Last place Kurt Cobain was seen alive

Linda's Tavern at 707 East Pine Street on Capitol Hill in Seattle is the last place Kurt Cobain was seen alive. In early April 1994, Cobain came into the bar with a friend and drank a beer in the booth at the top of the stairs. Days later, on 5 April 1994, he was found dead at his home on Lake Washington Boulevard. He was 27 years old.

The bar had only been open for a few weeks when Cobain walked in. Linda's Tavern was opened in February 1994 by Linda Derschang, bankrolled by Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt — the founders of Sub Pop Records, the label that had signed Nirvana and released Bleach in 1989. The connection between the bar and the band ran deep from the start. When news of Cobain's death broke, those who knew him gathered at Linda's.

Cobain had left the Exodus Recovery Center in Los Angeles on 1 April, climbing over a wall and flying back to Seattle. He had been checked into rehab following an intervention by his wife Courtney Love, his bandmates, and friends. For the next few days, his whereabouts were uncertain. He was spotted at Linda's and at his Lake Washington home. On 8 April, an electrician arriving to install a security system found Cobain's body in the greenhouse above the garage.

Linda's Tavern has been described as the "grunge Cheers" — a Western-themed bar with cowboy decor, a popular patio, and a weekend brunch that draws crowds from across Capitol Hill. It became a neighbourhood institution in its own right, independent of its connection to Cobain. But the booth at the top of the stairs remains, and visitors still seek it out.

Linda's sits in the heart of Capitol Hill — Seattle's most culturally dense neighbourhood, the same streets where Sub Pop, grunge, and the early '90s Seattle scene took shape. Other Cobain-related sites in the city include Viretta Park (adjacent to his former home, where fans leave tributes), the house on Lake Washington Boulevard itself (a private residence), and the various venues where Nirvana played their earliest shows.