Free previewStop 3 of Seattle Walking Tour: Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square
The Day the Middleman Lost
You're standing at Pike Place Market, where Pike Street drops toward Elliott Bay. Look into the covered arcade in front of you, at the long rows of tables heaped with produce and flowers. Local farmers and craftspeople rent those tables from the Market by the day, and that arrangement is the reason this place exists.
It began with a city tool that was already sitting on the books. In 1896, Seattle passed an ordinance allowing the city to designate tracts of land as public markets. More than a decade later, in 1907, City Council member Thomas Revelle used it to designate a portion of Western Avenue above the Elliott Bay tideflats, off Pike Street and First Avenue. The idea was a place where farmers could sell directly to the public.
On August 17, 1907, the council president, Charles Hiram Burnett Jr., opened the market.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 3 of Seattle Walking Tour: Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square (2 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
