Seattle's Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square is Seattle's oldest neighborhood. The term Skid Row (originally Skid Road) was coined here. Logs were skidded down the road to the sawmill.

 Pioneer Building

The Smith Tower - When the Smith Tower was built in 1914, 

it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi 

The building was funded by Lyman Smith of typewriter fame

Click here for an interesting article about the apartment in the top of Smith Tower & who lives there.

The iron pergola and totem pole are on the site of Seattle's first sawmill

The pergola collapsed in 2001 when a semi-truck hit it. Read about the restoration and the fancy public toilets that used to be underneath this area.

Here's the history of this totem pole - stolen in 1899 from a Native American village in Alaska; placed in Pioneer Square; burned in 1938 by an arsonist; replaced with a replica carved by descendants of the carvers of the original totem pole.

Look where we had lunch!

Pioneer Square is filled with beautiful buildings with wonderful details