The Tour
In 1889, the Great Seattle Fire destroyed a huge swatch of the young town. During the rebuilding, the streets were lined with concrete walls and new buildings of brick and stone were assembled stories above them on re-graded streets. The Underground was condemned just decades later and now only parts of it are accessible, mostly to tourists and amateur historians.
There are two tours. One you can find at its ticket office, well known on Pioneer Square. The other finds you, when a nondescript woman or man approaches and asks if you ever wanted to see the underground. Often they approach locals. They’re tour guides, they explain, and the price of the tour is cheap and scheduled right for when you wanted to take it. They seem sincere, even earnest.
There is no reason not to go with them. You will have a good time and the memory will remain unusually bright in your mind, cherished as you grow old, shared with children and grandchildren. You will see an interesting old city, impeccably renovated, walled in by concrete and brick archways.
But it is not the Seattle Underground.
There are two tours. One you can find at its ticket office, well known on Pioneer Square. The other finds you, when a nondescript woman or man approaches and asks if you ever wanted to see the underground. Often they approach locals. They’re tour guides, they explain, and the price of the tour is cheap and scheduled right for when you wanted to take it. They seem sincere, even earnest.
There is no reason not to go with them. You will have a good time and the memory will remain unusually bright in your mind, cherished as you grow old, shared with children and grandchildren. You will see an interesting old city, impeccably renovated, walled in by concrete and brick archways.
But it is not the Seattle Underground.