Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Down Under
As if the levels of the market that are above ground aren't labyrinthine enough, below
the Main Arcade are three lower levels called the Down Under. Here you'll find a fab-
ulously eclectic mix of pocket-size shops, from Indian spice stalls to magicians supply
shops and military-button booths.
South Arcade
If you continue past DeLaurenti's, you'll come into the South Arcade, the market's
newest wing, home to upscale shops and the lively Pike Pub & Brewery. It's not tech-
nically part of the historic market but is with it in spirit and rambunctious energy.
Corner & Sanitary Market Buildings
Across Pike Pl from the Main Arcade are the 1912
Corner & Sanitary Market Build-
market buildings in which live animals were prohibited. It's now a maze of ethnic gro-
ceries and great little eateries, including the Three Girls Bakery, which has a sit-down
area (it's always packed) and a take-out window with some of the best breads and sand-
wiches around. This is also the home of Left Bank Books, an excellent source for all
your radical reading needs.
Post Alley
Between the Corner Market and the Triangle Building, tiny Post Alley (named for its
hitching posts) is lined with more shops and restaurants. Extending north across Stew-
art St, this street offers two of the area's best places for a drink: the Pink Door Ristor-
ante, an Italian hideaway with a cool patio, and Kells, an Irish pub. In Lower Post Alley
beside the market sign is the LaSalle Hotel, which was the first bordello north of Yesler
Way. Originally the Outlook Hotel, it was taken over in 1942 by the notorious Nellie
Curtis, a woman with 13 aliases and a knack for running suspiciously profitable hotels
with thousands of lonely sailors lined up nightly outside the door. (She's the inspiration
for the Pike Pub & Brewery's equally tempting Naughty Nellie's Ale.) The building, re-
habbed in 1977, now houses commercial and residential space.
