Pioneer Square

I Hung out in Pioneer Square in Seattle the other day.  I was on call and it was pouring rain and I had nothing better to do.  First I went to the Gold Rush Museum.  It is fairly new and is run by the National Park service.  The museum was small but well done.  For those of you who don't know...people on their way to the gold fields of Alaska stopped first in Seattle to get outfitted and to secure transportation...that's why the museum is here.  Anyway, after killing some time there I went outside and strolled around what was once Seattle's downtown core.  Pioneer Square rocks.  Okay, so there are some scary people roaming about and the original Skid Row runs through the heart of the district...but it's cool.  Lots of great architecture, shops and restaurants.  My favorite building is of course the Smith Tower.  When it was completed in 1914 it was the tallest building west of Chicago and the 6th tallest in the world.  My, how things have changed!  Word on the street is that the Smith Tower is being converted into condos....now that's a thought.  Sorry.  For a second there I actually thought I had enough money for that... Then I went to Elliot Bay Books, one of the best bookstores in the city.  It is housed in the former Seattle hospital.  The old wood floors creak and groan as you walk across them.  And I'm not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if that place is haunted.  I love it though.  Great atmosphere.  And that was my day in Pioneer Square.