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Seattle’s Pike Place Market: A Virtual Tour and History

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We live less than an hour from Seattle and it’s always been one of our favorite date night destinations.   My husband and I recently took a couples overnight trip and stayed at Seattle’s highly acclaimed Inn At the Market which is literally right next to Pike Place Market, its namesake.   The following morning we took a stroll through the market and I grabbed my camera to capture some pictures of this historic market to share with you.  Come join us for a virtual tour of this world famous market and learn a little about its fascinating history.

Pike Place Market is huge and the pictures I’ve include by no means represent all the vendors.  It’s just a snapshot of this world famous market, one of Seattle’s most popular tourist attractions.

Before we move on with the tour, let me tell you a little about the market.

Pike Place Market overlooks Seattle’s waterfront and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers’ markets in the United States.  It first opened August 17, 1907 and is rich with history.

Brief History of Pike Place Market

From Wikipedia (in discussing the farming business before the creation of Pike Place Market):  “The farmers typically received a percentage of the final sale price for their goods. They would sell to the middleman on commission, as most farmers would often have no time to sell direct to the public, and their earnings would be on marked up prices and expected sales. In some cases, the farmers made a profit, but just as often found themselves breaking even, or getting no money at all due to the business practices of the wholesalers. During the existence of the wholesale houses, which far predated the Market, there were regular rumors as well as instances of corruption in denying payment to farmers.”  As consumers and farmers became increasingly unhappy about the situation, the issue was put to city council vote and Pike Place was soon designated as the city’s first public market in 1907.

On August 7th Seattle’s mayor cut the ribbon to officially open the market.  Only 10 farmers arrived, pulling their goods behind them.  “The Times alleged several reasons for the low turnout of farmers: Western Avenue wholesale commission men who had gone to the nearby valleys and farms to buy all the produce out ahead of time to ruin the event; threats of violence by commission men against farmers; and farmers’ fear of possible boycotts and lack of business with the commission men if the Market idea did not succeed in the long term.”  But these determined farmers triumphed that day:  Hundreds of customers poured in for the grand opening and before noon that day all the produce had been completely sold out.

Pike Place Market now sells the goods of many small farmers, merchants and craftspeople and serves 10 million visitors each year.

Market Collage 8Above three images courtesy Wikipedia

Pike Place Market Seattle

My husband and I fell asleep with the view of Pike Place Market and water below us (first pic in this post) and woke up to another great view of the market from our hotel window the next morning.  From that vantage point were able to watch the vendors bustling about to set up their stalls.  We headed down to the market for a a morning stroll.

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It was early morning and a few of the stalls were still getting set up.

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Fresh, colorful, vibrantly healthy fruits and vegetables get me excited, how about you?  When I see them I immediately dream about the possibilities, the tasty new dishes I can make with them.  And I would imagine that is what Seattle’s chefs do as well when they visit this market each morning to gather up the freshest ingredients for their restaurants.

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And speaking of vibrant colors, I just love the fresh pepper wreaths and swags sold by a couple of the Market’s vendors.  They remind me of the ones I always saw in Hungary made with red paprika.  Just beautiful.

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before, have you?  Peanuts still attached to the stalks.  Isn’t that cool?

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Fresh fish and seafood galore!  Every morning chefs from Seattle’s finest restaurants visit the market to select from the freshest seafood available.

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Have you ever seen such gargantuan crab legs??  They’re almost the length of my arm!

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For seafood you’ll find everything your heart desires at Pike Place Market.  This is Seattle after all, the seafood capital!

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Some other goodies you’ll find at Pike Place Market:  Chukar Cherries, handmade fur-lined hats and shoes from Whidbey Island, Don and Joe’s Meats, local honey and jams, German sausages, handmade wooden fire lighters, jewelry, belt buckles to your heart’s content, locally made beef jerky, the Pike Place Bakery, and Pappardelle’s Pasta (I’ve written a couple of posts about their awesome products).  Here’s just a tiny peek of a few of the offerings.

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Market Spice has been around since 1911 providing generations of customers with the finest coffee, tea and spices.  And my husband can tell you, I’m like a kid in a candy shop when I see walls lined with spices.  Uli’s and Bavarian Meats are two places after my own heart.  Uli’s is a German master butcher producing a variety of German sausages and meats.

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Bavarian Meats also not only specializes in the full array of German meat products (wursts, sausages, salami, etc), they’re also well-stocked with an nice selection of grocery products we know and love from Germany.

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bavarian meats pike place market seattle

I would imagine vendors come and go all the time but there are those, like the previous three I just mentioned,  who have been here for decades, whose names are practically synonymous with Pike Place Market.  They’ve earned a reputation for themselves, consistently providing the freshest, top quality ingredients to thousand of visitors every day.

Another Pike Place Market institution that has been here forever is Sosio’s, your one-stop shop for everything produce.  They open at 6am every day of the week.

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They also have an incredible variety of fresh mushrooms, many of them foraged locally here in Washington.

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Among them are some of my favorites, porcini mushrooms and chanterelles.  I thought I was familiar with all things mushrooms, but they had a variety there I had never heard of:  Cauliflower mushrooms.  Have any of you heard of or cooked with them before?  And just look at those glorious black truffles!

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And then there’s the world famous Pike Place Fish Company you may have heard about.  I first heard about them all the way over in Germany.  A couple of years before I moved to the USA I was hired for a job as manager of a brand new food/entertainment facility.  During my training, one of the videos they used on the topic of customer service was a video about this very seafood stall at Pike Place Market.  They’re famous for their fish-tossing acrobatics, engaging ways with customers, and providing you with not only the freshest product possible, but with some fun while you’re at it.

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You’ll also find an endless supply of fresh and dried flowers.

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These are all just a few of the reasons why a trip to Seattle isn’t complete without a visit to Pike Place Market.

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After our stroll through the market it was time to head home to relieve my parents of babysitting duty.  But not without making one final purchase.   I rarely visit Seattle without making a pit stop at Pike Place Market to pick up a bouquet of fresh flowers.  The prices are a tiny fraction of the cost of what you would pay at a flower shop and the bouquets are always fresh.  I picked up this beautiful mixed bouquet for $8 as a thank you to my mom for watching the kiddos while we enjoyed our overnight getaway.

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kimberly killebrew the daring gourmet

Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!

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20 Comments

  1. Thank you for such a fascinating tour…it was wonderful, every word and picture…I am probably not going to ever get back to Seattle, but would love to go back and to visit this market and to eat some good crab as well as some other sea food.

    Glad to be a subscriber to this…
    Morgan

    1. Thank you, Morgan, so glad you enjoyed this article and I’m happy you’re on board with us!

    1. Agreed, Stephanie, a visit to Seattle simply isn’t complete without stopping by Pike Place Market!

  2. A wonderful primer on the Pike Place Market and I especially enjoyed reading about it’s nascent days. Seems not much has changed for the poor farmers! :( I visited the market last year for the first time, and cannot wait to go back! I could spend all day there! Great post, Kimberly!

    1. Thanks for reading, CC! I really enjoyed reading up about it’s beginnings, too. I’m pretty sentimental and knowing about its early trials and triumphs makes me appreciate it all the more. I could easily spend all day there as well – so many nooks and crannies and so many fabulous places to eat!

    1. I love those wreaths, too, Lindsay! With so many of those small peppers on them they must take quite a long time to make. I always admire them when I see them, so pretty and colorful.

  3. I love visiting Pike’s Place Market! I went to high school in Steilacoom and lived in Lakewood and I would always pester my parents about driving into Seattle to go. And always loved when we had out of town guests because I knew we would be going. As an adult I always visit when I am passing through Seattle. I especially love going in the mornings while people are setting up, it is my favorite time there.

    1. Andi, morning really is the best. The air is fresh, there are fewer people, and I love the hustle and bustle of stalls being set up. Though it’s not remotely the same setting, it somehow reminds me a little of My Fair Lady – the morning scene when there’s still some mist settling in the air, the streets of London are empty, and vendors are busy setting up their wares for another market day. Love it.

  4. I’ve of course heard lots about Pike Place Market but have never been though I’ve always wanted to. Seattle’s on our list of places to visit and this has me all the more excited. Lovely pictures and what a great atmosphere.

    1. It’s a fun place to visit, Catherine, and there are some fantastic restaurants situation in the market as well. I’m happy you’ll be visiting Seattle, enjoy your stay when the time comes!

  5. The market looks beautiful. We were there in 2010, but the only part of it we saw was Pike Brewing Co.… Which is worth a visit, whether you like good food or good beer or both. :-)

    1. Thanks for the tip, Susan. I definitely love good food and their menu looks great. Hopefully you’ll get the chance to visit Seattle again and stay a little longer – so much to see and do.

  6. Thanks, Cori! There are so many different things at Pike Place Market, too many to fit into one post. I think I may need to write a “Part II” at some point :)

  7. Very nice, Kimberly. Really enjoyed this virtual tour. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Seattle and this really brought back the memories, thanks.