the power of pop culture in seattle
Seattle is known for its sprawling fish market, original Starbucks, and gross gum wall. It’s also home to a 40,000 sq ft museum dedicated to pop culture.
From music to movies to anime, here are some of our favorite finds.
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It's Electric!
The Museum Of Pop Culture, designed by Frank O‘ Gehry, is made up of 21,000 individually cut and shaped steel and aluminum shingles. The original model was actually created from sliced up electric guitars.
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Lions, Tigers & Bears... Oh My!
The cowardly lion’s costume featured in the original “Wizard of Oz” movie (1939) was actually made out of real lion’s pelts. The outfit was so hot to wear that actor, Bert Lahr, struggled under the heat of the set lights.
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Keep Your Pants On
Legendary guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, who learned to play guitar while a student in Seattle, took to the stage in England wearing a “butterfly” costume pinned at the crotch. Hey, when your zipper won’t stay up, you only have a few choices.
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Come As You Are
Kurt Cobain wasn’t only a punk rock icon, he was also an artist. In this photo, the Nirvana frontman can be seen flexing his artistic muscle his senior year of high school. He also went on to create some of the art on Nirvana’s album covers including 'In utero' and 'Incestiside'.
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Star Wars Prop Master
The original Star Wars light sabers were made using antique camera flash parts. It was actually a 1940’s Graflex camera with a 3-cell flash gun that was used as the basis for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber.
