals.
When the rain finally stops, we head to Mercer Slough, a 320-acre environmental education centre minutes from downtown.
At the visitors centre, we borrow a backpack stocked with binoculars and nature guides on birds and plants, before trekking down the hill to the slough.
A series of boardwalks leads us along the water, where we look out for some of the 170 species of wildlife that live in this protected wetland of Lake Washington.
It's peaceful down here and herons fish quietly from the still water. Look closely into the mist and you might see the ghost of Mr. Tiddy, gazing from the slough to Bellevue's burgeoning downtown.
If he could talk about the fast growth of this vibrant city, he'd surely say, "I told you so!"
IF YOU GO
For general travel information, contact Visit Bellevue at www.visitbellevuewashington.com or call 425-450-3777
Mercer Slough is open daily from dawn to dusk. Information is available at http: //myparksandrecreation.com or 4254526885.
KidsQuest Children's Museum is located inside Bellevue's Factoria Mall and is open most days from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. Admission is $8 for kids and adults, $7 for seniors. Information available at www.kidsquestmuseum.org or 4256378100.
Bellevue Arts Museum (www.bellevuearts.org)
is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free for kids six and under, $25 for families, $10 for adults and $7 for seniors. Contact 425519-0770
Accommodation: The Westin Bellevue, across from Bellevue Square in the heart of downtown, has 337 rooms and the Truce Spa where the massages are heavenly (www.starwoodhotels.com/westin) or 425-638-1000.
Where to Eat: Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant and Satay Bar (www.wildginger.net) Monsoon East (monsoonrestaurants.com/east/) is a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant in Bellevue's "old town".
SeaStar: John Howie's seafood restaurant and raw bar, this is the place for fine dining and serious foodies.
