Pike Place Market, Underground Tour, Mariners Game, Alki Beach & Dumplings

Sunday, September 11, 2011

We booked tickets to do the Underground Tour of Pioneer Square in Seattle Sunday. Before our tour we stopped at Pike Place Market for breakfast. We had Mee Sum Pastries and Piroshky Piroshky Russian pastries. I love the flowers of the market.

The guys got some smoked salmon. Beautiful fresh vegetables.

The Pioneer Building, where the Underground Tour begins.

The tour begins in Doc Maynard’s Public House, a 1890s saloon.  The city had a chance to remedy the town being founded on soggy tideflats after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 burned down 25 square blocks of wooden buildings. They raised the roads by building retaining walls 8’ or higher on either side of the old streets, filled in the space between the walls and paved new roads over top. Property owners couldn’t wait for the street to be finished so they rebuilt their structures with their first floor display windows and lobbies in an area that would become basements. The old sidewalks are now hollow tunnels, preserved beneath the streets and sidewalks of Pioneer Square. Discussions of early streets filled with sawdust and toilets becoming backyard flowing fountains made you really appreciate modern convinces.

It was interesting hearing the story of the totem pole in Pioneer Square. It was originally stolen from a Tlingit village in Alaska where the City of Seattle’s prominent citizens claimed it was taken from an adandoned village. When it was subject to arson years later, a costly replica was carved by descendants of the carvers of the original totem.

In addition to the totem pole, a wrought-iron Victorian pergola and a bust of Chief Seattle were added to the park.

There really isn’t that much to see in the abandoned underground, but it was interesting to see and HEAR all about. The coolest part was the glass tiles in the sidewalks in the underground of Seattle. It really makes me what to explore shops in this area to see the spaces that have been utilized as usable space today.

Smith Tower, once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

After the tour we head over to Safeco Field for the Mariners vs Royals baseball game. Wes & Lauren were practically skip/speed walking. They could barely keep in their excitement.

Wes got the sea dog, Safeco’s signature hot dog. It’s Ivar’s 10” fillet of cod, battered and fried, then stuffed in a bun served with tartar sauce and lemon.  

We ate garlic fries (and chicken wings) and had some killer breath for the rest of the game.

The grounds crew broke into a dance at 2^nd base.

#51 Ichiro.

Today’s baseball game, America’s pastime was a great way to spend 9-11.

We drove over to West Seattle where we had a great view of downtown Seattle.

We tried to will Mt Rainier out of hiding on a hazy day, but to no avail. We head back to the house of have homemade dumplings for dinner.