A New Seattle Hotel Sounds Off

Nestled in Belltown adjacent to the iconic Cinerama, the new Sound Hotel stands tall on a sleepy city block that’s been slow to change. The adaptive 42-story part-hotel, part-apartment tower—that bills itself as one of the “first for-rent mixed-use properties in the market”—incorporates unobstructed views of the Space Needle and South Lake Union into some of its 142 hotel rooms, which take up the first 11 floors.

Its name pays homage to the musical history of Belltown while playing up a Puget Sound forest vibe. Music motifs can be found everywhere, from the house restaurant “Currant” Bistro (get it?), to lamps made to look like brass instruments, and unique sound wave wallpaper in each guest room.

On the hotel’s quietest side are eight rooms that face Cinerama’s exterior brick façade. To compete with the sky-high views of the property’s other rooms, the developers commissioned local mural artist Weirdocult Jeff “Weirdo” Jacobson to fill Cinerama’s empty wall with a vibrant, music-themed mural.

Jacobson, who chronicles his installations live on Instagram, is known for what he calls “Post-Internet Hyperrealism,” creating art that combines elements of pop culture, modernism and abstract concepts. His Sound Hotel mural includes a brightly colored guitar and lush green trees streaming with light, offering guests who could have woken up to plain brick wall a window into Belltown’s backyard—a vision of Seattle inspired as much by yesterday as today.