The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park occupies the historic Cadillac Hotel, a brick structure in the Pioneer Square district built just after the Great Seattle Fire of eighteen eighty-nine. This building, with its resilient stone…
Trail to Treasure
This self-guided walk leads you through Seattle's historic Pioneer Square to see the iconic brick architecture and grand transport hubs that shaped the early city. You'll trace the legacy of the Klondike Gold Rush and early industries that transformed Seattle from a wilderness outpost into a booming metropolis.
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1. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
2. Occidental Square
Occidental Square is defined by long, straight rows of London plane trees that form shaded walkways, framing an open area paved in cobblestones and bricks. This public space sits within the Pioneer Square neighborhood and occupies what was…
3. ARTS at King Street Station
The top floor of the historic King Street Station houses a seventeen-thousand-five-hundred-square-foot cultural space known as ARTS at King Street Station. You can identify this level by its raw, industrial character, which intentionally…
4. Union Station
Union Station is defined by its Beaux-Arts architecture, featuring red brick, terra cotta trim, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling that rises fifty-five feet above its interior floors. Completed in nineteen eleven, the building was designed by…
5. Yesler Way
Yesler Way is marked by the sharp, steep slope that drops toward the Elliott Bay waterfront. Named for Henry Yesler, who arrived in eighteen fifty-two, this street once served as the primary transit route for the city’s first industry.…
6. Smith Tower
The Smith Tower stands out for its gleaming white terra-cotta exterior, which rises into a distinctive pyramid-shaped cap above the surrounding neighborhood. When it opened in nineteen fourteen, this thirty-eight-story structure was the…
7. Pioneer Square Pergola
The Pioneer Square Pergola is a triangular canopy of cast iron and glass that sits at the intersection of First Avenue and Yesler Way. Designed by architect Julian F. Everett and completed in nineteen oh nine, the structure originally…