Pike Place Market - the heart of Seattle
I fell in love with Seattle quite by accident. In a former life when I worked for Princess Cruises my responsibilities periodically called me to Alaska. In those days our sister company Princess Tours was based in Seattle. It made sense to stop by on my way to or from our giant state in the north. Visiting as an accidental tourist, the Emerald City captured my affection.
Pike Place Market is, in many ways, like a tour of Seattle itself. It is a nice microcosm of what Seattle has to offer.
The market turned 100 this past August, and Seattle celebrated the centennial with a week-long gala in the alley where it all began. To celebrate Pike Place Market is really to celebrate Seattle itself: The city and the market are so organically entwined that it’s impossible to distinguish the two. Pike Place Market is an enduring experiment that defines a city, a perennial coming together of steadfast individuals with a penchant for taking things into their own hands. Modern Seattle has grown up around the market, and much of the city’s vibe can be traced directly back to the DIY attitude that spawned Pike Place.
Pike Place Market is a rowdy and energetic beehive of activity. It’s a maze of fragrant flowers, polished produce, fresh-baked pastries, ethnic delicacies, handmade crafts, cheeses, wines, antiques, and fresh seafood — some fish is packed in ice, some of it flies through the air as workers toss the catch of the day to each other. A cornucopia of aromas greets you, from the bold smell of raw saltwater fish to the soothing redolence of baking bread, blooming plants, and freshly ground coffee.
In the early 1900s, farmers from the Rainier Valley hauled wagons loaded with fruits and vegetables to Produce Row where wholesalers who would sell the produce to grocers, restaurants, hotels, and consumers. The wholesalers were notorious crooks. Farmers rightfully complained they weren’t getting their fair share, and consumers bellowed at the outrageous price increases. When the price of onions rose from 10 cents a pound in 1906 to a dollar a pound in 1907, the outcries from farmers and shoppers poured into city hall. The Seattle City Council designated the newly built boardwalk alongside the Leland Hotel at First Avenue and Pike Street as a public market.
Off to a rocky start on the first market day August 17, 1907, the farmers and buyers quickly worked out the details and Seattle’s Pike Place Market was a quick success – without the middlemen. The farmers were from diverse ethnic backgrounds so the air was filled with Italian, German, Norwegian, and Mandarin dialects, a multi-ethnic cacophony that persists in the market today.
The market now encompasses nine acres of restaurants, shops, and stalls with nearly 200 year-round businesses, 190 craftspeople, 120 farmers, 240 street performers, and 300 apartment units. Also on site you’ll find a dentist, a medical clinic, a barbershop, an herbal apothecary, an optometrist, an Irish pub (in a space that used to be an embalming room), and a child day care: It’s practically a city unto itself.
In short, Pike Place Market is just as much about people as produce. In that sense, the vibe is unmistakably bohemian. “There’s a grittiness to the market that’s appealing, that you don’t get in a mall,” says Scott Davies, public information specialist for Pike Place Market.
With a unique policy called “Meet the Producer” any craftsperson or farmer occupying a day stall at the market must grow or produce what they sell. This guarantees that most of the products are one of a kind and that visitors to the market can meet and talk shop with the producers. The market also encourages family-run businesses; it’s not uncommon to find two or three generations of a family working under one roof.
That grass roots business mentality spilled over into Seattle and spurred impressive list of groundbreaking brands born in and around Seattle including; Boeing, Starbucks, Nordstrom, REI, Eddie Bauer, and UPS, while Microsoft and Nintendo can be found in nearby Redmond. Like Pike Place Market, many of these companies started small: Nordstrom began as a modest shoe store, and UPS was founded with a $100 loan. And like the market, these businesses tend to look out for their own. REI, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Microsoft were ranked in the top 50 of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in 2007.”
But, what about the infamous Seattle rain? It is as synonymous with Seattle as the Space Needle, grunge rock, and coffee. Truth be told, Seattle receives an average of 37 inches of rain per year. But that amount is considerably less than that of a host of U.S. cities, including New York, Atlanta, Houston, Memphis, St. Louis, Mobile, Miami, and of course my hometown in Tampa bay.
My Seattle friends joke that they rust rather than tan. “We have our Seattle mist,” says Jeff Renner, chief meteorologist for Seattle’s KING 5 News. “People just recognize that it’s a fairly constant thing so they tend to go out regardless”. Renner also says that you can tell the tourists in Seattle because they’re the ones carrying umbrellas.
Rain does not keep the locals inside and it shouldn’t hamper your visit. This active city lends itself to walking tours, particularly around the waterfront and Pike Place Market. In addition, 80 percent of the city limits are surrounded by water, so tour boats also abound. To fully enjoy Seattle be prepared to go boating, and bring a comfortable pair of shoes.
If you are lucky enough to visit Seattle for more than a quick stop, plan to be active. It is not a place that fosters couch potatoes. Visitors and locals alike revel in the outdoor activities the city's situation provides for. Seattle sits on the shores of two large lakes and Puget Sound, with remote wilderness less than an hour away, and it is flanked by two major mountain ranges (Olympics and Cascades), with Mount Rainier in full view from the city. It is also within easy reach of the San Juan Islands, Pacific Ocean beaches and major rivers. Adventure opportunities are abundant.
If you are only in Seattle for a brief stay, make Pike Place Market your priority, where you’re likely to encounter a cross-section of Seattle: doctors and rock stars, software programmers and meteorologists, the ultra-rich, and the regular locals. When in Seattle I like to stay at the Four Seasons, opulent in accommodation, and only a short walk away from the heart of Seattle culture, Pike Place market.
Pike Place Market is, in many ways, like a tour of Seattle itself. It is a nice microcosm of what Seattle has to offer.
The market turned 100 this past August, and Seattle celebrated the centennial with a week-long gala in the alley where it all began. To celebrate Pike Place Market is really to celebrate Seattle itself: The city and the market are so organically entwined that it’s impossible to distinguish the two. Pike Place Market is an enduring experiment that defines a city, a perennial coming together of steadfast individuals with a penchant for taking things into their own hands. Modern Seattle has grown up around the market, and much of the city’s vibe can be traced directly back to the DIY attitude that spawned Pike Place.
Pike Place Market is a rowdy and energetic beehive of activity. It’s a maze of fragrant flowers, polished produce, fresh-baked pastries, ethnic delicacies, handmade crafts, cheeses, wines, antiques, and fresh seafood — some fish is packed in ice, some of it flies through the air as workers toss the catch of the day to each other. A cornucopia of aromas greets you, from the bold smell of raw saltwater fish to the soothing redolence of baking bread, blooming plants, and freshly ground coffee.
In the early 1900s, farmers from the Rainier Valley hauled wagons loaded with fruits and vegetables to Produce Row where wholesalers who would sell the produce to grocers, restaurants, hotels, and consumers. The wholesalers were notorious crooks. Farmers rightfully complained they weren’t getting their fair share, and consumers bellowed at the outrageous price increases. When the price of onions rose from 10 cents a pound in 1906 to a dollar a pound in 1907, the outcries from farmers and shoppers poured into city hall. The Seattle City Council designated the newly built boardwalk alongside the Leland Hotel at First Avenue and Pike Street as a public market.
Off to a rocky start on the first market day August 17, 1907, the farmers and buyers quickly worked out the details and Seattle’s Pike Place Market was a quick success – without the middlemen. The farmers were from diverse ethnic backgrounds so the air was filled with Italian, German, Norwegian, and Mandarin dialects, a multi-ethnic cacophony that persists in the market today.
The market now encompasses nine acres of restaurants, shops, and stalls with nearly 200 year-round businesses, 190 craftspeople, 120 farmers, 240 street performers, and 300 apartment units. Also on site you’ll find a dentist, a medical clinic, a barbershop, an herbal apothecary, an optometrist, an Irish pub (in a space that used to be an embalming room), and a child day care: It’s practically a city unto itself.
In short, Pike Place Market is just as much about people as produce. In that sense, the vibe is unmistakably bohemian. “There’s a grittiness to the market that’s appealing, that you don’t get in a mall,” says Scott Davies, public information specialist for Pike Place Market.
With a unique policy called “Meet the Producer” any craftsperson or farmer occupying a day stall at the market must grow or produce what they sell. This guarantees that most of the products are one of a kind and that visitors to the market can meet and talk shop with the producers. The market also encourages family-run businesses; it’s not uncommon to find two or three generations of a family working under one roof.
That grass roots business mentality spilled over into Seattle and spurred impressive list of groundbreaking brands born in and around Seattle including; Boeing, Starbucks, Nordstrom, REI, Eddie Bauer, and UPS, while Microsoft and Nintendo can be found in nearby Redmond. Like Pike Place Market, many of these companies started small: Nordstrom began as a modest shoe store, and UPS was founded with a $100 loan. And like the market, these businesses tend to look out for their own. REI, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Microsoft were ranked in the top 50 of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in 2007.”
But, what about the infamous Seattle rain? It is as synonymous with Seattle as the Space Needle, grunge rock, and coffee. Truth be told, Seattle receives an average of 37 inches of rain per year. But that amount is considerably less than that of a host of U.S. cities, including New York, Atlanta, Houston, Memphis, St. Louis, Mobile, Miami, and of course my hometown in Tampa bay.
My Seattle friends joke that they rust rather than tan. “We have our Seattle mist,” says Jeff Renner, chief meteorologist for Seattle’s KING 5 News. “People just recognize that it’s a fairly constant thing so they tend to go out regardless”. Renner also says that you can tell the tourists in Seattle because they’re the ones carrying umbrellas.
Rain does not keep the locals inside and it shouldn’t hamper your visit. This active city lends itself to walking tours, particularly around the waterfront and Pike Place Market. In addition, 80 percent of the city limits are surrounded by water, so tour boats also abound. To fully enjoy Seattle be prepared to go boating, and bring a comfortable pair of shoes.
If you are lucky enough to visit Seattle for more than a quick stop, plan to be active. It is not a place that fosters couch potatoes. Visitors and locals alike revel in the outdoor activities the city's situation provides for. Seattle sits on the shores of two large lakes and Puget Sound, with remote wilderness less than an hour away, and it is flanked by two major mountain ranges (Olympics and Cascades), with Mount Rainier in full view from the city. It is also within easy reach of the San Juan Islands, Pacific Ocean beaches and major rivers. Adventure opportunities are abundant.
If you are only in Seattle for a brief stay, make Pike Place Market your priority, where you’re likely to encounter a cross-section of Seattle: doctors and rock stars, software programmers and meteorologists, the ultra-rich, and the regular locals. When in Seattle I like to stay at the Four Seasons, opulent in accommodation, and only a short walk away from the heart of Seattle culture, Pike Place market.
posted by The Captain at
9:01 AM
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