Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Downtown Seattle , Washington , USA . It was once the heart of the city : Seattle 's founders settled there in 1852 , following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay . The early structures in the neighborhood were mostly wooden , and nearly all burned in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 . By the end of 1890 , dozens of brick and stone buildings had been erected in their stead ; to this day , the architectural character of the neighborhood derives from these late 19th century buildings , mostly examples of Richardsonian Romanesque
Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
Pioneer Square, Seattle