Walk into Seattle · Pike Place Market


Pike Place Market is the oldest farmers market in the United States, founded in 1907, is not only the center of early Seattle life, known as the "heart of Seattle", but also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Seattle today.

Here, you can see giant Alaskan king crabs, whole as salmon. In front of the girl selling flowers is a blossoming flower, in front of the woman selling crafts is a list of her own handmade special small objects and rows of dazzling fruit stalls.

The food in the market is also favored by people, and there are long queues at the door of various snack bars, and street entertainers everywhere fully reflect the charm of Seattle, a city that loves music.

Whenever the crowd is crowded and lively, the guy selling seafood will always throw the whole ten pounds of big fish around, Shouting loudly and happily, and the action is happy with the tacit understanding, which is the famous fish throwing performance. I was surprised to find that the front facade of Pike Place Market was just a single story building, just like our common farmers market. So what's the story?

In August 1907, the price of Onions in Seattle suddenly jumped from 10 cents per pound to $1 per pound, prompting a backlash from housewives against exploitation by middlemen.

Eight farmers brought in a caravan of fresh fruits and vegetables, which were immediately sold out by 10,000 citizens, and within a week the stalls had doubled and the Pike Place Market was born. Because of the use of Farmers, fishermen directly into the Market, also known as the Farmers Market, the direct sales model has continued to this day.

Today, Pike Market has many "most", such as: the neon sign composed of the English word Public Market Center, is the first large neon sign west of the Mississippi River; The large round clock on a white background, installed in 1928, is the oldest clock still running on the West Coast of the United States!

There are more surprises within Pike Place Market; If you're a Starbucks fan, you'll be delighted to find the world's first Starbucks here. The coffee shop opened in 1971 and the name Starbucks was inspired by the novel Moby Dick.

Its logo, a coffee-colored two-tailed mermaid (as opposed to the common green mermaid Logo), seems to enjoy the "privilege" of the first store and speaks of orthodoxy.

For most of the day, crowds crowded around the place to experience the surprise of the gourmet coffee brought by the first Star Baba. In addition to this, taking photos under the original Starbucks coffee and tea spice label is also one of the favorites.

The cup-throwing tradition has been going on since the first day of the 'first Starbucks,' where the clerk would write your name and order on the cup you purchased and toss it to the barista for refills.

Not only are there long lines outside the store, but also inside the store. Unlike the Starbucks branches seen in China, the store has no spacious space, no pleasant music flowing, and no seats, and the coffee drinks purchased can only be taken out. Even though there are no seats, visitors still enjoy it, preferring to stand and taste a cup of coffee here, trying to find the original taste of Starbucks coffee.

On the ground inside the platform stands a full-size bronze pig statue. It's the mascot of the market. It's called Rachel the Piggybank and it weighs 550 pounds. Said to have been made in 1986, it was left behind by a foundation that raised funds for Pike Place Market repairs, raising about $10,000 a year for social service projects at the market.

Pike market has large and small piggy banks based on Rachel's piggy bank as souvenirs, called "Pike Pig", which is popular with tourists. Seeing this, not only makes people sigh: Chinese and Western cultures in the shape of the piggy bank, there are actually similarities!

Visit Pike Place Market, experience the daily life of local residents, and feel the thick city culture of Seattle, which can be described as: consumption is harvest, communication is participation, sharing is aftertaste.

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