Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square is Seattle's oldest neighbourhood and arguably its most interesting — a concentration of Victorian and Romanesque Revival architecture that survived the 1889 Great Fire only because it was rebuilt immediately after it. The Smith Tower (1914) anchors the skyline and was for decades the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Today the neighbourhood mixes art galleries, the excellent Salumi cured meats shop (founded by Armandino Batali), and the underground storefronts from before the city raised its streets.

The Underground Tour departs from Doc Maynard's Public House at 608 1st Avenue and runs for 75 minutes through the buried Victorian streets. It is history delivered with good humour and genuine information. Occidental Park on Occidental Avenue South has a collection of totems and is a pleasant place to sit; in the surrounding blocks are the highest concentration of art galleries in the city.

things to do neighbourhood sight
A story
The Great Seattle Fire of June 1889 burned nearly 25 city blocks in a single afternoon, started by a boiling pot of glue in a cabinet-maker's shop. Rather than rebuild at street level, the city raised the grade by one to two storeys, burying the original Victorian storefronts and sidewalks completely. For decades the underground spaces were used as passageways and storage; today guided Underground Tours take visitors through them. The buried city is remarkably intact.