Underground Tour - Pioneer Square

This was a terrific tour -- we learned about the early history of Seattle and had fun at the same time thanks to Patti, our personable and funny guide through the underground.

Pioneer Square is easy to reach from the ferry (a short walk) or from downtown Seattle where we were staying at the Red Lion on 5th.  We walked a couple of blocks to Westlake Center and hopped on a bus ($2.75 and only 75 cents for seniors) and were in Pioneer Square in about 5 minutes.  It's a short walk to Bill Speidel's Underground Tour (we bought tickets online at undergroundtour.com) located in Doc Maynard's Public House, a restored 1890's saloon. You'll enjoy the cobblestoned Pioneer Place Park in front of Doc Maynard's with a totem pole and the beautiful glass and cast iron pergola.  The pergola was a cable car stop built for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition,
Seattle's first world's fair.

Our 75 minute tour started with a short history of early Seattle, its founders, and the subterranean storefronts entombed when the city rebuilt itself after the Great Fire of 1889.  We then met up with our guide, Patti, who regaled us with humorous stories throughout the tour.  We especially liked the story about the "ladies of the evening" who flocked to Seattle to "service" the miners coming down from Alaska with their pockets lined with gold.  These ladies called themselves "seamstresses" and were among the wealthiest inhabitants of early Seattle.

There's even a clothing store in downtown Seattle with hundreds of sewing machines in the store windows....now we know why!

There are plenty of stairs to climb (about 6 flights but it seemed like more) so be prepared for some walking and climbing.  But each step is well worth it!

When you walk through Pioneer Square, you'll sometimes see squares of purple colored class embedded in the sidewalk.  When you go underground, these glass squares act as skylights!

It's amazing to see the old storefronts and walk-ways underground and to realize that another city was built on top to raise the city higher above Puget Sound.

It's important to note that we're glad we didn't stay at a hotel in the Pioneer Square area -- lots of homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and benches and it didn't feel safe for two women travelling alone.  But it's a very pretty, historical area during the day with lots of nice shops and don't miss the Underground Tour when you're in Seattle.