Come for the Apples, Stay for the Coffee
Come for the Apples, Stay for the Coffee
“Seattle has a long history as a regional marketplace and global business hub. Here at the Market, that story began in the Main Arcade (which you are about to enter), where local farmers and produce sellers attracted throngs of customers, which then attracted other food-related businesses.
These owner-operated specialty stores sold coffee, spices, butter, eggs, and cheese, alongside multiple butchers and fishmongers. Before long, Seattle residents could find everything they needed by shopping at the Market.
This story continues today with the Market’s more than 500 small, independently owned and operated businesses.”
Learn More About This Time in Pike Place Market History
The city knew that an exposed market was impractical in rainy Seattle, and farmers quickly demanded improvements to the site. While the city didn’t have the money to build structures for the Market, local real-estate developer Frank Goodwin was perfectly positioned to take advantage of the situation.
Goodwin, who made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush, and his brothers had the foresight in the early 1900s to purchase the Leland Hotel and adjacent properties along Pike Place.
Goodwin and Thomas Revelle recognized the benefits of working together, laying the groundwork for a unique public-private partnership that has evolved throughout the Market’s history. The first Goodwin-Revelle project was a plan to build temporary shelters along the west end of Pike Place, where the main arcade of the Market stands today.
The first Market shed structure was finished within a couple of months and formally dedicated Nov. 30, 1907, with several thousand people attending the arcade’s opening. The Seattle Star reported that the City Council and the Goodwins set the stall rental rates from $4 to $25 per month, and that every available space – seventy-six retail stalls – had been rented. Farmer sales remained in the street for several years. The original shelters were designed with shoppers in mind rather than the farmers.
By late 1910, the Goodwins were preparing for additional development and created the Public Market & Department Store Company to manage their holdings. That fall, Revelle persuaded the City Council to spend $10,000 to extend the covered arcade north (known as Market House) near Virginia Street.
Today, the Market supports more than 500 business owners. Check out the Pike Place Market directory to learn more about the businesses that call Pike Place Market home today.