Pike Place Market

After I came here, Seattle, I sometime go to Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle in many purposes. Pike Place Market not only is one of the most famous markets in Seattle, but also has a history of about a hundred years. By the way, a few days ago, I had an opportunity to see the figure of the past of Pike Place Market through University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection. I was very impressed with the pictures that seemed to be in good preservation. So, for this time, let me look into Pike Place Market through comparing two pictures of old and present instead of the movie reviewing. I’m sure you will be very interested to read about this.

http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/seattle&CISOPTR=510&CISOBOX=1&REC=10

Hi there!

I picked two pictures contained the figure of Pike Place Market. One was a picture at present, and the other was a past one. Through those pictures, I describe and compare the figure of the past with the present in Pike Place Market. I took this present picture at Pike Place Market about a year ago. I mean it was taken in 2009. However, surprisingly, the picture I found through University of Washington Libraries Digital Collection was taken in 1917. I was shocked to look at the old picture that was in a good condition and even very clear.

As you see above two pictures, they look similar enough. Though I am not sure if they both are the same place in precision, they have many things in common. Above all, they are both agricultural stores and even their products are no differ much. Of course, there could be a lot of changes through the time goes by. There are great time differences between two pictures about a century. However, you might not be aware of difference between those pictures that much when you have a glance at them.

I think there’s just three little difference which is invisible about this market. One thing is, as time goes by, people who sold the good in the market were changed. It’s natural because people die. However, this traditional market has been well kept by their descendents as it just was. The other thing is that the price of goods would be raised. Pike place market couldn’t avoid inflation as well. The last, it was a real market for selling or buying in old times, but for now, one more thing was added. That is the role as a great tourist attraction in Seattle. I’d like to speak these differences are not actual differences. It should be called as just an improvement, I believe.

According to the pictures, I can find the similarities more than differences. Can you find the difference from those pictures? The goods, which are sold nowadays, are not changed even though more products are sold now. This market stands still there as a real market which is the place for people to sell or buy. I feel that I can’t describe the similarity about this market because its appearance is exactly the same as you see the pictures. People search for the old place to visit and to appreciate it because it is a living history in the middle of present. How fantastic the place had been kept like this.

Even though there have been many changes through such long time, Pike Place Market is still there. By comparing them, I finally realized how the market has been kept well like this for a long time. In my thought, it’s because that Pike Place Market is the place which not only shows about common life with honest but has its symbolic meaning as representing Seattle for a long time.