Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(cnr Cherry St & 1st Ave S)
The original Pioneer Square is a cobbled triangular plaza where
Henry Yesler's sawmill cut the giant trees that marked Seattle's first industry. Known
officially as Pioneer Square Park, the plaza features a bust of
Chief Seattle
(Sealth, in
the original language), an ornate pergola and a
totem pole
.
Some wayward early Seattleites, so the story goes, stole the totem pole from the
Tlingit native people in southeastern Alaska in 1890. An arsonist lit the pole aflame in
1938, burning it to the ground. When asked if they could carve a replacement pole, the
Tlingit took the money offered, thanking the city for payment for the first totem, and
said it would cost $5000 to carve another one. The city coughed up the money and the
Tlingit obliged with the pole you see today.
The decorative
pergola
was built in the early 1900s to serve as an entryway to an un-
derground lavatory and to shelter those waiting for the cable car that went up and down
Yesler Way. The reportedly elaborate restroom eventually closed due to serious plumb-
ing problems at high tide. In January 2001, the pergola was leveled by a wayward
truck, but it was restored and put back where it belonged the following year, looking as
good as new.
WATERFALL PARK
PARK
(cnr S Main St & 2nd Ave S; Pioneer Sq)
This unusual park is an urban oasis commemor-
ating workers of the United Parcel Service (UPS), which grew out of a messenger ser-
vice that began in a basement at this location in 1907. The artificial 22ft waterfall that
flows in this tiny open-air courtyard is flanked by tables and flowering plants.
This is the perfect spot to eat a brown-bag lunch or to rest weary feet.
YESLER WAY
STREET
( Pioneer Sq)
Seattle claims its Yesler Way was the coining ground for the term 'skid
road' - logs would 'skid' down the steeply sloped road linking a logging area above
town to Henry Yesler's mill.
As for Henry Yesler himself, local historians paint him as an ambitious business
zealot who clashed frequently with the wild-and-woolly Doc Maynard. These two men,
who by all accounts were equally stubborn, both owned part of the land that would
eventually become Pioneer Square. This resulted in a highly symbolic grid clash, in
which Yesler's section of the square had streets running parallel to the river, while
