6.-yesler-wharf-89-ruins-THEN-WEB copy May 29, 2016 1400 × 1178 Seattle Now & Then: Seattle’s First Big Fire The first Yesler Wharf was built on pilings punched into and through fill. The subject looks east from the water end of Yesler Wharf following the 1889 fire that razed about 32 city blocks (depending upon how you define and count blocks.)