Pioneer Square, Seattle

Pioneer Square is a special neighborhood in the southwest part of downtown Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It was the very first place where Seattle’s founders settled in 1852, after a short time living at Alki Point across Elliott Bay. The early wooden buildings there burned down in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, but quickly rose again as brick and stone structures. Today, many of these late 1800s buildings still stand, giving Pioneer Square its unique look, especially in the style known as Richardsonian Romanesque.

The neighborhood is named after a small triangular plaza called Pioneer Place, found near First Avenue and Yesler Way. This area, together with the streets around it, is called the Pioneer Square–Skid Road Historic District. It is important enough to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pioneer Square does not have clear borders, but roughly, it lies west of Alaskan Way S., south of S. King Street, east of 5th Avenue S., and north of Yesler Way. The streets north of Yesler Way do not line up with the rest of the neighborhood, making the northern edge a bit zigzag. In some places, the historic district goes even beyond these areas, including Union Station east of 4th Avenue S. and some blocks south of S. King Street.

History

Early history

Dzidzilalich, meaning "a place to cross over," was a winter village near today’s Pioneer Square, built by the Duwamish ancestors of today’s Duwamish, Suquamish, and Muckleshoot tribes. It had eight longhouses and supported about 200 people. By 1852, most of these longhouses were gone, but the site stayed important for trading and gatherings.

In 1852, Arthur Denny, Carson Boren, and William Bell left Alki Beach to settle at Dzidzilalich, naming it Dewamps or Duwamps. The area became important when Henry Yesler chose it for his lumber mill, right on the border of lands claimed by David Swinson Maynard and Denny and Boren.

"Below the Line"

Yesler Way, originally Mill Street, was the main east–west street through Pioneer Square. South of the square, it was known by many names like Skid Row, a place where low entertainment and vice were tolerated. There were “parlor houses” and other places that were not always honest. The city tried to control health issues but had little success.

Native Americans were pressured to leave Seattle through various means, including laws and burning of longhouses. Some Native people visited the town by camping on Ballast Island, created from dumped ship ballast. They worked in mills, canneries, and farms, visited city businesses, and traded at the Golden Rule Bazaar. They also held events like canoe races and feasts until the island was covered by piers in the 1890s.

Late 19th century

By the end of 1889, Seattle had grown to 40,000 residents. That year, the Great Seattle Fire destroyed Pioneer Square, but the strong economy helped rebuild it quickly. Many new buildings showed Romanesque Revival architecture. New development was built higher to solve drainage problems, burying the old village remains. Visitors can see old parts of the neighborhood on the Seattle Underground Tour.

Just before the fire, cable car service started from Pioneer Square to Lake Washington and the Leschi neighborhood.

Regrades made it hard to study the village of Dzidzilalich and its surroundings. Development and fires during the 1890s and 1900s covered many important Native sites on Elliott Bay.

In 1891, Frederick Trump, grandfather of President Donald Trump, owned the Dairy Restaurant on Washington Street.

20th century

During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 and 1898, Seattle became a center for travelers to Alaska, making the city’s merchants prosperous.

In 1899, a group of citizens took a Tlingit totem pole and placed it in Pioneer Place Park. After the Tlingit asked for compensation, the group agreed to pay $500. When a fire damaged the pole in 1938, the U.S. Forest Service hired Tlingit artisans to make a new one, installed in 1940.

In addition to the totem pole, a pergola designed by Julian F. Everett and a bust of Chief Seattle were added to the park in 1909.

The Smith Tower was completed in 1914, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time. However, Downtown Seattle’s center had moved north. The building of Second Avenue Extension in 1928–29 changed the eastern part of the neighborhood. The cable car line stopped running on August 10, 1940.

Queer culture, 1920s – 1970s

During the 1920s and 1930s, Pioneer Square became a center for Seattle’s LGBTQ community when several bars opened there. The Casino, also known as Madame Peabody’s Dancing Academy for Young Ladies, opened in 1930 and allowed same-sex dancing. The Spinning Wheel and The Double Header also opened, known for their drag shows. The Garden of Allah opened in 1946, Seattle’s first bar welcoming LGBTQ people. By the 1960s, Pioneer Square had many places for the LGBTQ community to gather, including Shelly’s Leg, which became famous as Seattle’s first disco. Pioneer Square remained the center of Seattle’s LGBTQ community until the 1970s, when Renton Hill and Capitol Hill became known as the city’s current neighborhoods for the LGBTQ community.

1960s

In the 1960s, Pioneer Square was targeted for urban renewal. One plan was to replace buildings with parking garages, like the Seattle Hotel, replaced in 1962 and called the “Sinking Ship” garage. Another plan was to build a ring road that would destroy many buildings. Many buildings were saved by landowner Sam Israel. In 1970, preservationists succeeded in listing Pioneer Square as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, and it became a city preservation district later that year.

1980s

Streetcar service returned to Pioneer Square on May 29, 1982, with the opening of the Waterfront Streetcar. The streetcar stopped running on November 19, 2005, because its carbarn was torn down for the Olympic Sculpture Park.

21st century

In the 21st century, 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. Rehabilitation of existing buildings continues, including reinforcing brick walls with steel and updating interiors for modern comfort and safety.

Public art

Forest For The Trees

This public art project was created by ARTXIV together with a group called Forest for the Trees. It turned Seattle's Pioneer Square into a special gallery that is open all year. The art is shown on buildings and in small streets, mixing new art with old buildings. The project helps artists by sharing money from art sales to keep making more art. This brings people together and lets everyone enjoy creative art in everyday places.

Fallen Firefighters Memorial

Main article: Fallen Firefighters Memorial (Wu)

Every spring since 1989, near June 6, the city holds a special celebration called the Pioneer Square Fire Festival. There is a parade, old and new fire trucks, fire skill shows, food, crafts, and a party. In 1998, on the same day as the anniversary of the 1889 fire, a memorial for brave fire fighters was dedicated. Thanks to Battalion Chief Wes Goss and his team, a bronze sculpture was placed there. On a stone block are the names of each Seattle fire fighter who gave their lives while protecting others.