2111 7th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month
After years of construction in downtown Seattle, Amazon finally opened their glass domed conservatory on January 30, 2018 …but it was only for Amazon employees. Fast forward to April, Amazon decided to open it to the public two Saturdays a month! Yay! On the first and third Saturdays of each month, you can visit the Spheres free of charge and you can to roam around on your own but you will have to make reservations online here. You would have to reserve about a month in advance because spots get booked up fast. I had to book on May 21 in order to get in on June 16, but not many people knew it was open to the public yet. Now that word is spreading, spots are getting booked up faster!
It looks like it’s a tourist attraction but it’s actually a workspace for Amazon employees.
It’s also a lounge with cafes where you can buy food and coffee! You’ll need to get there before 3:00pm if you want to buy something to eat or drink though.
But the main attraction are the plants! The Spheres houses 40,000 plants from 50 countries.
You’ll also find little critters here too
And fish!
Since Seattle is not warm year round, the temperature inside The Spheres is kept at 72 degrees F and 60% humidity.
The most impressive wall is certainly this one: 20,000 plants woven into the 60 feet living wall.
Periodically, the 40,000 plants inside The Spheres get sprayed with a mist of water, which feels nice because it’s so warm and humid inside.
But let’s not forget that this is a workspace and lounge. That is probably the most amazing part about this!
My favorite part is the bridge leading to the “bird’s nest.” It’s a bouncy wooden bridge! I didn’t expect it to bounce when I stepped on it and thought it was falling apart hahaha although it feels like it’s going to fall under the touch of your feet, don’t worry! It’s fully supported by steel underneath.
There’s four stories to The Spheres and that’s how high the living wall goes up too. Most of the plants are on the lower floors and the fourth floor is mostly a lounge, but it’s still worth checking out.
The Spheres contains 2,643 panes of glass and more than 620 tons of steel. Holy cow!!
Is this a nap room on the top floor? I think it’s a nap room 😉
Well, that’s it for my visit to the Amazon Spheres! I really think this will be one of the new top tourist attractions in Seattle but it’ll be much harder to get into. It’ll be like trying to get into a secret clubhouse. It doesn’t help that it’s free because who doesn’t love free? Also, is this the new coolest Instagram spot? I think so 😛
Be sure to follow me on Instagram! Until next time~
-Diana
@dianajlee