The most drastic changes Seattle has seen in the past 10 years

Fun Forest got dismantled By the end of 2009, the amusement park that once stood just beneath the Space Needle was taken down. That area would see a lot of change in the coming years, but now it's settled for the Chihuly Garden and a playground. — **Fun Forest got dismantled**

By the end of 2009, the amusement park that once stood just beneath the Space Needle was taken down. That area would see a lot of change in the coming years, but now it's settled for the Chihuly Garden and a playground.
P-I file

Starbucks is putting an emphasis on hand-making coffee As if they're not the ones who pushed the coffee machine economy for all those years. But they had a good sense to pivot: Between the Great Recession and the coffee industry finally catching up to Starbucks, then-recently-returned president Howard Schultz wrote to shareholders that, "for the first time, we were beginning to see traffic in our U.S. stores slow. Strong competitors were entering our business. And perhaps most troublesome, where in the past Starbucks had always been forward-thinking and nimble in its decision-making and execution, like many fast-growing companies before us, we had allowed our success to make us complacent." — **Starbucks is putting an emphasis on hand-making coffee**

As if they're not the ones who pushed the coffee machine economy for all those years.

But they had a good sense to pivot: Between the Great Recession and the coffee industry finally catching up to Starbucks, then-recently-returned president Howard Schultz wrote to shareholders that, "for the first time, we were beginning to see traffic in our U.S. stores slow. Strong competitors were entering our business. And perhaps most troublesome, where in the past Starbucks had always been forward-thinking and nimble in its decision-making and execution, like many fast-growing companies before us, we had allowed our success to make us complacent."
GRANT HINDSLEY/SEATTLEPI.COM

The new normal of our weather Colder, hotter, smokier, wetter -- it's a little bit of everything, which is part of the problem for Seattle's typically moderate weather. But then again, back in 2009 that's what we were saying about Seattle weather too. As The Seattle Times wrote back then: "2009 was a year of weather extremes: We flooded in January, baked in May, roasted in July and froze in December." — **The new normal of our weather**

Colder, hotter, smokier, wetter -- it's a little bit of everything, which is part of the problem for Seattle's typically moderate weather.

But then again, back in 2009 that's what we were saying about Seattle weather too. As The Seattle Times wrote back then: "2009 was a year of weather extremes: We flooded in January, baked in May, roasted in July and froze in December."
GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM

Seattle's struggling to deal with the issue of homelessness In 2008, the One Night Count tallied 8,439 people experiencing homelessness in King County, 2,631 of them without shelter (on a below-freezing january night). In 2018, the Count Us In tally (which is slightly different so data that, while not directly comparable, is still representative) found 12,112 people homeless in King County, 6,320 of them unsheltered. For a little more comparison, in 1998 you find 4,327 people homeless across the county, with 784 of them unsheltered. — **Seattle's struggling to deal with the issue of homelessness**

In 2008, the One Night Count tallied 8,439 people experiencing homelessness in King County, 2,631 of them without shelter (on a below-freezing january night).

In 2018, the Count Us In tally (which is slightly different so data that, while not directly comparable, is still representative) found 12,112 people homeless in King County, 6,320 of them unsheltered.

For a little more comparison, in 1998 you find 4,327 people homeless across the county, with 784 of them unsheltered.
GENNA MARTIN/SEATTLEPI.COM

With each new year, a new notch in the "feel old yet?" meme gets passed around the internet. Can you really believe it's been 10 years since this song, movie, actor, toy or news item came on the scene? Has it really already been a decade?

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In Seattle, those marks move a little differently.

The past 10 years have seen unprecedented growth and drastic change to the city that once seemed to hum just under the radar. We've exploded, whether it's onto the national scene, as a cautionary tale, or just in terms of population control.

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Either way, the city feels different, and we're known for a lot more than just "Sleepless in Seattle," "Frasier" and "Grey's Anatomy" now.

The Seahawks are good now, although if you're outside the city you probably know them as a bunch of smart-aleck mavericks. And traffic is worse, but you're stuck on Interstate 5 with a bunch of Priuses and Teslas instead of Subarus.

And then of course there's the skyline itself, which seems to always be in flux and checkered with cranes -- and that's before you even get to South Lake Union.

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Click through the slideshow above to see the most drastic changes the city has undergone in the past 10 years.

SeattlePI reporter Zosha Millman can be reached at zoshamillman@seattlepi.com. Follow Zosha on Twitter at @zosham. Find more from Zosha here on her author page.