The Seattle Traveler

Happy Birthday Pike Place Market

by Mary Jo on August 14th, 2007

The Pike Place Market celebrates its 100th birthday this week, with a lineup of activities, festivities and fun.

A hundred years ago, in an effort to eliminate price gouging by produce middlemen, the idea of a public market, where consumers could meet and buy from growers came to mind.  On the first day of the market, about 10 farmers showed up with their produce wagons.  Urban legend says that they were met by 10,000 people eager to shop for fresh produce.  By the end of 1907, a building housed the farmers, and all 76 stalls within it were full.

The market has experienced a lot of ups and downs over the years.  At its peak in 1938, there were 515 vendor leases.  A few years later, with WWII and the resulting Japanese internment, business plummeted to about 198 vendor leases.  During the internment, the nearby Outlook Hotel became a brothel named the LaSalle.  There doesn’t seem to be much record of how the market did during that time.

Eventually, the brothel left, and the market remained.  As the population base moved from the city to the suburbs, supermarkets sprang up for suburban shoppers, and business at the market began a slow decline.  People wanted to shop and brightly lit stores, and didn’t mind buying from a middleman.  The market neighborhood hit a decline as well, and it grew more and more seedy with each passing year.

Despite numerous attempts to turn the market into a parking garage, the belief in a market where customers could buy from farmers struck a chord, and in 1971, a historic district was established around the market.  That same year, a little coffee company by the name of Starbucks opened its first store at the market.

The market remains a vibrant, colorful, and very Seattle-like place.  Today vendor leases hover around 240 year round, with another 200 craftspeople and 100 farmers who lease space by the day.  You’ll find street performers and musicians throughout the area.  The neighborhood is an eclectic mix or old and new, with low income housing blending in with mid-priced and high end condos. 

It’s the same, only better.  And I still go there to buy beautiful looking and delicious tasting fruits and vegetables, knowing that most of it was trucked in that very same morning.

Other popular attractions at the market are the fish vendors, restaurants, bars, flower stalls, specialty shops, art studios and galleries, and Rachel the Pig.

Location:  The main entrance is at 1st Avenue at Pike Place, but the market covers a lot of ground.

Hours:  You can visit the market daily (closed only on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day).  Individual merchants set their own hours, although generally speaking, farmers are open and ready for business by about 8 am.  Craftspeople generally open a little later.

Parking:  The Market Garage is at 1531 Western Avenue, and has reasonable rates.  Many merchants validate.  Additional parking lots are available along First Avenue and also along Western.  Parking in the area can be difficult, especially during the summer.

Check out the market website for a listing of birthday events, as well as downloadable maps and information about what the market has to offer.  Whether you want to shop, browse, listen to music, or simply people watch, you can’t go wrong with a few hours at the market.

Happy Birthday Pike Place Market!!!

Photo credit:  personal collection

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POSTED IN: Attractions, Family Fun, Food & Beverage, History & Information, Lunch Hour Fun, Must-See Sights, People - Interesting Local People, People Watching, Shopping, Sound Like a Local - Local "speak"