NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington

Pioneer Square is the neighborhood where Seattle, Washington was founded in 1853. It is now a National Historic District. It is bounded 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 4th Avenue S. on the east, beyond which is the International District; and extends between one and two blocks north of Yesler Way, beyond which is the rest of Downtown. Because of the shift in the street grid north of Yesler, the northern "border" of the neighborhood zigzags along numerous streets. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (394x698, 13 KB)Map of Seattle, Washington with Pioneer Square neighborhood highlighted. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (394x698, 13 KB)Map of Seattle, Washington with Pioneer Square neighborhood highlighted. ... Neighbourhood is also a term in topology. ... Seattle redirects here. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... Elliott Bay and the Seattle waterfront, looking north from the Pacific Coast Co. ... SoDo SoDo is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, that makes up part of the citys Industrial District. ... The International District of Seattle, Washington (also known as Chinatown) has been called the only place in the continental United States where Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Laotian Americans, Cambodian Americans, and other Asian Americans live in one neighborhood. ... Downtown Seattle, from top of Space Needle (looking south) Map of downtown Seattle Downtown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... The street layout of Seattle is based on the grid pattern. ...

Much of the neighborhood is on landfill: in pioneer times, the area roughly between First and Second Avenue, bounded on the south by Jackson Street, and extending north almost to Yesler Way (about 2-1/2 city blocks) was a low-lying offshore island. The mainland shore roughly followed what is now Yesler Way to about Fourth Avenue, then ran southeast, at an angle of about 45 degrees to the current shoreline. Slightly inland were steep bluffs, which were largely smoothed away by regrading in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Pioneer Square Pergola, 1914
Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives

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. Fortunately for the neighborhood the economy was strong at the time, so Pioneer Square was quickly rebuilt. The new buildings followed a Romanesque Revival architectural style. 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 to anticipate the regrade. Visitors can take the Seattle Underground Tour to see what remains of the old storefronts. Pioneer Square Pergola, 1914 Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives Image sepia toned, tonal range increased by ShadowDragon This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Pioneer Square Pergola, 1914 Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives Image sepia toned, tonal range increased by ShadowDragon This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Olympia Seattle Area Ranked 18th - Total 71,342 sq. ... Start of the Great Seattle Fire, looking south on 1st Ave. ... Romanesque St. ... A former bank; the vault door is in the background on the right. ...

Just before the fire, cable car service was instituted from Pioneer Square along Yesler Way to Lake Washington and the Leschi neighborhood. The line was shut down on August 10, 1940. Streetcar service returned to Pioneer Square on May 29, 1982 with the opening of the Waterfront Streetcar. Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are propelled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. ... Lake Washington is the second largest natural lake in Washington state, USA, behind Lake Chelan, and the largest lake in King County. ... Leschi is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington, named after Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Heading toward Broad Street, on S. Main Street between 1st and Occidental Avenues S. The Waterfront Streetcar, officially the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line, is a 1. ...

During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 and 1898, Seattle was a center for travel to Alaska. Thousands of so-called "sourdoughs" passed through Seattle making the city's merchants prosperous. A year later, in 1899, a group of businessmen stole a Tlingit totem pole and placed it in Pioneer Place Park. When an arsonist destroyed the pole in 1938, the city sent the pieces back to the Tlingit tribe who carved a new one and gave it to Seattle. In addition to the totem pole, a wrought-iron Victorian pergola and a bust of Chief Seattle were added to the park in 1909. The year 1914 saw the completion of the Smith Tower, which at the time was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. A typical gold mining operation, on Bonanza Creek The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to and gold prospecting along the Klondike River near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, after gold was discovered in the late 19th century. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Juneau Anchorage Area Ranked 1st - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 kmÂ²) - Width 808 miles (1,300 km) - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km) - % water 13. ... A Tlingit totem pole in Ketchikan ca. ... Totem Poles are monumental sculptures carved from great trees, typically Western Redcedar, by a number of Native American cultures along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. ... The term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles during the Victorian era: Neoclassicism Gothic Revival Italianate Second Empire Neo-Grec Romanesque Revival (Includes Richardsonian Revival) Renaissance Revival Queen Anne Jacobethan architecture (the precusor to the Queen Anne style) British Arts and Crafts movement painted... In Valencia a newly-installed pergola shows its structure, which the climbing roses will cover. ... Chief Seattle Chief Seattle (also Sealth, Seathl or See-ahth) (c. ... Smith Tower construction, February 1913 The Smith Tower, located in Pioneer Square, is the oldest skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest river in the United States; the longest is the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi. ...

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.

In the 1960s, Pioneer Square became a target of urban renewal. One proposal was to replace the buildings with parking garages to serve Downtown Seattle. In 1962, the historic Seattle Hotel was replaced with one such parking garage, commonly referred to as the "Sinking Ship" garage because of its appearance when viewed from 1st and Yesler; it stands to this day. Another proposal was to build a ring road which would have required destroying many of Pioneer Square's buildings. In 1970, preservationists such as Bill Speidel and others succeeded in making the neighborhood a national historic district. Later that year, Pioneer Square became a city preservation district. Pioneer Square, March 17, 1917 Looking east from the intersection of James St. ... Pioneer Square, March 17, 1917 Looking east from the intersection of James St. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Smith Tower construction, February 1913 The Smith Tower, located in Pioneer Square, is the oldest skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. ... Blight often stands side-by-side with new structures during urban renewal efforts. ... Downtown Seattle, from top of Space Needle (looking south) Map of downtown Seattle Downtown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... Bill Speidel was a columnist for The Seattle Times who wrote Sons of the Profits [ISBN 0914890069], a book about the people who settled and built Seattle, Washington. ...

In early 2001, Pioneer Square suffered three crises. First, on January 15, an eighteen-wheeler crashed into the pergola, shattering it into thousands of pieces; it has since been restored. Next, on February 27, violence erupted in the neighborhood's Fat Tuesday festivities during which a young man, Kris Kime, was fatally beaten. Finally, the next day (February 28), a major earthquake damaged some of the buildings. Had most of them not undergone seismic retrofitting, the damage would likely have been much worse. January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... On February 27, 2001, during Seattles Mardi Gras celebration, a riot broke out in the Pioneer Square area of the city. ... Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. It is the final day of Carnival (English:IPA: and Romance languages:IPA: ). It is a celebration that is held just before the beginning of the Christian liturgical season... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Nisqually earthquake occurred on February 28, 2001, and was one of the largest recorded earthquakes in Washington state history. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Today, 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. It is often described as the center of Seattle's nightlife. Seattle visitors center The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park that commemorates the Klondike Gold Rush. ... Skagway is a city located in Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Juneau Anchorage Area Ranked 1st - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 kmÂ²) - Width 808 miles (1,300 km) - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km) - % water 13. ...

External links

Pioneer Square Preservation District
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Pioneer Square
Seattle/King Co. HistoryLink.org: Pioneer Square — Thumbnail History
Steven Dutch, Seattle Underground, includes numerous pictures of the neighborhood and the "underground".

Seattle neighborhoods

Ballard ⋅ Beacon Hill ⋅ Belltown ⋅ Bitter Lake ⋅ Blue Ridge ⋅ Broadmoor ⋅ Broadview ⋅ Bryant ⋅ Capitol Hill ⋅ Cascade ⋅ Central District ⋅ Crown Hill ⋅ Denny Regrade ⋅ Denny-Blaine ⋅ Downtown ⋅ Eastlake ⋅ First Hill ⋅ Fremont ⋅ Georgetown ⋅ Green Lake ⋅ Greenwood ⋅ Haller Lake ⋅ Harbor Island ⋅ Industrial District ⋅ Interbay ⋅ International District ⋅ Judkins • Lake City (Cedar Park, Matthews Beach, Meadowbrook, Olympic Hills, Victory Heights) • Laurelhurst ⋅ Leschi ⋅ Licton Springs ⋅ Lower Queen Anne ⋅ Madison Park ⋅ Madison Valley ⋅ Madrona ⋅ Magnolia ⋅ Montlake ⋅ Maple Leaf ⋅ Mount Baker ⋅ Northgate ⋅ Phinney Ridge ⋅ Pioneer Square ⋅ Queen Anne ⋅ Rainier Beach • Rainier Valley (Brighton, Columbia City, Dunlap) • Rainier View ⋅ Ravenna ⋅ Roosevelt ⋅ Sand Point ⋅ Seward Park ⋅ Sodo ⋅ South Lake Union ⋅ South Park ⋅ Squire Park ⋅ University District ⋅ University Village ⋅ View Ridge ⋅ Wallingford (Northlake) ⋅ Washington Park ⋅ Wedgwood ⋅ Westlake ⋅ West Seattle ⋅ Windermere Seattle, in Washington state, is made up of many districts and neighborhoods, a list of which appears below. ... Ballard Ballard is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. Incorporated as an independent city in 1890, it was annexed by Seattle in 1907, but has retained much of its old Scandinavian flavor. ... // Description Beacon Hill Beacon Hill is a hill and district in southeast Seattle, Washington. ... Belltown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... Bitter Lake Bitter Lake is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA, named after its most notable feature, Bitter Lake. ... Blue Ridge is a neighborhood in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington. ... Broadmoor Broadmoor is a private residential neighborhood of 85 acres (340,000 m²) and golf course of 115 acres (465,000 m²) in Seattle, Washington. ... Broadview is a neighborhood in northwestern Seattle, Washington, USA. Broadview is bounded on the west by Puget Sound; on the north by N.W. 145th Street, beyond which is the city of Shoreline; on the east by Greenwood Avenue N., beyond which lies the neighborhood of Bitter Lake; and on... Bryant Bryant is a residential neighborhood in northeast Seattle, Washington. ... Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is the most densely populated neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... Cascade is a small neighborhood abutting Downtown Seattle. ... Central District The Central District is a mostly residential neighborhood in Seattle located east of First Hill, west of Madrona and Leschi, south of Capitol Hill, and north of Rainier Valley. ... Crown Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... The Denny Regrade is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington that stretches north of the central business district to the grounds of Seattle Center. ... Denny-Blaine is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington. ... Downtown Seattle, from top of Space Needle (looking south) Map of downtown Seattle Downtown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... Eastlake is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because of its location on the eastern shore of Lake Union. ... First Hill is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, named for the hill on which it is located. ... Fremont Fremont is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. ... Georgetown Georgetown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the north by the mainlines of the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, beyond which is the Industrial District; on the west by the Duwamish River, across which is West Seattle; on the east by Interstate 5... Green Lake Green Lake is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, USA. Its centerpiece is the lake and park after which it is named. ... Greenwood is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, USA. The generally accepted boundaries of Greenwood are Aurora Avenue N. (Washington State Route 99) to the east, beyond which lies Northgate; N. 105th Street to the north, beyond which lies Bitter Lake; 8th Avenue N.W. to the west, beyond... Haller Lake is a small lake and neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, named for Theodore N. Haller, who platted the neighborhood in 1905. ... Harbor Island is a man-made island in the mouth of Seattle, Washingtons Duwamish Waterway where it empties into Elliot Bay. ... The Industrial District is an industrial neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the west by the Duwamish Waterway and Elliott Bay, beyond which lies West Seattle; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which lies Beacon Hill; on the north by S. King and S. Dearborn Streets... Interbay is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington consisting of the valley between Queen Anne Hill on the east and Magnolia on the west, plus filled-in areas of Smith Cove and Salmon Bay. ... The International District of Seattle, Washington (also known as Chinatown) has been called the only place in the continental United States where Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Laotian Americans, Cambodian Americans, and other Asian Americans live in one neighborhood. ... Judkins is a neighborhood in east-central Seattle, Washington. ... Lake City is a neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, located between Interstate 5 and Lake Washington about 7-8 miles northeast of downtown, east of the Northgate neighborhood. ... Matthews Beach Matthews Beach is a neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, located at the southern end of the Lake City neighborhood district. ... Meadowbrook is a sub-neighborhood of Lake City in Seattle, Washington. ... Laurelhurst Laurelhurst is a well-to-do, peninsular residential neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the northeast by Ivanhoe Place N.E., beyond which is Windermere; on the northwest by Sand Point Way N.E. and N.E. 45th Street, beyond which are Hawthorne Hills, Ravenna, and... Leschi is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington, named after Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe. ... Licton Springs Licton Springs is a neighborhood in North Seattle. ... Lower Queen Anne is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, at the base of Queen Anne Hill. ... Madison Park Madison Park is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington, named after the city park on the Lake Washington shore. ... Madison Valley is a neighborhood in Seattle located east of Capitol Hill; west of Washington Park; south of the Montlake; and north of the Central District. ... Madrona Madrona is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington. ... Magnolia Magnolia is a large peninsular neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, connected to the rest of the city by only three bridges over the tracks of the BNSF Railway: W. Emerson Place in the north, W. Dravus Street in the center, and W. Garfield Street (the Magnolia Bridge) in the south. ... Montlake is a generally quiet neighborhood in central Seattle. ... Maple Leaf is a neighborhood in Seattle. ... Mount Baker Mount Baker is a neighborhood in South Seattle. ... Northgate is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, named for and surrounding Northgate Mall, the first covered mall in the United States. ... Green Lake and the eastern side of Phinney Ridge Phinney Ridge, also known simply as Phinney, is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, USA. It is named after the ridge which runs north and south, separating Ballard from Wallingford, from approximately N. 45th to N. 85th Street. ... Queen Anne Queen Anne Hill is the highest named hill in Seattle, Washington, with a maximum elevation of 456 feet (139 m), though the highest point in the city is the aptly named High Point in West Seattle, at 520 feet (158 m). ... Rainier Beach is a neighborhood in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington. ... Rainier Valley Rainier Valley is a neighborhood in Seattle located east of Beacon Hill; west of Mount Baker, Seward Park, and Leschi; south of the Central District and First Hill; and north of Rainier Beach. ... Columbia City Columbia City is a neighborhood in the Rainier Valley area of south Seattle, Washington. ... Dunlap is a neighborhood in south Seattle, Washington, just west of the Rainier Beach neighborhood. ... Rainier View is a residential neighborhood in the southeast corner of Seattle, Washington. ... Ravenna is a neighborhood in northeastern Seattle, Washington, USA, named after Ravenna, Italy. ... The Roosevelt district is a neighborhood in north-central Seattle, Washington. ... Sand Point is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, named after and consisting mostly of the Sand Point peninsula that juts into Lake Washington, which is itself largely given over to Magnuson Park. ... Seward Park is a suburban neighborhood in south Seattle, Washington just west of the park of the same name. ... SoDo SoDo is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, that makes up part of the citys Industrial District. ... South Lake Union South Lake Union is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because it is at the south tip of Lake Union. ... South Park is a neighborhood in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington. ... Squire Park is a district in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington. ... University District The University District is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, so named because the main campus of the University of Washington is located there. ... University Village University Village is an upscale shopping center in Seattle, Washington, USA as well as its surrounding neighborhood. ... View Ridge is directly West of the Sandpoint Peninsula [Highlighted red], from NE 65 to NE 75 streets and 40 Ave NE to Sand Point Way Preface When View Ridge was developed for homes, there was a ridge, but no views. ... Wallingford Wallingford is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, named after John Noble Wallingford (died 1913). ... Northlake is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, that consists of the southern part of Wallingford (below N. 40th Street). ... Washington Park Washington Park is a neighborhood in east central Seattle, Washington, named after the city park to its northwest. ... Wedgwood Wedgwood is a neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, located about two miles (3 km) north, and slightly east, of the University of Washington; it is about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of downtown. ... Westlake is a neighborhood in the city of Seattle, in the US state of Washington, named after its location on the western shore of Lake Union. ... West Seattle West Seattle, a hilly district in Seattle, Washington, USA, encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. ... Windermere is a well-to-do residential neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, named after Lake Windermere in Englands Lake District. ...

West Seattle is further divided into:

Alki ⋅ Arbor Heights • Delridge (Highland Park, High Point, North Delridge, Riverview, Roxhill, South Delridge) • Fairmount Park ⋅ Fauntleroy ⋅ Gatewood ⋅ Genesee ⋅ North Admiral ⋅ Seaview West Seattle West Seattle, a hilly district in Seattle, Washington, USA, encompasses all of Seattle west of the Duwamish River. ... Alki Point is the westernmost point in West Seattle, Washington; Alki is the peninsular neighborhood surrounding it. ... Delridge Delridge is a neighborhood in West Seattle, Washington, bounded by the Duwamish River to the east and north and unincorporated White Center to the south. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Categories: Seattle neighborhoods

Results from FactBites:

Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington - Definition, explanation (803 words)
	Pioneer Square is the neighborhood where Seattle, Washington was founded in 1853.
	During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 and 1898, Seattle was a center for travel to Alaska.
	In addition to the totem pole, a wrought-iron Victorian pergola and a bust of Chief Seattle were added to the park in 1909.

Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (751 words)
	Pioneer Square is the neighborhood where Seattle, Washington was founded in 1853.
	Because of the shift in the street grid north of Yesler, the northern "border" of the neighborhood zigzags along numerous streets.
	In the 1960s, Pioneer Square became a target of urban renewal.

More results at FactBites »

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