Pioneer Square Music
by Peter Blecha
-
Live music has been a key facet of community life in this vibrant neighborhood since the village of Seattle first arose here in the 1850s. Its original business district was centered where the old Mill Street (today’s Yesler Way) intersected with Front Street (today’s 1st Avenue) and Commercial Street (today’s 1st Avenue S). Over time the triangular park situated at the crossroads – Pioneer Place (today’s Pioneer Square) – was ringed with taverns, restaurants, gambling dens, and other nests of ill repute. Seattle’s first saloon/brothel that also offered dance music played by a rollicking trio was built in 1861 and ever since, this area has served as one of Seattle’s primary nightlife districts.
As Seattle’s birthplace and initial downtown, Pioneer Square would serve as the home for various music venues, including taverns, community halls, theaters, and even an early opera house. No other local neighborhood can boast a history of music-making that spans the entire history of the city, ranging from the Wild West frontier days, up through the disastrous Great Fire of 1889 and subsequent rebuilding, to the 1890s Gold Rush frenzy, to the Prohibition Era (1916-1933), to the fabled Jackson Street jazz scene (1930s-1960s), to the 1950s Folk Revival, the 1970s Blues uprising, and finally the Grunge Rock era (1980s-1990s). And onward.
It was here where the first music recorded in Seattle occurred in 1923; where Bing Crosby sang his first song after leaving home in Spokane; where Black jazz and R&B combos began to edge their way into the previously off-limits downtown area; where pioneering gay bars provided disco dancing; and where Grunge heroes including Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains played tavern gigs on their way to global acclaim.
The neighborhood’s significance to Seattle’s identity was marked in 1970 when it was declared a National Historic District. Yet, one of the challenges of telling and showing its musical history is that many of the buildings and landmarks associated with that activity no longer exist, a concession to the constantly changing nature of Seattle. Our tour begins in the triangular plaza of Pioneer Square.
Tour Stops
Hibble & Hyde’s
Doc Maynard’s
Old Timers Cafe
Baby O’s
The Penthouse
Pioneer Banque
Bahamas Underground
92 Yesler
Merchant’s Cafe
The Colourbox
J&M Cafe
Central Tavern
Rosco Louie
The O.K. Hotel
Shelly’s Leg
Parnell’s/Ernestine’s
Fenix Underground
The Metropolis
Bombay Bicycle Shop
Hibble & Hyde’s
608 1st Avenue
Doc Maynard’s
614 1st Avenue
Old Timers Cafe
620 1st Avenue
Baby O’s
122 Cherry Street
The Penthouse
701 1st Avenue
Pioneer Banque
605 1st Avenue
Bahamas Underground
601 1st Avenue
92 Yesler
92 Yesler Way
Merchant’s Cafe
109 Yesler Way
The Colourbox
113 1st Avenue S
J&M Cafe
201 1st Avenue S
Central Tavern
207 1st Avenue S
Rosco Louie
87 S Washington Street
The O.K. Hotel
212 Alaskan Way S
Shelly’s Leg
75 S Main Street
Parnell’s/Ernestine’s
313 Occidental Ave S
Fenix Underground
323 2nd Avenue S
The Metropolis
207 2nd Avenue Extension S
Bombay Bicycle Shop
116 S Washington Street
Brought to you by HistoryLink
Generous support for this tour provided by