Explore An Abandoned Underworld of Vintage Shops in Washington’s Forgotten City

Underground Seattle, Washington

Beneath the Emerald City’s modern streets lies a shadow metropolis frozen in time, where Gold Rush-era saloons, storefronts, and sidewalks once persisted.

After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, city planners went full SimCity and raised the street level by up to 35 feet, inadvertently creating a preserved slice.

Get ready to descend into Seattle’s most surreal neighborhood, where the ghosts of madams, miners, and merchants still linger in the lamplight.

The Accidental Origin Story

A huge fire started in Seattle on June 6, 1889, when John Back spilled glue over a gasoline fire in a cabinet shop, burning for 18 hours.

It wiped out 100 acres and 25 city blocks. The damage cost $20 million (worth over $600 million today). Amazingly, nobody died.

Within just 48 hours, businesses set up tents while the city planned its comeback.

Solving the Flooding Problem

Pioneer Square was built on filled-in tidelands that flooded all the time.

After the fire, workers built walls on both sides of the streets and raised them by up to 22 feet. They washed dirt down from nearby hills through sluices.

This clever fix permanently solved the gross sewage backup problem that happened whenever the tide got high in Elliott Bay.

Walking on Ladders

During the rebuilding, people had to climb ladders as tall as 35 feet to get between old storefronts and new street levels. Women in their long Victorian dresses had to go up and down these ladders every day.

This awkward setup lasted until 1890, after which workers built brick archways above the buried sidewalks. This construction created the tunnel system you see today when you’re going on an underground tour.

Getting Rid of Rats

Seattle’s big fire wiped out its awful rat problem, killing around 2.5 million rodents.

Before the fire, downtown Seattle had the highest concentration of rats per square mile in the entire United States, with about 25 rats per person living there.

After rebuilding with brick and stone, the new buildings didn’t attract as many rats.

Secret Vice District

Once people stopped using the underground, it became home to over 200 brothels by the early 1900s. The underground also had one of the West Coast’s largest opium dens. They made so much money that it helped pay for many of Seattle’s public projects.

Adults-Only History Tours

If you’re over 18, you can take special Red Light District tours that last 75 minutes and show Seattle’s racy past in three underground sections.

Seattle’s early government was partly funded by a 2% tax on brothels. Multiple records show how the city collected over $85,000 from these establishments by 1897.

Ship Technology on Land

Before appearing in Seattle’s streets, prism technology was used on ships. Sailors put hexagonal prisms into ship decks to light the spaces below and warn about fires.

This smart idea came to Seattle during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897 when ship captains used their knowledge and adapted this technology for use on land.

Glass Prisms Weren’t Always Purple

Those little square glass pieces in Pioneer Square’s sidewalks started clear but turned violet after years in the sun.

Each 3-inch square prism was made to spread light below ground. In 2002, Seattle put in new pre-purpled ones to match the old ones.

You can still find over 11,000 of these glass prisms around Pioneer Square, with most of them near the Yarrow Building.

Newspaper Man to the Rescue

Bill Speidel (reporter for Seattle Times) rediscovered the underground in 1954. On May 31, 1965, he charged people $1 each for the first official tour.

He even wrote a book called ‘Sons of Profits’ in 1967 about Seattle’s quirky history, which helped turn the Underground Tour into a real business.

Today, over 5 million people have taken the tour.

Saving Historic Buildings

Speidel’s campaign to save the area collected 100,000 signatures in just 60 days. He personally handed the petition to Mayor Floyd Miller on September 13, 1970.

Two months later, on November 28, the city council made Pioneer Square Seattle’s first historic district, protecting 20 square blocks.

In 1971, the district got listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ghost Hunting Adventures

Join the Underground Paranormal Experience and use the same ghost-hunting gear you see on TV shows if you’re feeling brave.

More than 85% of people have reported strange sightings. Since 2018, tour cameras have caught three full-bodied ghost appearances.

The spookiest section sits below what used to be Lou Graham’s famous brothel.

Visitor’s Guide to Underground Seattle

Entry Points:

• Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour: 614 1st Avenue
• Beneath the Streets: 102 Cherry Street

Sightseeing: Tours run daily from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Wear comfortable shoes; expect uneven ground and stairs

Driving Time: About 25–30 minutes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA); 10–15 minutes from most downtown hotels

Transit / Getting Around: Easily reachable via light rail (Pioneer Square Station), bus, or rideshare

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