By: Alexsia Williams

Two summers ago, in July, 2024, me and my family took a trip to Seattle, Washington to visit some of my dad’s  family. Given that this had been our first time going to Seattle, my dad made an itinerary of all the popular places to visit in Seattle. That included the Space Needle, the Seattle Great Wheel, the beautiful hiking trails, and most importantly Pike Place Market. When first  arriving there I was taken aback by how crowded it was and the amount of people, but then as we started walking around I realized why Pike Place is so popular and one of the absolute best markets in the U.S. 

Pike Place Market was opened in August of 1907, and was opened to combat high produce prices. Thomas Revelle, who at the time was Seattle’s city councilman, initiated the idea to allow the farmers to sell directly to consumers, bypassing middlemen who had increased onion prices. With its opening in August, 1907, the market immediately became successful.

Although there were many years of success and compliments that the market had achieved, the positive also came along with the negative. The sanitary market building, which was the first purpose-built permanent structure within Seattle’s Pike Place Market, burned down days after the bombing of Pear Harbor. In April 1942, the market had  lost most of its farmers due to the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 

Despite some challenges and rough patches that the market had to confront, moving forward in later years, the market moved in a positive direction. This included being renovated in 1975, to the Pike Place MarketFront grand opening celebration which was held in 2017.

Every year over 20 million people visit the Pike Place Market and that population contributes to the market’s $26 million in operating revenue. 

There are over 500+ vendors, which include 220+ independently owned shops and restaurants, 180+ craftspeople, and 70+ farmers. 

As someone who has visited Pike Place twice on two different trips, I recommend people to visit Pike Place Market, because of how amazing it is.