Post Alley in downtown Seattle is a discontinuous series of alleyways which are located between Seneca Street and Denny Way. The corridor acts as a northern extension of Post Avenue which extends from Seneca Street south to Yesler Way in Pioneer Square. Both Post Alley and Post Avenue are named in reference to the main Seattle Post Office which had been constructed in 1880.
Post Alley is often most associated with a walking segment located in and around Pike Place Market. The so-called "Post Alley Walk" begins at Seneca Street and extends north through the market to Virginia Street. The corridor is famous for numerous local businesses lining the alleyway and the Gum Wall below Pike Place Market.
Part 1; the history of Post Alley
The modern downtown street grid of Seattle branches from Pioneer Square. This includes Post Avenue and the northward extension which is Post Alley.
The original Seattle town plot was located at Duwamish Head in what is now the neighborhood of West Seattle. Duwamish Head is the northern tip a peninsula west of downtown Seattle over the waters of Elliott Bay (part of the larger Puget Sound). The area around Duwamish Head is part of the Alki neighborhood of West Seattle which extends to Alki Point. Alki Point and the Alki neighborhood were the origin point for the city of Seattle having been settled in November of 1851 by the American Denny Party.
Originally the settlement at Duwamish Head was known as "New York Alki." The terrain ultimately proved unfavorable and was largely vacated by April 1852. Most of the settlers relocated east over Elliott Bay for what is now Pioneer Square.
Seattle would incorporate as a Town on January 14, 1865. This would be followed up by the community reincorporating as a city on December 2, 1869. In 1880 the Main Post Office building would be constructed at the northwest corner of Yesler Way and what is now Post Avenue. The name "Post Avenue" is a reference to this Post Office structure.
The Main Seattle Post Office can be seen below during the 1880s (Seattle Times photo). This structure would burn during the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
Post Avenue can be seen originating at Yesler Way (blue pin) on the 1894 United States Geological Survey map of Seattle. The corridor is shown on this map as a roadway extending north in a single segment to Denny Way.
In the decade following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 much of the downtown area in Pioneer Square would be leveled and regraded. This was followed upon by the opening of Pikes Place Market on August 17, 1907. Gradually much of Post Avenue north of Seneca Street would be redesignated as "Post Alley."
The so-called "Post Alley Walk" refers to the segment located in and around Pike Place Market. This corridor begins at Seneca Street and extends north through the market to Virginia Street. The Post Alley Walk has numerous shops, restaurants and tourist attractions which are synonymous with a visit to Pike Place Market.
In recent decades Post Alley has become associated with the Gum Wall located between Union Street and Pike Street. Specifically, the Gum Wall is located behind the Unexpected Productions building which opened in 1991. Originally patrons would stick chewed gum wads with pennies onto the building facade. The tradition has carried on but is now primarily consists of coin-free chewed wads of gum.
Part 2; visiting the Post Alley Walk at Pike Place Market
This southward view of Post Alley is from inside Pike Place Market and overlooks the Gum Wall towards Union Street. A sign indicating the end of the Post Alley Walk can be seen.
The Gum Wall segment of Post Alley can be reached from Pike Place Market by descending a stairway. This segment of the alley is accessible to vehicle traffic heading southbound to Union Street. The overhead clearance for vehicles is listed at 11 feet, 3 inches.
Scenes from the Gum Wall along Post Alley underneath Pike Place Market.
Another segment of the Post Alley Walk begins at Pike Place and extends north to Virginia Street. This segment is fronted by numerous restaurants and shops.
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