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GentlewoodFarms
July 3, 2017

Bill Speidel's very COOL Underground Tour

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When we arrived in Seattle from Oklahoma, it was a little before lunchtime. We visited Pioneer Square and looked at the Totum there, did a little quick walk and look about, and then met up with our tour guide for the Underground Walking Tour of Seattle.

Seattle was built on a cliff - with the rich folks up on the hill and the blue collar and poor folks down on the wharf. The sewer system wasn't the greatest and it leaked and the phrase "..it runs downhill" was never more true than it was in Seattle. Things were just a mess.

Then in 1889, Seattle burned. It burned to the ground. Completely wiped out everything. The first photo on the top left is a picture of what was left. Nothing. The picture on the top right is of the building that is on the right of the picture on the top left (if that makes sense).

The town decided to rebuild, but they learned a lesson from their original plan and rather than rebuild on the same foundation - they built ... up. They brought in dirt and pilings and built their new city on top of their old one, using the original buildings and framing as basements and foundations. What's left is still visible and open to the public if you know where to look. The image on the bottom right is an old skylight, which, if you're walking along in Pioneer Square and look DOWN at the sidewalk, you'll see them still embedded in the roofs, which are now (some of them) the base foundations for the sidewalks.

The tour was really fascinating and hilariously funny. Our guide was engaging and well prepared for questions. I felt like this was a perfect introduction to this town - knowing where a place comes from, knowing it's history, can often explain why the people who live there are the way they are.

I'd recommend this like I'd recommend the Crab Pot. Don't leave Seattle without taking a peek at what's UNDER the streets.


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