Pier 53 , a very short pier just north of the ferry terminal near the foot of Madison Street , is the site of Seattle Fire Station No. 5 , at 925 Alaskan Way . The present 1963 building is the third fire station at this address and the fourth to serve the Central Waterfront . The fire department used to play a particularly critical role on the waterfront : not only were the piers all made of wood ; until federal money helped pay for the construction of a seawall in 1934 , so was the road along the water ( prior to that Railroad Avenue , after that Alaskan Way ) . The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 had consumed the piers as far north as Union Street along with the rest of the heart of the city
Great Seattle Fire
Great Seattle Fire
Central Waterfront, Seattle