Skip to main content

Pioneer Square

Pioneer Square

The Pioneer Square neighborhood was the hub of pioneer Seattle. The first industry, Yesler Sawmill, was built in here in 1852.

In 1889 local businessmen returned to Seattle from a trip to Alaska with a Tlingit totem pole and gave the Puget Sound it's first landmark.

The first buildings following the Great Fire of 1899 were built around Pioneer Square and in 1909 an iron pergola was built as a shelter over an underground restroom, known as "the finest underground restroom in the United States". The Pergola and the totem pole still stand, along with a bust of Chief Seattle. This tiny park is at the heart of Seattle's historical district.

(Excerpt from Enjoying Seattle's Parks by Brandt Morgan and the files of Don Sherwood, 1916-1981, Park Historian.)

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate