City: Seattle, WA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (206) 667-0687

Address: 201 Yesler Way (Central)

Description: The Pioneer Square District was the birthplace of modern Seattle and the city’s first downtown. Most of the Square’s buildings were erected within a decade of the disastrous Great Fire of June 6, 1889. Preservationists rallied in the 1960s to save the area’s exquisite ensemble of Victorian and Edwardian era architecture from demolition. Today Pioneer Square is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected by both federal and local historic preservation districts. Don’t miss the ornamental iron pergola, Occidental Park with its totem poles, or the Columbia Center Observation Deck. This much cheaper alternative to the view from the Space Needle is only $5, offers 76th-floor views that are just as amazing, and seems the best undiscovered secret in Seattle—there are hardly ever any crowds here. Exercise a little caution in Pioneer Square at night, especially off the major streets.