Seattle 2010 - International District incl Pioneer Square

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This 2010 series was originally featured on the World is Round (WIR) photo-sharing site which went down last year, It is now defunct & all of photo journals & articles on that site are lost. My sister from Langley BC & I love Seattle (and Tacoma & Bellingham) & have visited several times. This visit was the most extensive so this series will feature several repeat photos from that visit with shorter captions.

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District is an ethnic enclave neighborhood & the center of Seattle's Asian American community. The multiethnic neighborhood, which consists mainly of people who are of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino ethnicity, also has significant populations of people who are of Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, and Pacific Islander descent, as well as other communities. The Vietnamese enclave is east of Highway 5. We didn't get there I don't think. More info: http://cidbia.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Chinatown-International_District

Pioneer Square, once the heart of the city, is currently a neighborhood in the SW corner of Downtown Seattle. Seattle's founders settled there in 1852. Most of the early structures in the neighborhood, which were mostly wooden, were destroyed in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
By the end of 1890 they were replaced by many brick and stone buildings. The architectural character of the current neighborhood derives from these late 19th century buildings, mostly examples of Richardsonian Romanesque.

The neighborhood takes its name from a small triangular plaza near the corner of First Avenue and Yesler Way, originally known as Pioneer Place. The Pioneer Square-Skid Road Historic District, a historic district including that plaza and several surrounding blocks, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Square,_Seattle

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Photos

Chinatown (ch)
in the International District

ch Hing Hay Park
at the corner of S. King Street & Maynard Avenue S, has an authentic pagoda in the center plus benches & chess tables. Tai chi classes & free music are presented in the summer.

Historic Union Station (st)
The former Union Train Station, located at the corner of S. Jackson Street & 4th Avenue S. in the Pioneer Square neighborhood, was constructed between 1910 and 1911. It ceased operations as a train station in 1971. The old station was eventually renovated & now serves as the headquarters of Sound Transit.

st Grand hall
Its grand hall is rented out to the public for weddings and other events.

st
The renovation won the 2000 National Historic Preservation Award.

Comments

[Fred Perry]

Kudos to Seattle
I'm glad you are re-publishing these articles, Rainy. It's really good to see how SOME cities take good care of their heritage buildings, unlike the majority which just destroy them to make room for new ones. Nice shots ... thanks.