Bruce Lee's Seattle Legacy

So… starting back in 1902, Seattle Community College was actually Broadway High School. In 1946 it was renamed and repurposed as Edison Technical School, where Bruce Lee received his diploma in 1959. Edison evolved into an institution of higher learning in the mid-60’s, eventually making the full transition and name change to Seattle Community College. They now have multiple locations across the greater Seattle area, where 9 out of every 10 faculty members fully admits that Bruce Lee was a total badass.

At a Kung Fu demonstration being held at Garfield High School, Bruce Lee was introduced to a senior named Linda Emery, a woman who would end up in his Kung Fu classes several years down the road, and ultimately become his wife.

Bruce held drop-in classes in the basement of the Ho Ho Seafood restaurant — a place that still stands to this day. Though questionable in the realm of decent fare, there’s no second-guessing the significance of it’s lower level.

Bruce and Linda had their very first date here; a very picturesque inauguration into any Seattle relationship. Nowadays it’s a bit more difficult to set sail the ship of love from atop the Space Needle, mostly because the elevator ride to the top will cost you about as much as your entire meal.

I’m pretty sure that coffee was viewed as an impurity by Lee, as he was on the pretty straight and narrow when it came to what he put in his body. However, on the lot that this Tully’s now stands is where the very first Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute was opened. You’d think at the very least they would have named an espresso drink after him.

Also known simply as the “Seattle Congregational Church,” it’s the site of Bruce and Linda’s wedding, which took place on August 17, 1964.

Essentially the best video rental place in all of Seattle. Specializing in hard to come by movies and cult classics, they also have a rich sales section and impressive website. Hop online to pick up a new copy of the “Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection,” (pictured above) which features five of the most unstoppable Bruce Lee movies you have likely never seen.

It’s a funny thing when someone’s life touches so many that people actually make pilgrimages to that person’s grave site. I’ve yet to figure out, however, whether it’s completely honorable or disrespectful when the pilgrimage culminates in taking pictures of yourself doing mock side kicks and one-inch punches in front of said grave.