Want To Be Married Within A Year? Sit In The Wishing Chair!

As I was watching "America's Got Talent", I was reminded of my trip to Seattle several years ago. It was such a beautiful city. I visited all the tourist attractions, including Pikes Place, Space Needle, Seattle Aquarium, but the most memorable place for me was Smith Tower. The view from the observation deck of this building was breathtaking, with views of Mt. Rainier, and the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges. Plus, it's the closest view in town of Safeco Field, the Colman Ferry Terminal, and Pioneer Square. This view out did the view from the Space Needle!

The crown jewel of the Smith Tower is the legendary 35th floor Chinese Room. The room’s name derives from the extensive carved wood and porcelain ceiling and the elaborately carved blackwood furniture that were gifts to Mr. Smith from the Empress of China.

The observatory’s furnishings include the famed Wishing Chair. The chair, product of the skill of a Chinese carver and quite likely the skill of an early day virtuoso publicity man, incorporates a carved dragon and a phoenix, which when combined, portends marriage.

Hence the chair came with the sentimental legend that any wishful unmarried woman who sits in it would be married within a year. Some validity to the claim was noted, or at least implied, when Smith’s daughter was wed in the observatory a year following her visit to the building’s opening.

Of course, I had to sit in the chair, as I was a unmarried woman. LOL. I'm sorry to say, I did not marry within a year of sitting and wishing in this "Wishing Chair". No harm in trying, I guess! Maybe I did not wish HARD enough! Check it out if you are ever in Seattle.