Pike Place Market

**Pike Place Market**
	public market and tourist attraction in Seattle, Washington
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	Wikipedia
Instance of	historic district; farmers' market; tourist attraction; market;
Location	Downtown Seattle, Seattle, King County, Washington, Pacific Northwest, Washington, Pacific States Region
Has part(s)	Economy Market; Sanitary Market; Corner Market; Triangle Building; Silver Okum Building; Leland Hotel;
Heritage designation	National Register of Historic Places listed place (A, C, Pike Place Public Market Historic District, NRHP district, 1970–);
Inception	1907;
Partially coincident with	Pike Street Hill Climb;
	official website
	47° 36′ 34″ N, 122° 20′ 30″ W
Authority file
	Q1373418; VIAF ID: 244310151; Library of Congress authority ID: n2013018064; National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007282115205171; NRHP reference number: 70000644
	Reasonator; Scholia; Wikidocumentaries; KML file; WikiShootMe; OpenStreetMap; Search depicted;

Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington. It has operated since August 17, 1907.

Maps

From the waterfront northeast to Western Avenue and from Union Street northwest roughly to Virginia Street. With the following two maps, this provides a detailed view of the terrain of today's Market area in 1905, shortly before the Market began.
1905: From Western Avenue northeast to Second Avenue and from Stewart Street northwest to Blanchard Street
1905: From Western Avenue northeast to Second Avenue and from Union Street northwest roughly to Stewart Street.
1920: Market and environs before the streets were reconfigured by the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Pike-Market neighborhood today.

Before the Market

Before Pike Place Market, the produce market in Seattle was dominated by Western Avenue merchants operating out of buildings such as the National Building...
... and Agen Warehouse.

The early years

This George Hager cartoon in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the Market's opening day (August 17, 1907) celebrates the opportunity for consumers to buy direct: "Mr. Producer and Mr. Consumer Meet Today"
The Times-Bulletin expressed similar sentiments the previous day. A market-goer rides his horse past the Commission Trust hog to market. Headline says "Back to the simple life." The caption says "To market, to market, in spite of the hog / Home again, home again, joggety jog".
The Market on a busy day in 1907 or 1908, before the completion of the first arcade.
Farmers selling in the Market, 1910.
Pike Place, 1913.
Pike Place, 1919. The North Arcade is at right. In the background is the old Washington National Guard Armory that was demolished c. 1968.
Looking the other direction on Pike Place, 1919.
Looking south by southeast from roughly Virginia Street below Western Avenue in 1909, with Pike Place Market in background at left.
This 1921 picture, looking north(-ish) on Western Avenue gives a particularly good view of the armory. The bridge is an early form of today's Joe Desimone Bridge. The Municipal Market (demolished c. 1974) would either have been under construction or merely planned at left. The North Arcade is at right.
Department of Weights and Measures inspecting scales, 1916.
Meat and produce vendors, 1920.
Daystall, 1922.
Farmers selling at a daystall, 1922.
Vegetable vendor daystalls, 1917.
Washington Vegetable Co., 1917.
Vegetable vendor, 1917.
Quality Fruit House, 1917.
Sugar vendor, 1917.
Three Girls Bakery, 1917.
The Butter Store, 1917.
Stong's Grocery, 1919.

Rehabilitation

Some images from the decade or so before rehabilitation:

Boulton's Tavern in the Economy Market on the route down to Lower Post Alley (shown in 1962) later became the Rice Bowl, then (after majore rehabilitation) Il Bistro.
This stretch on First Avenue (shown in 1975) was torn down to build the Inn at the Market.
The Virginia Inn at the corner of First and Virginia (shown in 1974) began a slow process of gentrification shortly after this picture was taken.

Rehabilitation under way:

Rehabilitating the Corner Market, 1975.

Architecture: Exteriors

The "canonical" view of the corner of Pike Street and Pike Place, looking southwest on Pike Street from First Avenue. The building at right with the "Meet the Producer" sign is the Leland Hotel, surrounded by the Main Arcade. Left of the Market's neon sign is the LaSalle Hotel. At extreme left is part of the Economy Market.
A similar view at night during the Holiday Season.
View across Pike Place Market to Elliott Bay; Pike Place and North Arcade in foreground.
From the same viewpoint, but centered on Pike Place.
Looking northwest on Pike Place. Main Market and North Arcade on left; Corner Market, Sanitary Market, and other buildings on right.
Pike Street façade of Corner Market.
Sanitary Market.
Beechers Cheese, Seattle Garden Center Building.
Western Avenue view of the Main Market / Fairley Building / "Down Under"
Entrance to Lower Post Alley from First and Pike.
Looking up that same street.
Lower Post Alley.
Upper Post Alley; Stewart House at left.
Courtyard off of Post Alley behind Stewart House.
The Joe Desimone Bridge originally connected the North Arcade to the now-demolished Municipal Market Building.
Another view of the Desimone Bridge.
Ruins of the Municipal Market Building.
Market Heritage Center (museum).
Footbridge across Western Avenue, Market Heritage Center and parking garage entrance.
On that footbridge.
Another view of the parking garage bridge.
The Pike Hill Climb leads down to the Central Waterfront.
Victor Steinbrueck Park at the northwest corner of the Market.

Signs

Sign at the foot of Pine Street on a cloudy day.
Sign at the foot of Pine Street at dusk.
Rotary Grocery neon sign inside Pike Place Market

Nearby

Several notable buildings in or adjacent to the Market Historical District are outside of the Market proper, mainly along First Avenue.

The privately-owned South Arcade.
On the "water" side of the South Arcade at the corner of Western and Union is the former U.S. Immigration Building, once Seattle's "Ellis Island".
The Gatewood stands across from the Market at Pine Street.
The Butterworth Building. At left, a portion of the Alaska Trade Building can also be seen, and at right the Smith Block (which dates from 1906 but is not a listed building). The three buildings were jointly restored by Ralph Anderson & Partners in 1977.
Landes Block (also known as the Hotel Livingston or the Livingston-Baker Apartments), includes the century-old corner bar Virginia Inn and (down below on Post Alley) the Pike Market Medical Clinic.

Interior architecture

Entrance to Economy Market from First Avenue. Read All About It newsstand at right.
Read All About It at night.
Economy Market arcade, looking toward First Avenue.
Flower Row in the Main Market, looking toward the corner of Pike Street and Pike Place. The name is historical: flowers were sold here in the second quarter of the 20th century.
Main Arcade at night.
In the "Down Under".
Also "Down Under": Golden Age Collectables.
Twisty paths and ramps "Down Under".
Going deeper down.

Vendors and merchants

Pike Place Fish Co.
Salmon for sale.
Lobster tails.
A seafood display bulges out of the open-fronted Pure Food Fish store.
Loback Meat Co. sign: Main Arcade butcher.
Rotary Grocery sign, Main Arcade.
Produce in a high stall.
...and yet more...
...high stall produce.
Rhubarb.
Peppers.
Apples for sale in a daystall.
Daystall flower vendors. In recent years, farmers of flowers, mostly H'mong...
... outnumber farmer vendors selling edible produce.
Craft vendors in daystalls.
Starbucks #1 in the Soames-Dunn building still displays the company's original logo.
Manufacturing Beechers Cheese.
Daily Dozen Doughnut Company, Economy Market arcade.
Left Bank Books, anarchist bookstore in the Corner Market.
Inside Left Bank Books.
"Down Under": Pike Place Magic shop.
Cartoonist Nick Elazar.
Outdoor craft stalls on Pike Place near Virginia Street.
Chinese seal (chop) carver at an outdoor craft daystall near the north end of the Market.
Farm Fridays: farmers selling directly on Pike Place.

Performers

Artis the Spoonman and Jim Page are both well-known Market performers, although this picture was taken at the 1993 University District Street Fair.
Similarly, Baby Gramps, pictured here at the 2007 Northwest Folklife Festival.
Emilio busking in the Main Arcade.
Playing the piano at Pike Place Market since 1986.

Restaurants

Inside the Main Arcade: The Athenian...
... and Lowell's.
Lowell's.
The Sound View Cafe, in the "Down Under".
Overlooking Elliott Bay from Maximilien's patio atop the LaSalle Hotel.
Place Pigalle atop the LaSalle Hotel.
The Pink Door is entered via a barely-marked entrance in Upper Post Alley.
Main dining room of the Pink Door.
Pike Pub and Brewery, South Arcade.

Miscellany

Part of the 1970s restoration of the Market was paid for by having people donate money in exchange for having their name engraved on a tile in the arcades.
Pigs on Parade, part of a Market fundraiser.
Another pig-related sculpture.