I’ve got to hand it to Amazon – they might be evil, but they sure build some nice buildings. Wandering around downtown Seattle, a particularly well-designed building jumps out at you, all glass and steel with a modern look at nice highlights. 8 times out of 10 it’s one of Amazon’s many corporate offices littered throughout the area.

Famously, instead of building out a sterile office park out in Redmond or Mountain View, Bezos committed to downtown Seattle, and the South Lake Union are in particular. And as much as old hand Seattleites hate it, it’s actually pretty nice, and Amazon’s work force of well-heeled twenty-somethings bring a youthful energy that’s long gone from many downtown areas.

These are Amazon’s crown jewel, The Spheres, a pair of miniature biodomes in the middle of the city. Unfortunately, they’re only open to the public two days a month, neither of which were during my stay. Next time, maybe I’ll get to see them from the inside.