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Bellevue Arts Museum

Steven Holl-designed art, craft and design museum in downtown Bellevue, a landmark of the city's pedestrian corridor.

2001
Building opened
Steven Holl
Architect
3
Floors

Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) is a museum devoted to art, craft and design located at the corner of Bellevue Way NE and NE Sixth Street in downtown Bellevue. Its three-story, roughly 36,000-square-foot home gives the institution a dramatic presence along the downtown pedestrian corridor and is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the city.

The current building was designed by internationally renowned architect Steven Holl, working with associate architect Sclater Partners, and opened in 2001. Holl's design is known for its sculptural massing and carefully orchestrated natural light. The museum traces its roots to the long-running Bellevue Arts Fair, which has drawn crowds to the city each summer for decades.

BAM long served as the Eastside's flagship venue for rotating exhibitions of contemporary craft and design. Facing financial difficulties, the museum announced an indefinite closure of its building in September 2024.

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Sound Transit's 33-mile light rail line linking Seattle to the Eastside, with eight stations in and near Bellevue.

Length
33 miles
Operator
Sound Transit
Bellevue stations
6
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Bellevue City Hall

9 fl

Downtown

Bellevue's nine-story city hall, a former telephone-company building reopened as municipal headquarters in 2006.

Type
City hall / government
Building completed
1983 (as Pacific NW Bell)
City reopened as City Hall
2006
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Opened
April 27, 2024
Line
2 Line
Type
Retained cut
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Bellevue Library

Downtown

The 80,000-square-foot Bellevue Library is the largest branch in the King County Library System.

Type
Public library (KCLS)
Building opened
July 1, 1993
Size
approx. 80,000 sq ft