Seattle's Underground

Seattle does have an underground city. I visited it recently with family.

Pioneer Square is Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. In 1889 most of downtown Seattle burned down. When the city was rebuilt, it was decided to raise the street level due to frequent flooding and problems with gravity-assisted flush toilets that backed up during high tide. The new stone or brick buildings were built on the original street level knowing that the streets were going to be raised and the second story would become the new street level. 

Check out the above illustration.  Walls were built on either side of the original street at the curbs and extended up to the new street level. Fill was added in the middle between the walls. Sewer pipes were buried in the fill.This left the original street level sidewalks and building entrances accessible - Ladders were provided so you could get from one level to the other. Eventually sidewalks were extended to the old second story. This finished the new street level and created the underground. Businesses continued to flourish in the underground until the city shut it down in the early 1900s out of fear of bubonic plague (lots of rats down there). Then illegal businesses took over much of the underground. Eventually they were shut down. It’s a very interesting story. 

These glass tiles were installed in the new street level sidewalks to let light into the underground

decorated wall

All sorts of objects were stored/discarded in the underground

On the tour you walk on the original street level sidewalks

You can see original street level entrances to building

interesting colors & textures in the discarded objects

elevator parts

For $1we caught a bus in Kirkland across the street from where we live and an hour later we were on the tour in Pioneer Square. No traffic hassles, no searching or paying for parking. Fantastic!

Click here for a video about the underground
More information here