Pioneer Square, Seattle

thumb|250px|Pioneer Square–Skid Road Historic District. This map also shows how Second Avenue Extension continues a piece of the north-of-Yesler street grid into the area south of Yesler Way. (The map dates from before the [[Kingdome was replaced by two new stadiums.)]]

Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of downtown Seattle, Washington, US. It was once the heart of the city: Seattle's founders settled there in 1852, following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay. The early structures in the neighborhood were mostly wooden, and nearly all burned in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. By the end of 1890, dozens of brick and stone buildings had been erected in their stead; to this day, the architectural character of the neighborhood derives from these late 19th century buildings, mostly examples of Richardsonian Romanesque.

The neighborhood takes its name from a small triangular plaza near the corner of First Avenue and Yesler Way, originally known as Pioneer Place. The Pioneer Square–Skid Road Historic District, a historic district including that plaza and several surrounding blocks, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

thumb|Washington Park Building on Washington Street in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. It was built in 1890 just after the [[Great Seattle Fire and was originally the Lowman and Hanford Printing and Binding Building]]

Like virtually all Seattle neighborhoods, the Pioneer Square neighborhood lacks definitive borders. It is bounded roughly by Alaskan Way S. on the west, beyond which are the docks of Elliott Bay; by S. King Street on the south, beyond which is SoDo; by 5th Avenue S. on the east, beyond which is the International District; and it extends between one and two blocks north of Yesler Way, beyond which is the rest of Downtown. Because Yesler Way marks the boundary between two different plats, the street grid north of Yesler does not line up with the neighborhood's other streets (nor with the compass), so the northern border of the district zigzags along numerous streets.

In some places, the Pioneer Square–Skid Road Historic District extends beyond these borders. It includes Union Station east of 4th Avenue S., and several city blocks south of S. King Street.

History

Early history

Dzidzilalich or was a winter village established on what is now Pioneer Square, near Yesler Way and the waterfront. Dzidzilalich is a Lushotseed name that translates to "a place to cross over" or "the little crossing over place", and it was built on an ancient trail where people could access nearby tideflats for fishing or travel to Lake Washington and beyond. The village had been built by the Duwamish ancestors of today's Duwamish, Suquamish, and Muckleshoot tribes, and it eventually had eight longhouses, to support a population of about 200 people. By 1852 the longhouses were abandoned, with only one structure still standing, but the site remained an important gathering and trading hub. Lushotseed speakers referred to Seattle by the name until at least World War II. They decided to create their own village at Dzidzilalich because it was better situated for a harbor than Alki. White Chapel, or Wappyville,), where low entertainment and vice were long tolerated. One of the earliest names, and one that stuck well into second half of the 20th century, was "Skid Row".

270px|thumb|left|1st Ave S, Pioneer Square district, 1901

Henry Broderick, approaching his 80th birthday in 1959, wrote of the neighborhood south of Yesler, "[P]erhaps never in all history, certainly not in America, has there ever existed such a massive collection of the demimonde grouped in a restricted area." Besides the brothels there were "an ungodly mixture of dives, dumps... pawnshops, hash houses, dope parlors and... the et cetera that kept the police guessing." Gambling prospered, as did the Box houses: part theater, part bar, part brothel. Police only dared enter the neighborhood in teams. Perhaps the only safe haven in the neighborhood was the saloon "Our House", which rented out safe deposit boxes.

Seattle's non-Native settlers pressured Native Americans to leave the town by a variety of measures, including harassment, the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott and an 1865 city law. Between 1855 and 1904, non-Native settlers burned 94 Duwamish longhouses to the ground and covered ancient villages to expand Seattle. However, the town relied on Native Americans for trade, canoe transportation, and labor at the Yesler mill. As the town grew and forced many Native residents to move further away, eventually some visited the town via camping on Ballast Island, a small artificial island created by dumped ship ballast near Washington and Main streets. People visited and lived on the island until the 1890s, when the town built piers over the land. The island's residents worked in sawmills, canneries, and hops farms; patronized city businesses; and traded at the Golden Rule Bazaar. They also hosted events like canoe races, salmon smoking and feasts.

Late 19th century

thumb|250px|[[Pioneer Square pergola, 1914]]

By the end of 1889, Seattle had become the largest city in Washington with 40,000 residents. That same year, the Great Seattle Fire resulted in the complete destruction of Pioneer Square. However, the economy was strong at the time, so Pioneer Square was quickly rebuilt. Many of the new buildings show the influence of the Romanesque Revival architectural mode, although influence of earlier Victorian modes is also widespread. Because of drainage problems new development was built at a higher level literally burying the remains of old Pioneer Square. Anticipating the planned regrade, many buildings were built with two entrances, one at the old, low level, and another higher up. Visitors can take the Seattle Underground Tour to see what remains of the old storefronts.

Just before the fire, cable car service was instituted from Pioneer Square along Yesler Way to Lake Washington and the Leschi neighborhood.

Regrades buried most of the earlier village of Dzidzilalich and its surroundings, making it hard for 20th century scholars to study the village's history. Development and fire during the 1890s and 1900s covered most locations on Elliott Bay that were important to Native residents of the region.

20th century

250px|thumb|right|Pioneer Square, March 17, 1917. In the upper-right is the [[Smith Tower. Below it is the Seattle Hotel. On the left are the Pioneer Building and the pergola.]]

During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 and 1898, Seattle was a center for travel to Alaska. Thousands of so-called "stampeders" passed through Seattle, making the city's merchants prosperous.

thumb|[[Pioneer Square totem pole in 2008]]

In 1899, a group of citizens stole a Tlingit totem pole and placed it in Pioneer Place Park. After the Tlingit demanded compensation for the theft, the group's organizers agreed to pay a settlement of $500. When an arsonist severely damaged the pole in 1938, the U.S. Forest Service hired a group of Tlingit artisans through the Civilian Conservation Corps to craft a replacement that was installed in 1940.

In addition to the totem pole, an iron and glass pergola designed by Julian F. Everett as part of a lavish underground comfort station and a bust of Chief Seattle were added to the park in 1909.

1914 saw the completion of the Smith Tower, which at the time was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. However, by that time, the heart of Downtown Seattle had moved north. The building of Second Avenue Extension in 1928–29 reconfigured the eastern portion of the neighborhood, by extending a piece of the north-of-Yesler street grid south past Yesler and "slicing into buildings in its path". Because "police found it convenient to keep the marginal types in one nicely packaged ghetto",

The Casino, also known as "Madame Peabody's Dancing Academy for Young Ladies", was a Pioneer Square pool hall owned by straight people. It opened in 1930 and had a reputation as the only West Coast establishment that accepted gay people, allowing same-sex dancing. The Spinning Wheel and The Double Header started a few years later, also as straight-owned bars in Pioneer Square that accepted straight and gay customers. The Mocambo opened in 1951, likely the first openly gay bar to serve hard liquor legally, and was the most popular bar for gay men from the 1950s to the 1970s. Owner Bob Bedord started many of Seattle's LGBTQ organizations from Pioneer Square, including the city's imperial court and Jamma Phi, Seattle's first gay social group. Bedord also founded the Queen City Business Guild, which helped stop the system of police harassment and pay-offs required of gay bars. Although he rarely sold any of his buildings, he sold the Union Trust Building to architect Ralph Anderson, whose rehabilitation of that building set the pattern for the neighborhood's rehabilitation. In 1970, preservationists such as Bill Speidel, Victor Steinbrueck, and others succeeded in listing the neighborhood as historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Later that year, Pioneer Square became a city preservation district.

1980s

Streetcar service returned to Pioneer Square on May 29, 1982, with the opening of the Waterfront Streetcar. The streetcar discontinued service on November 19, 2005, since its carbarn was razed to make room for the Olympic Sculpture Park.

21st century

In the 21st century, Pioneer Square is home to art galleries, internet companies, cafés, sports bars, nightclubs, bookstores, and a unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, the other unit of which is located in Skagway, Alaska. Rehabilitation of pre-existing buildings continues into the 21st century, including practices such as reinforcing brick walls with steel structures and renovating the interiors to meet modern comfort and safety standards.

Public art

Forest For The Trees

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This public art initiative developed by ARTXIV in collaboration with the nonprofit Forest for the Trees, aimed at transforming Seattle's historic Pioneer Square into a year-round open-air gallery. The project features framed artworks displayed on building facades and in alleyways, blending contemporary art with the district's architectural heritage. The initiative supports artists through a commission-based model, with proceeds from artwork sales reinvested to sustain future installations. By integrating art into the urban environment, the project enhances community engagement and expands public access to creative expression.

Fallen Firefighters Memorial

Each spring since 1989, on the weekend nearest June 6, the city has celebrated the Pioneer Square Fire Festival with a parade and display of antique and modern fire apparatus, demonstrations of fire fighter skills, food and craft booths, and a party. On June 6, 1998, the anniversary of the 1889 fire, fell on a Saturday. This year the Festival took on additional meaning when the Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial was dedicated. Thanks to the work of Battalion Chief Wes Goss and his Memorial Committee the bronze sculpture was now in place. On a granite block is inscribed the name of each Seattle fire fighter who died in the line of duty.

Gallery

Seattle - F. X. McRory Building 03.jpg|Manufacturers Building now home to F. X. McRory

Seattle - Pioneer Square Park from Post Alley 01B.jpg|The heart of Pioneer Square

Totem Pole - Pioneer Square - 1907.jpg|The original Pioneer Square Totem Pole in 1907

Seattle - Pioneer Square totem pole 01.jpg|Pioneer Square Totem Pole, 2007

Pioneer Square Pergola 01.jpg|The reconstructed Pioneer Square pergola

Chin Gee Hee - Kon Yick Building 01.jpg|The Chin Gee Hee - Kon Yick Building, one of the last remnants of the historic Chinese presence in the neighborhood

Seattle - 700 First Avenue 01.jpg|The Scheuerman Block is an example of the Victorian interpretations of the Romanesque Revival frequently applied to buildings erected shortly after the Great Seattle Fire

Seattle - Merchants Cafe 01.jpg|The Merchants Café, Seattle's oldest restaurant

Seattle - 101 S Jackson St 01.jpg|Heritage Building, a typical early 20th century commercial building

Pioneer Square Pergola detail 01.jpg|Cast iron pergola, detail

Seattle - Pioneer Building 01.jpg|Pioneer Building, detail

Seattle - Grand Central Hotel entrance detail 02.jpg|Stylized lion, entrance of Grand Central Hotel, Squire–Latimer Building

Seattle - Fisher Building 03A.jpg|Fisher Building, detail

Seattle - west on S Washington St at night 02.jpg|Looking west toward Pioneer Square at night

Elliott Bay Books - author reading 01A.jpg|Author reading at Elliott Bay Books

Seattle Occidental 2.jpg|Occidental Mall on a "First Thursday": the evening when most Pioneer Square art galleries start their new shows

27 Oct 2007 Seattle Demo 53.jpg|A political demonstration in Occidental Park

Seattle - King St. Station interior 11.jpg|Waiting room, King Street Station

Seattle - Drexel Hotel Building.jpg|The upper portion of the Drexel Hotel Building is a wood-framed structure that predates the great fire, but it was re-clad with new materials after 1945

Seattle - Delmar Bldg - State Hotel sign 01.jpg|The State Hotel Building preserves a sign from the Skid Road era

Seattle - Barney's Loans sign 01.jpg|Barney's Loans continues as a pawn shop as of 2008

SeattleOccidentalParkNight.JPG|Occidental Mall at night in February 2011

Excelsior V-Twins Seattle 1915.jpg|Motorcyclists in 1915.

Artists at All City Coffee 25.jpg|Artist gathering at All City Coffee, Pioneer Square in 2007

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References

External links

, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
Historic sites in Pioneer Square, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: extensive information about historic buildings and structures in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Pioneer Square
Seattle/King Co. HistoryLink.org: Pioneer Square — Thumbnail History
Djidjila'letch to Pioneer Square. A visual history of Pioneer Square and immediately surrounding neighborhoods, by the Burke Museum.
Guide to the Pioneer Square Preservation District Records 1970-1997
Steven Dutch, Seattle Underground, includes numerous pictures of the neighborhood and the "underground"
Pioneer Squares Contemporary Art History
Pioneer Square Seattle Hotel The only hotel located in Seattle's Pioneer Square District.
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan