Museum of Pop Culture

The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) at 325 5th Avenue North sits at the foot of the Space Needle at Seattle Center, housed in an undulating steel-panelled building designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 2000. Originally called the Experience Music Project and funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, it was conceived as a monument to the history of rock and roll, with a particular focus on Seattle's extraordinary contribution to that history. Gehry reportedly designed the building by cutting up and rearranging guitar shapes; the result is one of the most distinctive pieces of architecture in the Pacific Northwest.

The museum holds the world's largest collection of Jimi Hendrix artefacts, including his handwritten lyrics, personal correspondence, stage costumes, and instruments. Hendrix was born in Seattle, and the collection acknowledges the city's foundational role in producing one of rock's defining figures. MoPOP also houses significant exhibitions on grunge -- Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and the Seattle scene that produced them -- as well as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and hip-hop. The collections reflect Allen's eclectic passions and the breadth of popular culture as a subject worthy of serious preservation.

MoPOP is open daily and is one of Seattle's major tourist attractions. Permanent collections on Hendrix, grunge, and the history of popular music are supplemented by rotating special exhibitions. The building itself -- all swooping metal curves in silver, gold, and red -- is a landmark on the Seattle Center campus, visible from the Space Needle and the Monorail. For anyone interested in the history of rock music and Seattle's particular place within it, the museum is essential.