Photos from Pike Place, waterfront & Pioneer Square 


With the weather we've been having up 'til a few days ago, when much needed rain finally arrived, it's been a photographer's dream around here and so what I've got here are a couple dozen (actually more) photographs from Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square and along the general waterfront area. I've been so pre-occupied with some of the art projects that I must admit to thinking about very little else. This week is also a "public" gallery art walk which on Sunday had me and two friends visiting the Frye Art Museum. Tomorrow we'll hit up Seattle Art Museum and on Thursday the Center on Contemporary Art. I'm posting my comments on these art walks at the "other" blog - <http://spaces.msn.com/members/chasblog2> - which gets updated a bit more frequently owing to the fact that that I don't post photos there. 


The corner of First Avenue and Pike Street with the many buildings of the market area surrounding. This is
arguably the most visited spot in the city for out-of-towners and probably in-towners as well. Between the
Market area and Pioneer Square lies about a mile-and-a-half of downtown, making the two bookends in
an urban fabric sense. One of the compelling characteristics of both locations is the continuation of the
urban history which they both contain. They each harken back to their original "salad" days and yet have
evolved to remain relevant and vibrant for 21st Century urban living.



With the sun blazing away behind the market clock, this is the signature Public Market
red-neon sign which greets visitors to the Pike Place entrance. The market is actually
a collection of dozens of buildings visited by more than a hundred-fifty-housand people
each week in Winter and nearly two-hundred-thousand in Summer. Annual sales at the
Market rack up to more than $30 million for food, $20 million for restaurants and cafes,
and $13 million for the various mercantile and crafts and art which is available there.



Close up of real peppers in flower-like arrangements at one of the Pike Place vendors.



A whole array of peppers ready for sale. These arrays included mild and tasty yellow
and orange sweet peppers and a variety of the hot ones from jalapeño to even hotter
varieties. The arrangements were $20 for at least a hundred peppers - actually an
amazing bargain.



This is a 360-degree panorama taken from Victor Steinbrueck Park which sits at the northern edge of the market area and overlooks
the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the waterside attractions such as the Aquarium and several arcades. The West Seattle peninsula
peers out from across Elliott Bay.



Standing near one of the overlook areas in Steinbrueck Park are these corporate
types - all strangers to each other - carrying on during lunch. I suppose this has become
acceptable lunchtime behavior across planet Earth now that cellphone technology
has overtaken previous public-behavior manners. In the distance are the twin stadiums
of the city - Qwest Field (Seahawks - NFL) is the near one and Safeco Field
(Mariners - MLB) is one block further south. This view is looking southwest.



Just north of Steinbrueck Park is this overlook adjacent to Gallery Mack - one of the more interesting of Pike Place's many art galleries.
Gallery Mack features outside glass sculpture which moves in the wind and an intriguing collection of other sculpture in glass and
bronze. They place one of the wind sculptures outside when they're open and because of the overlook and open space to the Bay, the
wind is always alive in this little area.



A old and no-longer-used chimney clinging to the back of the main
market building and dropping down the steep back side of the
structure. This is one of many areas which offer access from the
"high" level of First Avenue to the "low" level of the waterfront. The
drop between First and Alaskan Way is at least 60 feet. The market
has several back steps and elevators to take people from the upper,
street, level down to Western Avenue and Alaskan Way, which feature
more market-related shops, restaurants, and, of course, the waterside
attractions and the actual waterfront.



Stuck at one of the interim levels between Pike Place and Western Avenue is this little
outdoor playground area for a day care facility which operates out of the market.



Peering between two concrete columns which support upper floors and
are woven into the steps leading down to Western Avenue. That's
Western Ave. below line with converted factories - which still haven't
lost their now-non-functional smokestacks.



The end of one of the stairway interim floors, looking out over the Bay
over the glass-lined roof of one of the walkways which spans Western
Avenue. This area of Seattle is tied together with a number of these
stairways and crossways but unless you're really looking for them they
remain somewhat elusive. There are a few signs scattered throughout
the Market area but most tourists still stand around near these stairways
with a seriously pondering look on their faces.



There are even miniature gardens sandwiched between the stairways and adjacent
structures. Given the tiny nature of some of some of these greenswards, this sign is
probably appropriate because even though the animal laws in Seattle require folks to
clean up after their pets - my guess is that fewer than two-thirds actually do so. I can
imagine what this park would look like if dogs were allowed to use it as a public restroom
or fire hydrant - not to mention the smell which would result. So, the sign is off-putting
but absolutely necessary.



This is the other end of that tiny urban park shown in the image above.
The sign on the concrete column is enlarged in the lower right and
reads "Ernest Sherman Urban Bird Santuary." And, yes, there were
a large number of small songbirds which were using the trees and shrubs
for roosting and providing a pleasant background "tweet" for those using
the stairway.



A view from another interim landing area on the stairway showing one of the Market Place
restaurant's outdoor balcony and behind that apartments located in one of the adjacent
structures. A "New York" style view if ever there was one here in Emerald City-land.



Hidden from the street and accessible only by way of the main Pike
Place Market back stairway is this audio recording and support
firm "Clatter & Din."



And, adjacent to "Clatter & Din" is their corporate cousin, providing
support and equipment for the image and broadcast industry -
"Flicker & Blur." This area of the market also used to be one of the
locations for Adobe operations here in Seattle. They now have a new
and expansive campus located on the Ship Canal in Fremont.



From down at the waterfront and looking back east toward downtown and past the
Alaskan Way Viaduct. The tall building is the present headquarters of Washington
Mutual Bank (WAMU) with the Harbor Steps apartments in front of it. The "smoke" rising
from the chimney is really steam from the heating plant for the various structures located
in the general Harbor Steps development. The cranes to the left are involved in the
construction of WAMU's new corporate headquarters building, which will also provide
significant expansion space for Seattle Art Museum.



This is the view in the other direction from the image above. The Seattle Aquarium is on the right and one of the
several former wharves-converted-to-shopping-and-entertainment-arcade is on the left. Not visible because it's
behind this photo is a very eclectic and imaginative bronze statue of Cristobal Colombo (Spanish; Christophe
Colomb - French; Christopher Columbus - English). The statue is set with Cristobal facing west toward the Bay and
beyond that the Pacific Ocean - his original goal.



Back up on the First Avenue level, this is a view looking over the
corner balustrade which adorns the Sanitary Market building. In the
distance is the present WAMU headquarters and the forms being used
to create the elevator shaft core of their new building. The new
structure is at the 14-floor level already. Present city code prevents
the new structure from going higher than 45 floors - which is the height
of their present building. So, why the new building? I've never been
sure but apparently WAMU has so many personnel here that their
present structure can't house them all so they're scattered in a bunch
of other buildings, occupying a few floors here and more there.



A closer look at the construction. The Seattle Art Museum will occupy the first four floors
of the new structure - which will be tied directly into SAM's present gallery space. The
new SAM will have nearly four times the gallery and display space of their present
gallery. That will be a fabulous addition because presently SAM and its Asian Art
Museum can only show about ten percent of their combined collections.



Looking out the front window on the second floor of Left Bank Books - a Pike Place
institution located one door down from the First Avenue and Pike Street corner. Left
Bank Books deals exclusively with "left" wing topics and is a huge and byzantine
bookstore with nooks and crannies inside which are belied by the small frontage of their
main entrance. If you want or need something "left-of-center" you'd have a hard time NOT
finding it here.



From upstairs looking down and toward Left Bank's main entrance. All
bookstores should be this interesting in terms of physical space.



The central collection space on the main floor of Left Bank Books.



Halfway up the stairs from the central area toward the upper floors of Left Bank Books. In
addition to books, tapes, CDs, video (VHS and DVD), Left Bank also has a huge and
historically important collection of posters and T-shirts. Yes, they are for sale but the
prices of some of these posters and T-shirts reflects their historic nature - want an original
Che Guevera migrant worker poster - prepare to pay three to four figures for it.



Looking across the stairway to the opposite second floor narrow walkway area. New
books, old books, historic memorabilia, posters, prints, just about any medium you could
imagine is represented here - all tied together under the "left bank" theme. In fact, one
could almost imagine oneself standing on the banks of the Seine and conversing with
a radical just by being inside this bookstore. It obviously draws a unique clientele, which
adds to the considerable ambience of the place.



The third floor alcove area with more seats and walls and cases filled with the
output of the left-leaning - from everywhere. There are books from Europe, South Africa,
Asia, Africa, the various island nations, North and South America - even Antarctica.
Interested in the various issues facing the Latin American counties during the heyday of
Banana Republics - you can find them here. Interested in the issues associated with
Chiang Kai-Check's thriving outpost on Formosa and the masters in Beijing? No prob,
tons of books, CDs, audio tapes and newspapers and fliers available here.



Really good bookstores (and this is one) never have enough space for all the material
they have to offer. This wall is totally representative of the entire inside of Left Bank. What's
so unusual about this book store is that it clearly has an appeal and allure which sets
it apart from nearly any other bookstore in the city and yet it also appears to have a
mystique in common with a sex shop because it's right at the main entry area to the
entire Pike Place Market area - with the twenty-to-thirty thousand visitors the Market
gets each day traipsing by and right in front of the book store. The tourists stop, they
gawk, they comment to each other, and then they move on as if they've been exposed
to some "forbidden fruit" - with nary a single one actually venturing inside.



The wall and central "courtyard" right behind the main counter on the first level of
Left Bank. There were about a dozen other people inside when I took these photos, but
since I was focusing on the contents and not the clientele, I waited till one or more
people moved to another location before capturing these shots. If you're ever in Seattle,
rather than just schlepping through the Market area, stop inside Left Bank Books and
spend at least a half-hour examining the titles and posters and other media and give
yourself a real education in the history and course of alternative thought.



About a mile-and-a-half south of Pike Place Market is Pioneer Square. The Pergola
is a cast-iron and glass arcade which was originally opened to provide a cover for those
waiting for trolleys in what was then the heart of town. In 2001 the Pergola was nearly
destroyed by an errant semi-truck which didn't negotiate the turn around Yesler Way and
instead smashed into the main cast-iron support columns. The Pergola has been a fixture
since 1909 and the citizens and government of Seattle worked to have it restored. This
plaque was presented to the city by Seidehuber Iron Works, which was involved in
re-casting some of the iron pieces, working in concert with preservationists from both
Seattle city and the National Park Service (Pioneer Square is an NPS Historic District).
What's so striking about this commemorative plaque is how true to the original style the
tableau describing the wreck is - considering the wreck occurred in 2001 and not the
first decade of the 20th Century.



One of the many specially-cast bronze plaques in the Pioneer Square
area. This one commemorates the Pioneers and the Duwamish Tribe which
graciously invited the newcomers to their little corner of the universe.



This plaque honors Kristopher Kime who was killed by a brutal beating
during the 2001 Seattle Mardi Gras festivities - which totally got out of
hand. Seattle has historically done Mardi Gras in a big fashion but
following the riots and deaths of the 2001 event, subsequent Mardi Gras
celebrations have been more tightly controlled with a huge Seattle
Police presence in the Pioneer Square area - on foot, in cruisers, on
horseback and on bicycle. This plaque is as much a reminder to
the citizens of Seattle as it is to Kristopher's family as the riots and
deaths of the 2001 Mardi Gras grabbed the city and shook it hard -
previous Mardi Gras celebrations had been peaceful and celebratory.
This one, however, turned dark and that realization provides a
continuous reminder to the citizens of Seattle that our ideals are not
always met by the reality.



During the Pergola restoration, this bust of Chief Sealth was also
provided with a fountain and supporting base as part of the overall
Pioneer Square restoration activities.



This is the back of the Sealth statue and also shows off the new paving
blocks. Previously, this area had original but misshapen granite blocks
of average size between ten and twelve inches with very curved tops.
Although original and attractive in a historic sense, they also provided a
real barrier to folks on crutches, in wheelchairs, or with walkers or canes.
The city and National Park Service worked last year to replace those
granite pavers with historic paving bricks which are much more
accessible as a path for those with motion diffulties. The overall feel of
the place has not changed, neither has its historic value nor its
subscription to historically-accurate streetscapes and street furniture
and it's now much easier to navigate.

Who knows where I'll ramble next, or even what dimension I'll be in (or am from).
Hang tight, be safe, and definitely look in the small places wherever you go
because it's the small spaces which serve as retreats for all manner of secrets. 

Posted: Tue - March 22, 2005 at 08:49 AM          

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