An OED staff member (Chris Swenson) took this amazing photo recently from their offices in the Seattle Municipal Tower.
You will most definitely want to click on it to view it larger:
Event: Be Mobile Photowalk
Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Time: 3:00 PM
Where: Starting at Zeitgeist Coffee in Pioneer Square (2nd and Jackson)
Mark your calendars for the Be Mobile photowalk – open to ALL mobile photographers (iPhone, Android, etc). The walk will end with an open mic forum held at Zeitgeist Coffee to close the current Darkroom Series exhibit. There will also be challenges and prizes suitable for both iPhone and Android users.
Spread the word and hope to see you there!
Brought to you by Juxt, Trover, and Instagramers Seattle (@Igers_Seattle)
p.s. you can also RSVP/comment/ask questions on their Facebook Page
A resident just emailed me a snowman that someone built in Pioneer Square this morning:
I’m not sure if it’s asking for real change or if the snow equivalent counts.
Just a reminder that there is still some space to sign up for O’Crafty Night for this and next Thursday:
Celebrate the holidays in Downtown Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood by making a craft so cool, you can give it to someone other than your mom! (But we support gifting to the mothers as well, don’t forget the mothers!) (All supplies provided.)
Special thanks to the designers of Crinoline & Tweed, our artist-teachers for the evening and to Grand Central Bakery & Arcade for hosting and providing artisan bread, iced shortbread snowflakes, iced ginger-people and hot chocolate for our guests! Produced by the Metropolitan Improvement District’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.
Link for 12/8: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/212549
Link for 12/15: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/212574
TODAY: First Thursday, Holiday Tree Lighting, Caroling OH MY!
Join us today for the First Thursday Art Walk, and stick around for the spectacular Holiday Tree Lighting in Occidental Park from 5 to 7 pm!
In addition to the 25-foot Douglass Fir holiday tree lighting, Tuba Luba will be providing musical accompaniment to the festivities. Also happening is free hot chocolate and caroling by the Beaconnettes in Nord Alley, and sea shanty songs with the Shifty Sailors at the Klondike Park down the street!
O’Crafty Nights (on 12/8 and 12/15)
Celebrate the holidays in Downtown Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood by making a craft so cool, you can give it to someone other than your mom! (But we support gifting to the mothers as well, don’t forget the mothers!) (All supplies provided.)
Special thanks to the designers of Crinoline & Tweed, our artist-teachers for the evening and to Grand Central Bakery & Arcade for hosting and providing artisan bread, iced shortbread snowflakes, iced ginger-people and hot chocolate for our guests! Produced by the Metropolitan Improvement District’s Pioneer Square neighborhood.
12/8 = http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/212549
12/15 = http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/212574
Trivia Nights at Merchants (on 12/22 and 12/29)
There’s Snow Place Like Pioneer Square this holiday season. Take a break and test your holiday IQ to win sweet neighborhood prizes! BYO holiday and/or trivia-obsessed team members.
Event starts at 5pm and the pub quizzes run from 6-8pm. Teams can be up to 6 players. Attendance will be capped at restaurant’s max capacity.
FIRST PLACE PRIZE: $200 cash!
SECOND PLACE PRIZE: $50 in gift certificates to Tat’s Delicatessen
THIRD PLACE PRIZE: TBD…in addition to prize pints!
Produced by the Metropolitan Improvement District’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Part of Holidays in the City.
12/22 = https://www.facebook.com/
12/29 = https://www.facebook.com/
The fall colors and the leaves that fall off the trees into the park always remind me of how much I love living in Pioneer Square.
You can follow my photos on instagram on your iphone (username: pioneersquare), or here online.
I also shot a panorama of the square (love the Dermander app) that you can check out here.
Do you have other photos that you’ve taken of the colors in Pioneer Square? I would love to see them!
Visit DowntownHolidays.com to ensure your holiday season is merry and bright!
The DSA/MID, Seattle Center and Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau are proud to announce the 2011 Holidays in the City seasonal campaign. Now in its third year, the annual campaign – geared toward helping promote downtown Seattle as an outstanding destination for holiday travel – offers an exciting assortment of holiday happenings from Pioneer Square to Seattle Center. The holiday season begins this November with season favorites like the Argosy Christmas Ship Festival, Macy’s Holiday Parade, the Holiday Carousel at Westlake Park and Winterfest. Visitors from near and far can begin mapping out their holiday plans on November 1 with the launch of the official Holidays in the City website, DowntownHolidays.com.
A must-have resource, DowntownHolidays.com is a one-stop shop for the 2011 holiday season featuring a comprehensive events calendar, maps, travel deals, visitor information, a downloadable holiday guide and more. Find information on the city’s most popular holiday events, such as the Jingle Bell Run/Walk and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s beloved Nutcracker, as well as where to find the city’s best holiday light displays and festive attractions.
DowntownHolidays.com is also the place to enter for a chance to win the Holidays in the City grand prize giveaway. This year, the Holidays in the City grand prize is a Seattle Center 50th Anniversary themed prize package including: a two-night stay at Seattle’s beautiful Pan Pacific Hotel, $250 Pacific Place gift card, $250 dining certificate to the Space Needle’s SkyCity restaurant, a commemorative 1962 World’s Fair coffee-table book and set of six retro 1962 World’s Fair tumblers, four exhibit-only tickets to the Pacific Science Center, four round-trip tickets for the Seattle Center Monorail, and two Seattle Center parking passes. The grand prize winner will be selected on December 31, 2011.
As the holiday season nears, visitors can pick up the official Holidays in the City guide at the Seattle Visitor Center and Market Information Center as well as various retailers throughout downtown and the greater Seattle area. The free guide – featuring 16 pages full of family fun events – can also be found inside the November issue of Seattle Metropolitan magazine. Many of Seattle’s favorite holiday traditions are highlighted in the guide, including Magic in the Market, Toyland Village at Waterfront Park, Black Nativity and more. For a full list of participating retailers carrying the 2011 Official Holiday Guide, visit DowntownHolidays.com.
In addition to the official Holiday in the City website, information about all of Downtown Seattle’s holiday happenings can be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
Did anyone see the brass instruments, umbrellas, and revelers in Pioneer Square last Friday night?
They started outside of Marcela’s Creole Restaurant, and headed up 2nd Avenue (going who knows where).
Just another reason why I love this neighborhood:
p.s. you can follow other Pioneer Square photos that I post on instagram, user name pioneersquare
MapQuest has started a new site called m(q)vibe, which gives a “Vibe Score” for neighborhoods. The score is “a composite of Walkability, Popularity, Going Out, Edginess, Burbiness, and Residential scores,” which include what it would take to achieve a vibrant lifestyle in that community, compared with other neighborhoods in Washington.
Pioneer Square has an overall Vibe Score of 10.
Here is the breakdown of rankings for our neighborhood (or at least my best guesses based on the graph):
Popularity: 10
Going Out: 10
Residential: 1.5
Burby: 1
Edgy: 2.5
Walkability: 10
[I had to laugh at our "edgy" score as the definition for edgy is "how likely you are to meet the more questionable or colorful aspects of urban society in that neighborhood, compared with other neighborhoods in the same state."]
All said, we currently rank 4th in Seattle, but the system is still new and needs to have a lot more user input before it’s accurate.
Vibe Scores can go up and down by people “liking” the neighborhood on Facebook, and voting for businesses in the neighborhood. Go check it out and see what you think.
Just last month, tech company Stray Boots announced “a new way to explore Seattle.” You can now tour Pioneer Square (+ Pike Place + the SAM) through a great interactive walking tour with your cell phone as your guide.
Seattle: The Game combines the fun of a scavenger hunt with the sights and history of a top-notch tour.
- Start when you want and go at your own pace (see below for recommended starting times)
- All tours take about 2-3 hours to complete
- All tours are great for all ages
- Any US cell phone with text messaging works – no need for a smart phone
- You have a year from purchase to complete your tour – you can buy online and play when you want
A writer from SunBreak recently tried the tour and said that “the tour takes you places you normally wouldn’t go, like the nautical-themed store Cuttysark, and the great retro sports shop Ebbets Field Flannels. It also made me actually pay attention to the totem poles.”
The tour costs $12 (on sale right now — originally $20) and runs about 2 – 3 hours.