Place to see: Lake Union, Seattle, Washington, United States

About this place:

Close to downtown Seattle, Lake Union is a glacial lake that is a popular spot for pleasure boaters and is also home to scores of Seattle residents who occupy houseboats there. Its northern portion also connects the larger Lake Washington with a system of locks that lead to the salt waters of Puget Sound.

Lake Union was a busy industrial site in Seattle's early days and was home to shipyards, sawmills, light industry and shipping wharves. The Boeing corporation began its business on Lake Union building seaplanes in 1916, principally for the transportation of US Mail. Lake Union still has a busy seaplane port as a number of commercial passenger airlines operate from its docks.

The neighborhood to the immediate south of the lake is known as South Lake Union, a vibrant, transitional neighborhood in which development is booming. A new streetcar opened in 2007 which ferries passengers from downtown to the Lake. The future corporate headquarters of Amazon.com will be located in South Lake Union.