Quintessential Pioneer Square: An Exploration

Welcome! I have been working with documentary photography for a month or two, and undertook an assignment to photograph a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. Pioneer Square was my selection,  and I pursued the goal of creating a multi-photo portrait of this historic and popular area.

My images were shot on an overcast day, inside and outside, ranging from the well known and loved Victorian pergola, to Occidental Park, the Underground Tour, past restaurants, clubs, galleries, shops, and services for the homeless and disadvantaged. This is a neighborhood where the ghosts and sites of the past collide with the tourism and commerce of the present, where the well-heeled and the homeless tread the same streets and sidewalks, and where night and day are as different as, well, night and day.

Please join me on a visual tour of Pioneer Square...

Bust of Chief Seattle, aka "Sealth, Seathle, Seathl, or See-ahth" *and the Victorian era pergola, two of the most common sights in Pioneer Square,
along with lines of people of all ages, who take the popular Underground Tour... 

Bread of Life Mission, with an ironic sign
 for happy hour, in the foreground. Ironic sights
 are common here... 

Raindrops on a chessboard, in Occidental Park.
There are a group of stone chessboards here,
for enjoyment and use on sunny days... 

Memorial statues and beams dedicated to the fallen
firefighters of Seattle, in Occidental Park...

Tliingit totem pole in foreground, Pioneer Building
 in background. The Pioneer's original front door is
located on a lower level, in the underground
 and is not in use...

Merchants Cafe, with a member of the staff taking a break.
This is the oldest restaurant in Seattle, in operation since 1890.
It is reputedly haunted, and was investigated on the Travel Channel's
 television show, The Dead Files...

The historic Delmar Building and State Hotel on 1st Avenue,
with its Rooms 75 cents sign. Built in 1891*

Colorful ivy-covered building in Occidental Park, near
the outdoor, stone chessboards...

One of my favorite places in Pioneer Square,
the New Orleans Restaurant and Bar, Creole food and live blues! 

Stone, carved lion head and architectural detail on a
beautiful terra cotta-colored building in Pioneer Square...

I frequently saw mounted police and downtown-goodwill-ambassadors
 in the  area. This guy looks like he is ready to be off-duty!
There are several sports bars in the area,  this neighborhood
borders the area where our major sports venues stand.

Turns out, it was the horse who wanted a break from work! 

Detail of old, brick wall and windows, from one of the
main rooms on the Seattle Underground Tour...

I have always loved the verdigris of old, oxidized  copper. This is detail
of a very old, copper bathtub, as seen in the Seattle Underground...

I was captivated by this corner nook, with an old bucket
and the shadow of a ladder, as seen in the Underground..

Doorways and portals exist where you least expect them sometimes.
A very old door frame and the edge of a trellis, in the Underground...

Loved this old but colorful sign, lying amidst the rubble in a corner.
In the Underground...

I held my camera through a random window into darkness,
 set it for manual focus, turned on the flash, and here is what I got,
 a secret stairway, rising into a solid ceiling above!

Hope you have enjoyed this short tour of Pioneer Square. I had a blast walking around for five hours taking pictures. See you next time!

Blessings,

Linda