Volunteer Park Water Tower is a 1906 brick tower on one of Capitol Hill's highest points. Climb the staircase wrapped around the tank to reach an enclosed observation deck with views toward the Cascades, the Olympics, and central Seattle.
The metal grates limit photography, and there is no elevator, but the climb is short and the reward is a free, old-fashioned city viewpoint inside one of Seattle's classic Olmsted-era parks.