View XML QR Code

Pike Place Market Historical District Records, 1971-2024

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Office of Urban Conservation
Title
Pike Place Market Historical District Records
Dates
1971-2024 (inclusive)
Quantity
9.25 cubic feet, (25 boxes)
18 digital files, (59.8 MB)
Collection Number
5754-D
Summary
Minutes, correspondence, reports, memos, case files, and other materials related to the Pike Place Market Historical District and its oversight board.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Return to Top

Historical Note

The Office of Urban Conservation was created in 1975 as part of the Department of Community Development (DCD). It was founded in an era of citizen protests against a proposed urban renewal program that would have demolished Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. The office’s mandate was to coordinate Seattle’s historic preservation programs and administer the city’s landmark boards and historic districts. When DCD was abolished in 1992, the office became the Historic Preservation Program in the Department of Neighborhoods.

Pike Place Market was established in 1907 to give local farmers a venue in which to sell their produce. It thrived for decades, but began to decline during World War II due to the effects of a major fire and the internment of Japanese American farmers. In the 1960s, urban renewal plans aimed to demolish the market and replace it with office towers and apartments. Citizen opposition, led by architect Victor Steinbrueck, managed to derail the scheme. A 1971 ballot measure sponsored by a group called Friends of the Market was passed, leading to the market’s preservation as part of a Market Historical District and listing on the National Register. Today the market is the oldest continuously operating public market in the United States, as well as the most historically authentic. The Office of Urban Conservation, and later the Historic Preservation Program, provided staffing to the Pike Place Market Historical Commission.

Return to Top

Content Description

Minutes, correspondence, reports, memos, and other materials related to the Pike Place Market Historical District. Series are described more fully below.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], [Title of collection], Record Series 5754-D[X]. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Pike Place Market Historical District Records are arranged into the following series:

5754-D1: Pike Place Market Historical Commission Minutes

5754-D2: Pike Place Market Historical District Subject Files

5754-D3: Pike Place Market Business Relocation Cards

5754-D4: Pike Place Market Historical District Prints and Negatives

Separated Materials

Publications were pulled from the collection and are cataloged separately in the Published Documents Index.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Community development--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Historic buildings--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Historic preservation--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Markets--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Urban renewal--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Office of Urban Conservation
  • Pike Place Market (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Seattle (Wash.). Pike Place Market Historical Commission

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Julie Kerssen
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

Loading...
Loading...