Page 131 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Pacific Northwest

PIONEER SQU ARE AND DOWNT OWN  129

4 Occidental
Square
Occidental Ave between S Main & S
Jackson Sts. Map 4 D3. @ 15, 18, 21,
22, 56.
The brick-paved plaza known
as Occidental Square offers
relief from the busy traffic of
Pioneer Square. The tree-lined
pedestrian walk is flanked by
upscale shops, galleries, and
coffeehouses, many housed in Exhibit at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
attractive Victorian buildings.
Across South Main Street as 100,000 gold-seekers from 6 International
is Occidental Park, where the around the world rushed to the District
ambience changes considerably Klondike to find their fortunes.
because of the local contingent The largest and closest US East of 6th Ave S, south of Yesler Way.
of homeless people and city to the gold fields, Seattle Map 4 E4. @ 7, 14, 36. Wing Luke
panhandlers. Of special note became the primary outfitting Museum of the Asian Pacific American
here are four cedar totem and embarkation point for the Experience: 719 South King St.
poles carved by Northwest stampede north. Tens of thou- Tel (206) 623-5124. Open 10am–5pm
Tue–Sun. Closed major hols. & 8
artist Duane Pasco and the sands of miners passed through ∑ wingluke.org
Fallen Firefighters’ Memorial, the city, purchasing $25 million
a moving tribute to the 34 worth of food, clothing, equip- Located southeast of Pioneer
Seattle firefighters who have ment, pack animals, and Square, the International
died in the line of duty since steamship tickets. While few District was settled by Asian-
the Seattle Fire Department Klondikers struck it rich during Americans in the late 19th
was founded in 1889. the Gold Rush of 1897–8, Seattle century. This bustling area still
merchants made a fortune and serves as the cultural hub for
established the city’s reputation the city’s Chinese, Japanese,
as the premier commercial Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean,
center of the Pacific Northwest. and Laotian residents.
Established by Congress in In addition to its fine ethnic
1976, Klondike Gold Rush restaurants, the area is home
National Historical Park com prises to Uwajimaya (600 5th Avenue
five units – three in Canada, one South), the largest Asian market
in Skagway, Alaska, and one in in the Pacific Northwest. The
Seattle’s Pioneer Square Historic Wing Luke Museum of the
District. Housed in the restored Asian Pacific American
Hotel Cadillac building, the Experience, a Smithsonian
Seattle visitors’ center celebrates affiliate, is named after the
the city’s role in North America’s first Asian Pacific American
last great Gold Rush. On display elected to office in the Pacific
here are evocative black- Northwest. It high lights the
and-white photographs history, culture, and art of
and simulations of the “ton of Asian Pacific Americans.
The striking cedar totem poles in Pioneer provisions” that Canadian law
Square’s Occidental Park required each prospector to
bring with him, including
5 Klondike Gold 350 lb (160 kg) of flour and 150 lb
(68 kg) of bacon. Personable park
Rush National rangers staff the center, offering
Historical Park insights into this fascinating
period in American history.
319 2nd Ave S. Map 4 D3. Tel (206) The park offers an expanded
220-4240. @ 15, 18, 21, 22, 56. program in the summer.
Open 9am–5pm daily. Closed Jan 1, Activities include ranger-led
Thanksgiving, Dec 25. 7 ∑ nps.gov
walking tours of Pioneer Square,
In 1895, gold was discovered in gold-panning demonstrations,
a tributary of the Klondike River, and scheduled screenings of
in the middle of the Canadian Gold Rush-themed films. (These
Yukon wilderness. This discovery films are shown at other times Items for sale at Uwajimaya, in Seattle’s
triggered a frenzied stampede, of the year by request.) International District

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