Details: The Smith Tower (located at 502 Second Avenue, between James and Yesler) is right in the heart of Pioneer Square. For nearly 50 years after it was completed, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. You can take an elevator to the 35th floor observation deck for an impressive view of the city.
Photo credit: wikimedia
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Details: The Pioneer Building is located in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square at the corner of First Avenue and James Street. I was completed in 1891, after the Great Seattle Fire (1889).
The building is made of stone, red brick, terra cotta and cast iron. The exterior walls are made of Bellingham Bay gray sandstone for the basement and first floor, and then red brick on the upper five floors. Ornamental elements are terra cotta, and the three projecting bays are of cast iron.
The Pioneer Building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is just of the fabulous …read more
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On a typical day, Pioneer Square is full of business people going a hundred different directions, shoppers, tourists, and, since I believe in honesty here — a few men and women who call the park benches there home.
This is a great area to explore, whether you are a visitor or resident, as the area is full of shops, galleries, restaurants and cafes, and plenty of places to just sit and relax for a bit.
Here are a six suggestions to get you started:
Pergola: Located at the at the triangular corner of Yesler Way and First Avenue, the Pergola is an …read more
While wandering around the Pioneer Square area the other day, I cam across a disturbing, yet thought provoking, photography exhibit at the James Harris Gallery.
“Captured Youth” is a series of photographs of teens incarcerated in various Washington state correctional facilities. In these portraits, photographer Steve Davis captures both the starkness of their lives and the buildings in which they spend their lives. It’s a mix of arrogance and pain, pride and sorrow, lots of anger, and, the observer would hope, of regret.
I’m not entirely sure what emotions this exhibit evoked – probably just a sense of helplessness. Helplessness at our …read more
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Location: To continue with the courtroom theme from yesterday, this is the exterior of the King County Courthouse. The courthouse is located between 2nd and 3rd Avenues and James and Jefferson Streets, on the periphery of Pioneer Square.
Photo credit: Seth Gaines
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This neighborhood just isn’t what it used to be!
No one can argue with how the Pioneer Square area of Seattle has changed over the last couple of decades. Before it was what you see now, there was a whole different neighborhood of streets and storefronts, all of which were destroyed in the 1889 Seattle fire.
Out of bad came good, and the fire turned out to be a turning point (for the better) for the city. Although it totally devastated 29 square blocks of the city, including nearly the entire business district, most of the wharves, and the railroad terminals, the rebuilding …read more
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