Saturday, November 8, 2008

Cheap Seattle: Nordic Heritage Museum

This post has absolutely nothing to do with South Seattle. It's just a bunch of snapshots from Ballard's Nordic Heritage Museum, "the only museum in the United States to honor the legacy of immigrants from the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden." I paid a visit on Friday because I'm still on maternity leave and have nothing better to do than to act like a tourist in my own city.

The museum is full of life-size dioramas depicting life in old Ballard and other Scandinavian immigrant communities.

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The sauna exhibit in the Finland room:

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I inadvertently dressed on-brand for the trip, in a skirt from Finland. It's not Marimekko, but some other brand they sell at Tuuli downtown. I love this print and these colors.

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While I did enjoy the dioramas and the current photography exhibit, I wished the museum devoted more space to showcase modern design in Scandinavia, which is home to some of the world's best printmakers, textile designers, glass artists, and furniture makers. (The seating area did have some pieces from Ikea, though.)

The Nordic Heritage Museum is located at 3014 NW 67th Street in Seattle. Museum hours are 10am - 4pm Tuesday-Saturday and 12pm - 4pm Sunday. Adult admission is $6.

Oh, hey, while I'm totally off the topic of South Seattle, I'll add these shots of the Rendezvous in Belltown, where I had a couple of my five (?) vodka sodas last night.

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3 comments:

chuck b. said...

You deserve a best Seattle Blog Photography prize.

JvA said...

Thank you! I feel bad because photography isn't allowed in there. But I couldn't resist. And I just used the old point-and-shot and disabled the flash.

simple man said...

If you're in tourist mode, I recommend the Underground Tour. I had to wait for inlaws from upstate NY to come before I went, after 35 years in Seattle, but it's really cool!