Pike Place Market - Market Timeline

MARKETTIMELINE

105 years of being the region's "food basket" and a lot more:

Take a trip down Memory Lane with these milestones in the history of the Pike Place Market.

1907: August 5th

The Seattle City Council passes Council Member Thomas Revelle’s ordinance to create a public farmers market on Pike Place.

1907: August 17

Six to 12 farmers bring their produce-filled wagons to Pike Place on opening day. They sell out by lunchtime. That same day Frank Goodwin of Goodwin Realty advertises two properties for sale on Pike Place for $16,000 and $38,000. Goodwin goes on to be the first manager of the Market.

1907: November 30

Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle dedicates the Market to the people of Seattle after Frank Goodwin completes construction of first building, with 76 produce stalls.

1909:

Athenian Inn opens, with two Greek brothers as the owners.

1910:

Stalls are added thanks to a $10,000 contribution from the City of Seattle. Sanitary Market building opens.

1911:

The Seattle City Council creates the jobs of Market Inspector (later changed to Market Master), Assistant Market Inspector, and Janitor. The Market Master is a job that still exists today.

1912:

Corner Market building opens, with Three Girls Bakery as one of the shops.

1913:

The first of many proposals to create a new look to “super-size” the Market is rejected by Seattle voters.

1918:

The City of Seattle creates City Fish to counter the high price of fish.

1922:

With construction complete, the Market’s configuration looks much like it does today. Branch of the Seattle Public Library opens on lower floor.

1926:

Arthur Goodwin takes over as manager of the Market from his uncle Frank.

1928:

Neon sign and clock installed.

1929:

Arthur Goodwin’s book Markets: Public and Private is published, which becomes a textbook for creation of markets.

1930:

Delivery man Peter DeLaurenti marries Mamie-Marie Mustelo, who works for her mother’s grocery. In 1946, after they purchase the grocery, they create DeLaurenti Grocery, which becomes one of the best-known shops in the Market.

1933:

Farmer Giuseppe “Joe” Desimone owns more than half the shares in the Pike Place Public Market Company, making him the major decision maker. Joe went from selling his produce in the Market to become manager of the Market into the 1940s. The Desimone family retains ownership of Pike Place Market buildings until the 1970s.

1935:

Dance Hall operates in the Economy Market Building. The Market during the Depression was a central community gathering place as well as a major food center.

1938:

Artist Mark Tobey begins a years-long chronicle of the Market in sketches and paintings.

1941:

Sanitary Market building burns just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

1942:

In April, the Market loses over half of its farmers due to the internment of Japanese-Americans. Hundreds of stalls go empty.

1950:

Engineer Harlan Edwards, husband of Seattle City Council member Myrtle Edwards, proposes development in the Market that includes a 1,500-car parking garage. As the 1950s progress, the Market’s buildings increasingly need repair residential patterns shift away from downtown.

1963:

Pike Plaza Project proposed to rejuvenate the Market (urban renewal). Skyscrapers would replace most Market buildings. The plan is backed by the mayor, many members of the Seattle City Council, and merchants in the Market community.

1964:

Friends of the Market, led by architect and civic activist Victor Steinbrueck, forms to oppose plans to redevelop the Market.

1965:

Art Stall Gallery, a cooperative owned by a dozen women, opens.

1969:

Friends of the Market gathers 53,000 voter signatures to save the Market from the wrecking ball.

1970:

1.5 acres in the Pike Place Market is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A larger area is added to the historic district listing in 1972. The historic district is now nine acres.

1971:

Starbucks opens March 30 at Pike Place & Virginia Street.

1971: November 2

Seattle voters approve Initiative 1 to “Keep the Market” from the wrecking ball.

1973:

The Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA) is created by the City of Seattle to act as public trustee of the Market. The charter document continues to guide the Market to this day.

1973:

Oriental Mart opens. It’s still owned by the original family, the Apostols.

1974:

The Market is renovated. $135 million is spent on renovation ($60 million in federal funds, $75 in private investment).

1976:

Alm Hill Gardens Farm starts selling on Market farm tables; today they have the distinction of being the farmer with the most seniority.

1977:

Pike Market Senior Center starts in location of a former biker bar.

1978:

Park honoring Victor Steinbrueck opens on a former site of an armory.

1980:

The PDA completes acquisition of 80 percent of properties in the Market historic district.

1982:

The Market Foundation is created to help raise funds for the Market’s social service agencies.

1985:

Campaign begins to recruit donors who for $35 can have a name placed on a floor tile. Over 46,000 named tiles line the arcade.

1986: Rachel the piggybank

Rachel the piggybank, which collects over $10,000 each year for the Market's child care, food bank, medical clinic and senior center, debuts under the iconic clock and sign.

1991:

Pike Place Market PDA and the Urban Group settle years-long dispute over ownership rights of Market properties.