Normally Mark takes Candi in on Tuesday’s for her chemo session. Today Clyda and I went along to the Cancer Center with them and took the city bus to Pioneer Square. The bus stops near the Cancer Center and arrives downtown within 15 minutes. We walked down hill to 1st Street where the tour begins in Doc Maynards Bar. We were in time for the 11 AM tour which cost $12 each for seniors. The tour is 90 minutes long and is fascinating.
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The underground tour was of several blocks which had been built after the 1888 fire which destroyed 33 blocks of down town Seattle. To remove the threat of flooding during high tide, the city father's suggested building up the land with dirt from the nearby hills. Realizing that that effort would take years to complete, the merchants commenced building and most new buildings were completed in 1889 although out of stone and brick this time.
After the buildings were up, the city built a rock wall around each block and then proceeded to fill in the streets thus raising them one level. The second floors now became the first floors and the first floors became basements. To accomplish all of this required moving more dirt than was removed to make the panama Canal. To go from one block to the next required going up a long ladder , crossing the street, and descending another ladder. Not an easy trick while wearing a long dress and carrying purchases.
Eventually as streets were filled in, and doors were made in the second floor. Also, the merchants owned the property out to the street, so eventually, sidewalks were constructed over the moats. Sky lights made with glass blocks were installed in the sidewalks to let light down to the basement levels. The under ground tour follows these under ground side walks and you can look up to see the glass blocks over head. Much early equipment was left under ground when the tours were started. Old bath tubs, piping, elevator hardware, etc. It is fairly clean and very dry with few cobwebs. It is well lighted but the footing is on cement, board walks, or even some rubble. Just enough to give it some mystery.
People lived in the basements for years and today some business's still use their basements. The real problem is that Seattle is built on a base of sawdust from all the early saw mills and to this day continues to sink in some areas. The streets for instance are always in bad shape from this sinkage as were the basement floors in the buildings. The buildings themselves were built on pilings which makes them stable. When they filled the streets, anything and everything was thrown in as fill. Old wagons, carcasses of horses, wood of all kinds and anything at hand. This is causing problems as it all decays.
The tour was well done with lots of history of the city.
Underground Seattle sign.
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Greyish door in the middle of this building at the cars rear bumper is an entrance to Seattle underground.
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Underground Seattle entrance sign on lower left of photo.
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After the tour we strolled down 1st Street until we came to Grand Central Bakery and Café where we stopped for a quick lunch. The bread was so good that we stopped back later and bought a loaf to take home. After lunch we walked out to Occidental Square towards Quest Field and then around the block stopping at the Glasshouse Studio. They blow glass here most days but I expect there is more activity in the mornings. The glass is spectacular.
We stopped at Elliott Bay Bookstore and Cafe which was the setting for the café in the TV show Frasier. It reminded me of Powell’s in Portland, OR. We climbed back up the hill to 3rd St and found our bus stop for the return trip. The bus driver grew up in Atascadero, CA so talked our arm off. On top of that, he didn’t charge us for the trip. Nice guy.
We spent some time in the 5th floor waiting room at the Cancer Center until Candi was done and then drove home. A very nice day in Seattle.
