For at least four thousand years, the area of Seattle, Washington has been inhabited by man. Today, the city is a boom town to its core, riding one boom of industry after another. As many know, it is the home of grunge music, but go back further and one will discover it was also the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix. Starbucks coffee hails from Seattle, as does Microsoft, and Boeing. The following buildings are some of the city’s most historically significant. They are also 100% Seattle.

Pike Place Market

Many know of the Space Needle, yet Seattle residents may argue that this is Seattle’s greatest tourist attraction. Pike Place Market is one of the oldest public markets in the United States. Local craftspeople and farmers sell their goods at this location from tables they rent on a daily basis. This is not some corporate mock-up. It is a genuine “farmers’ market”. The market was established in 1907 after Seattle’s local farmers grew tired of being forced to sell through wholesalers. Corruption was rampant, and thus the market was established to solve the problem. Today, the market contains numerous shops, antique dealers, restaurants, butchers, fish-mongers, and stalls overflowing with fresh produce. photo credit:papalars

Space Needle

This is, without a doubt, the most iconic structure in city of Seattle. It was built for the 1962 World’s Fair, and its silhouette is known world wide. The tower’s shape is a hybrid of two proposals originally presented for its design. One was of a balloon tethered to the ground, the other of a flying saucer. Today what we effectively have is a flying saucer tethered to the ground. Standing at 605 feet, the equivalent of 60 stories, the Space Needle, when completed, was the tallest structure in the United States west of the Mississippi River. Impressively, the Space Needle is designed to withstand an earthquake of up to 9.1 on the Richter scale and winds of up to 250 miles per hour. This is partially due to the Space Needle?s massive foundation which places the structure’s center of gravity just five feet above the ground. Today the “UFO” houses a number of attractions, the most well known being the restaurant, “Sky City”. photo credit:fddi1

Pioneer Building

Completed in 1891, this is one of the most historically significant buildings in Pioneer Square. It is built of brick, stone, and other fire resistant materials, due to the Great Fire that had just occurred. The building’s heyday was during the Klondike Gold Rush when it was home to over 48 different mining operations. Historically, the building sits on the location of Henry Yesler’s first home. Yesler was Seattle’s first millionaire and could be attributed for Seattle existing at all. He arrived in 1852 and set up a steam powered saw mill, which brought about the city’s timber industry that carried it for decades. Today, the building still stands and houses numerous businesses. photo credit:?brianholsclaw

Smith Tower

This is, quite simply, the oldest skyscraper in Seattle. Completed in 1914 it was tallest office building on the west coast until 1962, when the Space Needle was completed. Even more impressive, prior to 1931, it was the tallest office west of the Mississippi River. So how tall is it? Forty-Two stories. The building is currently used for office space, with the exception of a three-story penthouse. The building also features a curious throw-back, a fallout shelter. This throw-back, however, is out-done by something few have ever seen, live elevator operators. There has been talk of converting the entire building into condominiums, but that idea tends to come and go based on the economy and therefore how well the building’s occupancy rate is doing. photo credit:rutlo

Starbucks, the Original

In 1971, Starbucks opened their first store at the corner of Virginia and Pike Place. Don’t go their now, though, as in 1977 the original store moved to its current location one block south. This Starbucks was quite different from the ones we know today. For one thing, it didn’t sell cups of coffee. Yes, you read that right. The original Starbucks did not sell hot cups of coffee. Instead, they only sold coffee beans, and coffee makers. Today, you can visit the “original” Starbucks at its new location. photo credit:PunkJr

Pioneer Square

Not a building, but this location nonetheless needs to be mentioned. Pioneer Square is where Seattle began. The founders of the city settled here in 1852 after trying out another location at Alki Point. Unfortunately, as with much of Seattle from this early era, most of Pioneer Square burnt down during the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. Washington Mutual, the well known national bank, was established after this fire and came to prominence providing loans for the rebuilding of the city. This predates, and even reflects, the Bank of Italy, which gained prominence providing loans in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. The Bank of Italy is today known as “Bank of America”. Today, Pioneer Square is considered the epicenter of Seattle’s nightlife as it is home to various bars, clubs, cafes, and art galleries. photo credit:?Seattle Municipal Archives

Seattle is a boomtown of boomtowns. Sure, other cities may claim this, but Seattle rivals them all. The first boom came with the establishment of the timber industry. The city would then fall into decline until booming again due to the Klondike Gold Rush. Decades later, the city would boom again when Boeing set up shop. As one can guess, the city would once again decline as Boeing downsized after World War II. Many feared this would mark the end of Seattle as a great city. A few years later, however, another company would move in from New Mexico and set up shop. That company was Microsoft, and it is still booming today.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 5:25 am and is filed under Mixed Bag. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.