THEN: Judging from the array of vehicles, this dramatic view of treeless Pioneer Square and its pergola, along with the imposing Mutual Life Building, was taken in 1956. The street section at lower right was pedestrianized in the early 1970s. It was paved first with cobblestones, later with bricks. (Bob Carney)NOW: Budding London Plane trees obscure the Pioneer Square pergola and the Mutual Life Building behind it. We could not access the roof of the three-floor Merchants Café to snap the repeat of our “Then,” so this photo, taken in mid-April, approaches that height, with the camera affixed to a 20-foot pole. (Jean Sherrard)
Published in The Seattle Times online on May 22, 2025
and in Pacific NW Magazine of the printed Times on May 25, 2025
Triangular Pioneer Square endures as Seattle’s historical heart
By Clay Eals
Upon us is Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial opening of good-weather jaunts and an infusion of tourists — a perfect time to highlight and reflect upon what we can see of Seattle’s soul.
THEN: In this photo looking north from Yesler Way in Pioneer Square (then Pioneer Place), thousands line First Avenue for the June 10, 1916, Great War-era (later World War I) defense Preparedness Parade. The clear portion of street in front of the Pioneer Building became part of Pioneer Square Park in the early 1970s. (Courtesy Ron Edge)
Other more recently developed sites may draw more traffic or attention, but the triangle with the geometrically odd name of Pioneer Square Park (historically Pioneer Place) evokes a turning point in the city’s early history.
It arose from ashes of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire with enduring masonry buildings, and erupted with entrepreneurs to feed the 1897 Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush.
Click the above image to download a pdf of the Pioneer Square tree walk. (City of Seattle)
It may seem counterproductive to use a “Now” photo in which a good part of the scene is obscured. The photo was taken in mid-April when the corner was blanketed with newly budded London Plane trees, first planted in 1958.
But it’s a nicely contrasting match for our rather naked “Then” photo, circa 1956, that reveals the Square’s classic cast-iron 1909-10 pergola (per-GO-luh here, PER-gu-luh in Britain) and the imposing 1897 Mutual Life Building to its rear across First Avenue.
Discovered years ago in an antique shop by historian Bob Carney, our battered “Then,” looking northwest, hints at the awkward jog of streets near Yesler Way (lower left) that derived from the conflicting desires of early landowners. Lumberman Henry Yesler platted a southside grid with strict compass points, whereas surveyor Arthur Denny lined up northside roads with the diagonal waterfront. The tricky intersection became — and has stayed — a busy traffic hub, first for horses, then public transit and other vehicles.
THEN: Bill Speidel, home office, 1980s. (HistoryLink)
Likely our “Then” was taken from the roof of the nearby Merchants Café. We can speculate that the unknown photographer sought to document the potential of a hub long “in decay,” as later described by promoter-author Bill Speidel.
Contributing to the Square’s revival was Speidel’s popular Underground Tour business, launched in 1964. Preservationists secured the area as an official city and national landmark district in the 1970s, inspired largely by the 1961 demolition of the eye-catching Seattle Hotel nearby and erection of its replacement, the less-than-classic “sinking ship” parking garage.
NOW: The seven-floor 1897 Mutual Life Building houses 48-year-old Magic Mouse Toys. (Clay Eals)
Still standing sentinel is the seven-floor Mutual Life Building, over the years housing retail shops and offices for everything from brokers and dentists to the Seattle Checker Club and the Gemeroy word-puzzle company. Present-day passers-by readily recognize its nearly half-century-old colorful corner tenant, Magic Mouse Toys.
The park’s I-shaped pergola (Latin and Italian for archway) originally was designed to protect a lavish, now-closed below-ground restroom. The pergola took a huge hit on Jan. 15, 2001, when an 18-wheel truck clipped it, reducing it to rubble. A much stronger, identical version was rebuilt there and opened in August 2002.
Today, the triangle survives in tree-covered shade, enticing us all to visit (or revisit) the city’s historical heart.
NOW: A bust of Chief Seattle, completed by sculptor James When in 1909, was installed in Pioneer Square Park at the same time as its pergola, designed by Julian Everett. The bust tops a once-functioning circular fountain. (Clay Eals)NOW: An intriguing element at the north end of Pioneer Square Park is a Tlingit totem pole installed in 1938 and restored in 1972. It is a replica of a stolen Tlingit pole that had been installed there in 1899 and was damaged by fire. (Clay Eals)THEN: In this view looking southeast, and with the original Pioneer Square totem pole standing sentinel, horses pulling wagons line up to drink from the Chief Seattle fountain-trough (left) on Sept. 16, 1909. (Courtesy Bob Carney)NOW: This street-level view, from mid-March before trees had budded, shows Pioneer Square Park, with its 1909-10 pergola, and, behind it, the 1897 Mutual Life Building. (Clay Eals)
WEB EXTRAS
Big thanks to Jamie Lim and especially Bob Carney for their invaluable help with this installment!
To see Clay Eals‘ 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photos, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay, check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column.
