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| Child standing against column. Pike Place Market snapshots. Circa 1968. Copyright Superior Publishing Company. Photo by Nancie Gee. |
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| Woman eating ice cream. Pike Place Market snapshots. Circa 1968. Copyright Superior Publishing Company. Photo by Nancie Gee. |
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| Woman selling produce. Pike Place Market snapshots. Circa 1968. Copyright Superior Publishing Company. Photo by Nancie Gee. |
Pike Place Market Snapshots 1968 Pt. 1
November 11th, 2008 @ 1:09 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure |
In the late 1960′s, photographer Nancie Gee took to Pike Place Market to capture the energy of the people there. She came away with her work “Reflections In Pike Place Markets.” Find below some of what she captured. Click on the thumbnails for higher-res copies. [see also: Part 2]
Looks similar to pictures i have seen of the Maxwell Street Market out of Chicago.
Fantastic. Is this a book that she put out?
A grand book to read (if you haven’t yet) that talks about Seattle in the 30s is “Anybody Can Do Anything”. (I believe it is out of print at the moment) It was written by Betty MacDonald and there were a number of times in her book that she mentions the Pike Place Market. She talks about going to Lowell’s for lunch with her sister and friends, the various farmers who sold them vegetables and how much she loved the place.
I remember as a 10 year old kid, getting up with my grandfather at 5 AM, in the crisp, cool, northwest air, to go with him to the Pike Place Market; where he bought fresh fish and produce for his little, corner grocery store on Nickerson Ave., in Ballard. I was a visiting kid from Salt Lake City. The market was a wonderous place of smells, sights and sounds to me. Very different from things seen in my hometown. It was very gritty and visceral. The caricatures in front of, and behind the counters was fascinating. Some speaking other languages.
I gained my love of seafood and exotic foods at the market. Fried seafood was a new thing to me. Clam chowder at Ivar’s acre of clams, was new and delicious. Salmon was a new thing, too. Chinese food. I loved them all.
I remember at age 10, hopping a city bus with my 8 year old brother, travelling from Queen Anne to the waterfront and the Pike Place Market. In this day and age, no one would let two little kids get on a bus alone. It was a different age and time — more trusting. I can’t believe my folks would let us do it. We were young and small.
We’d sit for hours, with our legs dangling ovre the edge of the waterfront piers, watching fisherman shovel fresh fish from their boats onto the docks. New sights AND smells! I learned to love the fresh smell of sea air and fresh seafood here, as a kid.
We’d walk down to Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe and Trident Imports, which saton on the rotting old piers. We’d spend hours looking at mummies, jukeboxes, pickled creatures, shrunken heads and amazing things from around the world. We marvelled at a capsized restaurant boat that had burned and sunken into the harbor — still sitiing there. We’d hike the steep hill and stairs up to the market and wander for hours. It was full of foreign sites and smells to us.
When I was young, I bought Christmas tree ornaments at Trident Imports, from places that were exotic to me: India, China, Japan, Africa, etc. These ornaments still hang on our Christmas tree, some 46 years later. They represent an awakening in me, of a larger world out there. It gave me a view of the world; it’s cultures and distant lands.
When we were experientially overloaded (and maybe hungry) our wanderlust ended. We’d hop a city bus and head back for dinner at grandma’s. They were magical times for a 10 and 8 year old. We’d had a day of magic and entertainment for two ten cent bus fares! A lot of entertainment and color for so little. Priceless!