The Seattle Center Monorail has been part of the city since 1962, and locals tend to have a soft spot for it. Part of the appeal is the ride itself. It’s short, fast, and genuinely fun. Part of the appeal is where it takes you. The Monorail connects downtown Seattle to Seattle Center, and for many locals, those two areas hold years of good memories: a Seattle Supersonics game, a night at McCaw Hall, a first trip up the Space Needle, an afternoon at Pacific Science Center. The Seattle Monorail is how they got there.
Key Takeaways
- Locals have a soft spot for the Monorail because of where it takes them and because a two-minute ride 30 feet above the street is fun at any age.
- It’s an easy way to bring visitors to two of Seattle’s most popular areas, downtown and Seattle Center.
- Some locals ride it to work and buy the adult 31-day pass at the ticket vending machines in either station.
A Ride With Real History Behind It
The Monorail opened on March 24, 1962, for the Century 21 World’s Fair, and it has run the same route ever since. The Blue Train and the Red Train, still in service, are the original 1962 trains. They’ve been refurbished many times over the years, but they’ve never been replaced.
That history is part of the appeal. When you ride today, you’re on the same trains that carried World’s Fair crowds, astronaut John Glenn, and Elvis Presley, who filmed scenes for “It Happened at the World’s Fair” during the exposition.
The ride has a memorable moment, too. As the train nears Seattle Center, it passes through an exterior tunnel built around the track as part of the Museum of Pop Culture, the Frank Gehry-designed building that wraps around the Monorail’s path. For a few seconds, you’re gliding straight through a piece of the building’s architecture, which is pretty surreal.
The Easy Way to Show People Around
Ask a local how to get from downtown to the Space Needle, and the Monorail usually comes up first. It connects two of the city’s busiest parts in about two minutes, making it a simple way to show visitors a lot of Seattle in one afternoon.
At the Westlake end, you have the downtown retail core, hotels, the Seattle Art Museum, and a walk downhill to Pike Place Market and the waterfront. At the Seattle Center end, you step out near the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, MoPOP, Pacific Science Center, Seattle Children’s Museum, the Armory food hall, and Climate Pledge Arena.
Board at Westlake Center, ride two minutes, and skip the traffic on Mercer and the search for parking altogether.
Locals Who Ride It to Work
Not everyone on the Monorail is sightseeing. It carries over two million passengers a year, and plenty of those trips are people heading to work: Seattle Center and arena staff, downtown employees, and anyone whose day involves both neighborhoods.
If that’s your commute, you can buy an adult monthly pass good for 31 days at the ticket vending machines inside either station. Senior and military riders can request a discounted monthly pass, which starts with a contact form so staff can verify ID. You can also tap an ORCA card at the yellow reader on the faregate and skip the ticket line.
Commuters also count on the timing. The ride takes about two minutes, with no stops in between, so the reliability doesn’t change with traffic.
Is the Seattle Monorail Worth Riding?
Yes. The Seattle Monorail is worth riding if you’re visiting Seattle, especially if you’re heading between downtown and Seattle Center. The ride takes about two minutes, gives you a different view of the city, and puts you near some of Seattle’s best-known attractions.
For locals, the appeal goes beyond sightseeing. The Monorail has been part of Seattle for more than 60 years, and for many people, it’s part of the city’s everyday rhythm.
