The Alaskan Way Viaduct is an elevated highway that carries State Hwy 99 along the Elliot Bay/Puget Sound waterfront along the whole stretch of central/downtown Seattle.

especially in the crop you will see one of the numerous paths goint up a relatively steep set of stairs to downtown. This brings out an interesting fact: much of old town Seattle had a much lower elevation than the downtown we know. Modern Seattle was built over the Old Seattle -- in fact, portions of Old Seattle still exist under the streets, and some places are considered safe to visit.

Another interesting historical note: the term "Skid Row" originated as the name of a long sluice that carried timber that was cut near the shores of Lake Washington (in the region now called Capitol Hill) and the logs were run from the hills down to the port along this muddy path. The term began to be applied to the seedy parts near the port where the local drunks "hung out" (and, to this day, still do).