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Pike Place Market Records, 1894-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Community Development
Title
Pike Place Market Records
Dates
1894-1990 (inclusive)
Quantity
82.2 cubic ft., (204 boxes)
Collection Number
1628-01
Summary
Records relating to the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington; most records were generated by the Department of Community Development and the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. Photographs, video tapes, and audio tapes are included in a separate series.
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
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Department of Community Development administered the City's comprehensive plan and provided direction and support for the City's physical and economic development through community planning. DCD was established in 1969 and assumed the responsibilities of the City Planning Commission and the Urban Renewal Program. In 1972, the Office of Economic Development was created in the Department to provide information to businesses that were expanding or relocating in Seattle. DCD was the lead agency for implementing various types of grant funded projects, such as Neighborhood Improvement Program, Targeted Neighborhood Assistance Program, and Neighborhood Development Program. DCD was abolished in 1992 and its programs were relocated in the Department of Neighborhoods, Department of Housing and Human Services, Planning Department, and other agencies. DCD records include material from the City Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, Metropolitan Arts Commission, Board of Adjustment, and Urban Renewal Program.

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Historical Background

Origin

Founded in 1907, Pike Place Market was a city-sponsored experiment to help reduce the high cost of local produce. It was created as a means for local farmers to sell directly to shoppers, without benefit of middlemen who were suspected of inflating prices. An immediate success, it thereafter became a permanent fixture in the vicinity of Pike Place and First Avenue.

The two original ordinances passed regarding the Market effectively determined its method of operation. In the establishing ordinance, the City vested direct responsibility in the Street Department, which painted stall spaces on the planked street surface of Pike Place and assigned a police officer to allot spaces. A second ordinance passed in November 1907 instituted one of the basic rules of market operations. It required that sales in the market be limited to food and food products "raised, produced or manufactured by the person offering the same for sale."

Growth

As the Market grew, some changes were made to accommodate the farmer/sellers. In 1911, for example, the City constructed sheds in the sidewalk right-of-way on Pike Place as an "inside" market for "dry stall" sellers, i.e. sellers who did not need to sprinkle or wash their goods.

The success of the public market attracted private investment and a number of new buildings were constructed between 1907 and 1927. Several privately sponsored markets and related businesses also opened during this period and competition began to develop for the farmers' loyalties.

A shift in the location of the farmers' carts in 1923 from the public street to a privately-owned arcade along the street became a defining moment in the history of the Market. The City's right to space in the market was challenged. From that point on, by mutual agreement, the City leased the privately-owned arcade and rented it on a daily basis to farmers.

In the first two decades of its existence, farmers sold a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and dairy products. They also sold meat and poultry, which by ordinance had to be butchered and dressed off the premises. Fish, home-preserved pickles and relishes, baked goods, and flowers were also staples of the market. By 1925 more than 600 farmer/sellers were regularly selling on weekends and the number of shoppers averaged 25,000 on weekdays and 50,000 on Saturdays. The Market continued to flourish through the decade of the thirties despite the Great Depression.

Multicultural Atmosphere

From its beginning, the Market's atmosphere as a cultural crossroads substantially contributed to its success and resilience. The mix of shoppers (local, national, international, and from every socioeconomic level) helped create this ambiance. Also contributing heavily to the multicultural atmosphere, at least initially, was the racial and ethnic diversity of the farmers. Many were immigrants who tended to settle in enclaves and engaged in similar agricultural pursuits. For example, most Japanese farmers lived in the Kent Valley and owned truck farms and fruit orchards. Italian farmers concentrated in Georgetown and South Park where they cultivated vegetables. Scandinavian ranchers settled on the Olympic Peninsula and in Island communities. They raised cows and chickens and sold poultry, eggs, milk and butter in the Market.

Economic Decline

After World War II, the economics of local farming changed. Factors contributing to this change included mechanization, home refrigeration, expansion of the frozen food industry, and an improved highway system (which encouraged long-haul trucking). By 1957 the Market was in steep decline, operating with less than 60 licensed farmers. Decreased public transit service to the area, proliferation of supermarket chains, and suburban real estate development contributed to a steady decline in shoppers.

Physical Decline

Located on prime real estate at the western edge of Seattle's central business district overlooking Elliott Bay, properties continued to appreciate in assessed value despite their condition. Eighty percent of the buildings in the Market district dated from the 1930s or earlier and displayed visible signs of deterioration. Properties damaged by fire or earthquakes were left vacant or only partially rehabilitated. Landlords had little incentive to make needed improvements to their buildings. Lending institutions were reluctant to make substantial loans for rehabilitation or new development, fearing that any new project would be surrounded by blight. With little or no maintenance, many buildings slipped below the standards established in local building and health codes.

Areas adjacent to the Market also changed markedly. Panhandlers and alcoholics became a significant presence on the streets. Prostitution flourished, with hotels in the vicinity catering to this trade. Vendors of pornographic literature, second-hand stores, and thrift shops contributed to the general atmosphere of decline.

Development Proposals in the 1950s

The economic and physical deterioration of the Market spurred several development proposals. The most detailed was one developed by Harlan H. Edwards in 1950. A consulting engineer and member of the City Planning Commission, he proposed assembling property between Pike and Stewart. The project would consist of a 2,000 car garage below the level of First Avenue with a city park constructed on the top deck. A farmers market would be housed on the two decks below the park.

All such proposals foundered when property assembly was attempted. Divergent property ownership and resale restrictions made this aspect of any project too difficult to sustain developer interest.

Urban Renewal Proposal

After decades of decline and neglect, the Pike Place marketing district was a blighted area scheduled for demolition and redevelopment. As early as 1964, a citizen's group known as Friends of the Market had organized to save it. Only the City of Seattle had authority (under its urban renewal powers) to condemn, prepare a redevelopment plan, replat with new streets and other utilities, and make the property available for private redevelopment.

In 1965 the City Council authorized application for urban renewal funds. Four years later, the City had completed an urban renewal plan for the Pike Place Project which called for the rehabilitation of a 1.7-acre market core within an overall 22-acre project. The Department of Community Development (DCD) was formed to take the lead responsibility in planning this project.

Community Activism and Rehabilitation

Market supporters mounted a strong campaign of opposition to razing and developing the land. Friends of the Market collected 53,000 signatures for an initiative to save the market which would create "...a Pike Place Market historical district and a market Historical Commission with the purpose of preserving, restoring and improving buildings and continuance of uses within said district, and providing that no structure within said district shall be erected, altered, extended, reconstructed, used or occupied except pursuant to a Certificate of Approval authorized by the commission..."

City Council refused to accept the measure and chose instead to put it on the November 1971 ballot. A second group, the Alliance for a Living Market, emerged to help pass the ballot measure. Voters passed the initiative to save the market by 60% and overturned the urban renewal plan.

The initiative set aside a 7-acre Historical District in the heart of the 22-acre urban renewal project area. It also established a twelve-member Historical Commission to oversee all development and uses within the district.

The DCD set aside the original plan and started over. One of its first acts was to create the DCD Pike Project office in the Spring of 1972. The DCD Pike Project had primary responsibility for developing a new urban renewal plan for the Pike Place marketing district, and administering and managing its implementation. In June 1973, the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA) was chartered by the City of Seattle to "undertake the renewal, rehabilitation, preservation, restoration and development of structures and open space in the Pike Place Historical District and surrounding areas in a manner that affords a continuing opportunity for Market farmers, merchants, residents, shoppers and visitors to carry on in their traditional activities."

A Memorandum of Understanding executed in 1975 between the PDA and the DCD specifically delineated the responsibilities of each agency. In particular, it assigned to the PDA the rehabilitation responsibility for the Livingston/Baker, Soames/Dunn Seed, Triangle, Corner Market and Main Market buildings in the historical district.

The PDA continues its activities, serving as landlord and manager for 80 percent of the properties within the Market Historical District. The DCD Pike Project Office, however, ceased operations in 1980. The Department of Community Development completed the Pike Place Market "Promenade 23 Project" in 1982 and continued to oversee fiscal matters until the Department was abolished in 1992.

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Content Description

The Pike Place Market Records pertain to the 22-acre federally assisted urban renewal project bounded by First Avenue on the east, Alaskan Way viaduct on the west and Lenora and Union streets on the north and south. (A complete list of the property parcels included in the project is available here.) It is an artificial collection that was accumulated by the City of Seattle Law Department as part of its legal preparation for the 1990 lawsuit, City v. Cliffhouse Associates, et al. The Law Department transferred the collection to the Seattle Municipal Archives in 1994.

The majority of the records were generated by the Department of Community Development (DCD). The department was established in 1969 to administer the City's comprehensive planning and provide direction and support for Seattle's physical and economic development. DCD assumed the functions and responsibilities of the older City Planning Department and the Urban Renewal Program. Redevelopment and rehabilitation of the Pike Place Market was the largest of the renewal projects undertaken by the department. DCD was abolished in 1992 and its functions were relocated in other City agencies.

Also included is a substantial body of records which provide a history of the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA). As noted in an earlier section, the PDA is a public corporation established in 1973 to manage the rehabilitation of several properties in the Market's historic district. It currently serves as manager of most of the properties within the district.

In addition to the DCD and PDA records are six document boxes containing records generated by the Seattle Office of Management and Budget and the Seattle City Council.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Many of the photographs in the collection have been scanned and can be viewed in the Seattle Municipal Archives' online photograph database.

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Pike Place Market Records, Record Series 1628-01. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Pike Place Market Records are divided into five series; three of the series are further divided into subseries and, in some cases, sub-subseries:

Series I: DCD Administrative and Project Records

Subseries 1: Historical/Biographical

Subseries 2: Financial Records

Subseries 3: Property Records

Subseries 4: Redevelopment Disposition Records

Subseries 5: Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority

Subseries 6: Legal Records and Ordinances

Subseries 7: Reports, Studies, and Surveys

Subseries 8: Subject Files

Subseries 9: Case Studies and Theses

Series II: PDA Administrative and Project Records

Subseries 1: Historical/Biographical

Subseries 2: Correspondence

Subseries 3: Planning and Implementation

Subseries 4: Financial Records

Subseries 5: Property Management Services

Subseries 6: Project Management and Rehabilitation Services

Subseries 7: Agricultural Program and Farmer Support Services

Subseries 8: Human and Social Services

Subseries 9: Community Services

Subseries 10: Legal Records

Subseries 11: Analysis, Questionnaires, Studies, and Surveys

Subseries 12: Reports

Subseries 13: Commissions, Committees, and Other Organizations

Subseries 14: Lists

Subseries 15: Maps

Subseries 16: Professional Papers, Theses, and Dissertations

Subseries 17: Subject Files

Subseries 18: Newspaper Clippings

Series III: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Records

Subseries 1: Pike Place Market--General

Subseries 2: Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority

Subseries 3: Parking and Street Improvements

Series IV: City Council Pike Place Market Records

Series V: Scrapbooks

Custodial History

This collection of records is an artificial collection accumulated by the City of Seattle Law Department in preparation for a 1990 lawsuit (see scope and content note).

Acquisition Information

The City of Seattle Law Department transferred the collection to the Seattle Municipal Archives in 1994.

Related Materials

Additional materials relating to the Pike Place Market urban renewal project can be found in two collections in the Manuscripts & University Archives division of the University Libraries at the University of Washington.

The Victor Steinbrueck Papers, particularly the first accession, document his role in organizing the Friends of the Market, as well as his leadership of the "save the market" ballot initiative. The Friends of the Market Records, donated by the organization, documents this grass roots movement's activities in the struggle to preserve the Market. This collection totals 4.4 cubic feet and spans the period 1963 to 1971.

In addition, records relating to the Market can be found in various records series in the Seattle Municipal Archives. These include the records of City Council members, Mayors, the Engineering Department, and the Department of Community Development.

Bibliography

View a bibliography of important materials relating to Pike Place Market.

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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
  • Markets--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Urban renewal--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Community Development
  • Pike Place Market (Seattle, Wash.)

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA) (creator)
    • Seattle (Wash.). Office of Management and Budget (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Avril Madison and Scott Cline (authors) and James Hanks (editor)
1997

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

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