Pioneer Square
Seattle's 1st Neighborhood
Pioneer Square, located at the southern end of downtown Seattle, is considered Seattle’s first neighborhood, established in 1852. As Seattle’s commercial core took shape around the natural deep-water harbor, timber, and the Klondike Goldrush, Pioneer Square quickly grew, shaped by a mix of people, businesses, and cultures inherent to being a port city.
After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, most of the neighborhood was rebuilt in the Richardsonian-Romanesque style. Pioneer Square’s colorful past is one of brothels and bureaucrats, corruption and community, artists and Arctic explorers, Skid Road, and subterranean sidewalks.
Today you can find a lively neighborhood filled with art galleries, small shops selling one-of-a-kind gifts, unique restaurants and services, boutique hotels, tourist attractions, and a thriving residential community.
Map below courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives, item 1289, 1956 Central Business District map by Seattle Planning Commission.