Pike Place Market History

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By the 1960s sales at the market were suffering from suburbanization, the growth of supermarkets and the move away from local, small-scale market gardening. Vast tracts of agricultural land were disappearing, replaced by such ventures as the Northgate Mall and the Sea-Tac airport. The internment of Japanese American farmers during WWII had also taken its toll. The entire area became a bowery for the destitute and a center for prostitution and peep shows.
In the wake of the 1962 World's Fair, plans were drawn up to bulldoze the market and build high-rise office and apartment buildings on this piece of prime downtown real estate. Fortunately, public outcry prompted a voter's initiative to save the market. Subsequently, the space was cleaned up and restructured, and it has become once again the undeniable heart and soul of downtown; some 10 million people mill through the market each year. Thanks to the unique management of the market, social services programs and low-income housing mixed with the market commerce, the market has maintained its gritty edge. These initiatives have prevented the area from ever sliding too far upscale. A market law denies chain stores or franchises from opening up shop and ensures all businesses are locally owned. The one exception is, of course, Starbucks, which gets away with its market location because it marks the coffee giant's first (it opened in 1971).