Pike Place Market

After returning from Mount Rainier I went to downtown Seattle to check out some of the more notable streets. Probably the most well known street in Seattle is Pike Place which is the location of the Pike Place Market. Pike Place Market is roughly located at the intersection of Pike Street and Pike Place.

The street Pike Place was originally built as a planked road above Western Avenue on Denny Hill. The planked Pike Place can be seen in it's original form on this photo below.

Planked Pike Place

I believe Pike Place was present in the late 1890s but I can't find a definitive date of construction. Denny Hill was regraded in 1906-1907 which allowed room for the Pike Place Market to be built. For comparison sake on the photo above the dirt street on the hill on the left is Stewart Street. This is the view from Stewart Street facing out to where the photo above was taken.

Before the creation of the Pike Place Market local farmers in Seattle sold their good through commercial wholesalers at a location known as "The Lots" which was located at 6th Avenue and King Street. The Lots forced local sellers to pay a high commission for goods which eventually led for a push for a Public Market to be constructed. Pike Place was designated as the location of a Public Market by the City of Seattle in 1907 which in turn opened in August the same year.

Pike Place Market was supposed to be a temporary market place but it quickly became popular and the location never shifted. The closest the Pike Place Market ever came to shuttering was in the 1960s when the City of Seattle proposed redevelopment which was highly opposed by public opinion. Pike Place is still paved in bricks and is generally a sea of chaos between all the small shops, vendors, cars and foot traffic.

Parking on Pike Place is an absolute nightmare it seems for everyone, even delivery drivers.

The inside the buildings in the Pike Place Market resemble street level scenes from the original Blade Runner.

The Pike Place Fish Market from Human Resource video fish tossing infamy is located at the intersection of Pike Street and Pike Place. The Fish Market has been in business in the Pike Place Market since 1930.

The Pike Place Market even bleeds over into nearby Post Alley.

Update: I found this 1904 map of the Seattle business district, the map does not show Pikes Place present at the time. I suspect all that was present at most was a planked alley or walkway.

1904 Map of Seattle

Comments

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54. US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932. US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943. The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico. The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Former California State Route 215

California State Route 215 was a short-lived state highway which existed in the Los Angeles Metropolitain area after the 1964 State Highway Renumbering. California State Route 215 was aligned from US Route 60 at 5th Street in Pomona north to US Route 66 near Claremont via Garey Avenue. California State Route 215 came to be after California State Route 71 was bisected in Pomona due to relinquishment of a portion of Garey Avenue due to the opening of a portion of the Corona Freeway (now Chino Valley Freeway) during 1958. California State Route 215 was deleted by the Legislature during 1965. The history of California State Route 215 The initial segment of what was to become California State Route 215 was added to the State Highway System as part of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. The First State Highway Bond Act defined what would become Legislative Route Number 19 (LRN 19) as running from Claremont to Riverside. The segment of LRN 19 between Claremont and Pomona would in

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 . According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. - Ocean Street - 2nd Street - Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz. A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River.

Gribblenation

Search This Blog