Image via flickr user ChrisB in SEA

The proposals for Seattle Center’s revitalization were released today, and unsurprisingly all but the “do nothing” plan call for the demise of the Fun Forest [P-I]. I don’t have kids or a yen to ride rickety rollercoasters and spinny things, so the Fun Forest has always been something I walk past on my way to somewhere else in Seattle Center, but I will admit to an appreciation of the place at night. It’s pretty when it’s all lit up. All three of the alternatives propose turning it into outdoor seating and a water feature, which sounds like it would be pretty cold and lonely during all of those winter months, if less conducive to scary news stories about people trapped on rides.

Another big change is proposed to the Center House, which the proposals would all like to “make more transparent.” It would be nice to see the heavy old building lightened up a little bit, since right now it feels so much like a mall food court. (Which, you know, is sort of what it is.) VERA is included in all of the proposals, and a skatepark might end up in there too, although I feel like we’ve heard that one before. Other options are acquiring and tearing down Memorial Stadium, turning it into an amphitheatre, and demolishing some of the Northwest rooms. They want to open up the edges of the space a little more, it seems.

Financial details aren’t available yet, but Seattle Center could certainly use a little help, and options will certainly go to voters for support. And maybe they’ll keep the Ferris wheel, just for the lights.