The Pioneer Building originally had a seventh floor tower room ( with a pyramidal roof ) located directly above the front entrance making the building . It was removed as a result of damage caused by the 1949 earthquake . The newly constructed building quickly became an important business location for downtown Seattle . During the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 , there were 48 different mining companies that had offices in it . During Prohibition , the Pioneer Building was the clandestine location of " Seattle 's First Speakeasy . " The downtown area began to grow northward , prompting businesses to move in the same direction . By the 1950s and '60s , the entire Pioneer Square district had fallen upon hard times . Many of the buildings , which were barely 60 years old , sat empty and decaying , and were slated to be torn down and replaced with parking garages . The Seattle Hotel was the first to be razed , which prompted the citizens to initiate a campaign to preserve the district . The rest of the buildings were spared the wrecking ball , and Pioneer Square – Skid Road Historic District were listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1977 , the Pioneer Building was listed as a National Historic Landmark alongside two other elements of the city 's post-fire rebuilding : a pergola that was built as a cable car waiting area in 1909 ( Pioneer Square pergola ) , and the 1940 replica of a stolen Tlingit totem pole gifted to the city in 1899 ( Pioneer Square totem pole )
1949 earthquake .
1949 Olympia earthquake
Pioneer Building (Seattle)