TIME TRAVEL
The ‘soul of Seattle’ marks its 115th anniversary
One of the oldest farmers’ markets in the USA, Pike Place Market has been a defining Seattle icon for over a century.
Considered to be ‘the soul of Seattle’, it spans nine acres in the centre of downtown and is where generations of locals and tourists shop and eat.
It all began back in 1907 when rumours of price-fixing were circulating. To combat this, Seattle City Council passed council member Thomas Revelle’s ordinance to create a public market at Pike Place.
On its opening day, around a dozen farmers brought wagons of produce. By lunchtime everything was sold.
The market expanded and in 1911 the first market master was appointed, whose job was to run the daily lottery for assigning stalls to farmers and vendors.
In the first 10 years, multi-storey buildings were built, most of which still make up the permanent arcades today.
Since Pike Place had the cheapest food in town, the Great Depression had little impact on trade and it continued to thrive during the Second World War.
But later, with supermarkets popping up in the suburbs and car ownership rising, the market’s fortunes slipped.
By the 1960s the maze of ageing buildings faced the wrecking ball and a plan was drawn up to build skyscrapers.
But the locals who’d loved it for so long couldn’t bear to let it go and Seattle architect Victor Steinbrueck helped launch the Save the Market campaign.
In 1971, voters approved a 17-acre historic district and a public development authority was established to restore and manage the market’s historic buildings.
In the same year, the original Starbucks coffee shop opened its doors there. Fast-forward to 2017 and the market expanded for the first time in 40 years. The $74million project provided new table spaces, retail areas, 40 low-income housing units and a neighbourhood centre.
Overlooking Seattle’s waterfront, Pike Place Market now has 600 vendors, hosts festivals and entertainment.
pikeplacemarket.org