LOCATION:

The Pike Place Market can be found in downtown Seattle off of First Street, by the waterfront.

Address: 1501 Pike Place Market / Seattle, WA 98101.

DESCRIPTION: the Pike Place Market is the center piece of Seattle's 17 acre historic section. Like many other cities who have the foresight to renovate their historic city sections, tourists bring revenues into the city of Seattle, whether its taking the underground tour of the old Seattle of long ago, or shopping at the Pike Place Market, with such a glorious view of Seattle's waterfront.

It is no wonder that The Pike Place Market is extremely popular place for both residents and tourists alike. More than 600 small business vendors offer everything. Some offer fresh foods of every kind; fruits and vegetables to fresh fish and herbs. Others sell all kinds of flowers, a huge variety of beautiful arts and crafts of all kinds, Seattle souvenirs, books and other items. It is the place to find just about anything!

HISTORY:

In 1907, the Seattle City council opened the Pike Place Market on a newly built four-block boardwalk along the waterfront called Pike Place, because of the rumors going around town that food prices were fixed. About a dozen farmers set up shop and found that people were eager to buy their produce at such fair prices. This land was considered sacred by the local Duwamish Indians, but they had no power or influence, so what they felt didn't matter much.

The first building was built in 1907 as well, by a Pike Place landowner named Frank Goodwin, who made his fortune from Klondike gold. . In the first ten years, a number of multi-level buildings were well built, most of which continue to make up the permanent arcades of the market today.

Because of the reasonable prices offered here, the market expanded during the Great Depression. After the Depression in the late 1930's, a number of other businesses, including hotels, restaurants and theaters were built in the Pike Place Market area. The city of Seattle proudly was able to say that Pike Place was "The Finest Public Market In The World."

During World War 2, the market continued to thrive, still the center of community activity. Dances were held here, organized by Boeing workers. They held the dances somewhere on the upper floor of the market.

However, during the late 1940's and through the 1950's, new, suburban supermarkets took a big chunk of the business away from the Pike Place Market; not only because it was more convenient for people, but also because the large increase of motor traffic in the downtown area made it harder and annoying to go shopping there.

The Pike Place Market by the 1960's was still breaking even mainly due to the loyal arts and crafts small businesses and their customers. However, the sagging condition of the early 20th century buildings, who were looking not only long in the tooth, but bordering on being an eyesore and even dangerous, seemed to doom the Pike Place Market to the inevitable wrecking ball.

Thankfully, a motivated individual, a Seattle architect formed a group dedicated to this new cause; "Save the Market Campaign." Through this group's efforts, the voters in the Seattle area decided to establish a 17-acre historic district authorizing a newly formed Public Development Authority to renovate, repair and manage the Market's main structures in the November 2, 1971 election.

A big thank you is in order for the people of Seattle for establishing a historic section and revamping The Pike Place Market!!!

MANIFESTATIONS:

When Seattle saved The Pike Place Market, the people also continued to provide the ghosts who haunt the buildings and area a place to exist. All are well-behaved, gentle entities.

1) An Apparition of an Indian woman; Described as being bent and wrinkled wearing a red handkerchief as a head covering and a shawl around her shoulders. When still alive, a photographer became interested in her and took many pictures of her, which helps people now identify this entity.

History:

Chief Seattle's eldest daughter, named Kickisomlo, was called Princess Angeline by her white friends. In 1855, when the Duwamish Indians were told to leave Seattle and go to a reservation, she told them to go pound sand, and she stayed, making her home in a waterfront cabin, between Pike and Pine Streets. She made her living doing laundry for people and selling her hand-woven baskets to the people of Seattle, who appreciated her very much.

When she died in 1896 at the age of 85 on May 31, 1896, the people of Seattle gave her a fine funeral at Our Lady of Good Help and buried her in a coffin in the shape of a canoe at Lake View Cemetery on Capitol Hill.

Her father predicted that long after the Indians disappear from Seattle, the descendants of the white people will not be alone; the spirits of Duwamish will be with them. Spirits can come back and aren't governed by treaties.

Princess Angeline has been seen going about her business, trekking up and down the underground ramps of this shopping plaza. She is carrying a large amount of baskets to sell. She also seems to like to window shop as well.

Every three months since 1982, she has startled employees at the Craft Emporium, the old Goodwill Store building, the Sound View Cafe and the book store located in this shopping plaza, formerly known as Shakespeare & Company Bookstore. She appears as a solid form, looking very much like a real person. If the living look close enough, her transparency is evident. She seems to glide along, always looking straight ahead but must get her chuckles by either melting into the air in front of the living; or simply gliding right through a wall!

2) The entity of a tall, black handsome young man has been seen peering out at the living from a window of the Vitium Capitale Restaurant, and has been observed in various other places throughout the market buildings.

3) Strange footfalls have been heard by the living in both the Left Bank Books Store and coming from empty selling spaces as well.

4) The entity of a 300 pound lady haunts the spot where she fell to her death through the floor of the balcony which was above this spot, perhaps still upset about her life ending so suddenly when she wasn't ready to die yet. It is a good thing that ghosts can't sue the living!

5) An apparition of a child haunts the Bead Emporium store - Don't know why.

6) A charming, well mannered and well-dressed male entity, who loves to dance is seen in the area where the Boeing dances were held on the upper floor of the market, reliving the good times he had.

7) The entity of a former Pike Place Market Director, Arthur Goodwin, (probably a relative of Frank Goodwin), is still on the job, checking up on the living, to see if things are running smoothly.

STILL HAUNTED?

Very much so, indeed!

Princess Angelina when alive, was one of Seattle's first motivated vendors, self-employed entrepreneurs, even at the age of 85! Though she wasn't allowed to have a selling stall in The Pike Place Market, she sure does visit the place now, perhaps living her dream of bringing her baskets actually inside the place, and letting the living know that what her father predicted has come through.

The other entities also call The Pike Place Market their home, each for their own reason. To find out more about these entities which keep the living on their toes, plan to go on a Ghost Tour.

Sources Include:

GHOST STORIES OF WASHINGTON, by Barbara Smith, Lone Pine Publishing, 2000

HAUNTED PLACES: THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY, by Dennis William Hauck