Pike Place Market Fun

During my Seattle visit my daughter Nicole and I visited Pike Place Market where I learned that locals do not appreciate it when we call it Pike’s Market (who knew). During our morning food tour Nicole and I learned quite a lot from our guide Patrick Savor Seattle Food Tours did you know:
Pike Place Market Historical District Boundaries:
9 acres, stretching from mid-block south of Pike Street, northward to Virginia Street (4 blocks north), and Western to First Avenues.
Farmers:
About 85 local farmers sell dozens of different crops/farm products. Most farms are in the Puget Sound region; some come from Eastern Washington. In recent years, almost half the farmers have been from Laos or Cambodia in Southeast Asia. Some are from Mexico, too.
Craftspeople:
About 225 local artists sell their handmade crafts and artwork each year. The Market’s crafts community offers one of the largest selections of arts and crafts in the Northwest.
Residents:
About 500 people live in the Market in 400 apartments. It is a mixed-income neighborhood, with units for the many low-income, elderly or disabled, and market-rate apartments and condos for those with higher incomes.
Vendors:
About 240 small (“mom-and-pop”) businesses comprise the Market Historical District. There are 24 buildings in the nine-acre area. About 70 businesses are restaurants or food takeout stalls. Food is central to the Market’s economy, but there are shops that sell artwork, toys, herbal medicine, collectibles and books. There are services like barbershops, an acupuncturist and tattoo artists, too. There’s a hotel and a theater.
Landlord:
The Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA), a public, not-for-profit corporation chartered by the City of Seattle in 1973. The PDA manages about 85% of the historical district’s properties.
Daily Operations:
About 100 janitorial, security, maintenance, administrative and office employees work at the PDA. Some janitorial and security staff work during the night to help prepare the Market for the next business day. Hours of the Market are Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Individual business hours may vary. Many, like bakeries, fish and vegetable stalls, open earlier, while some restaurants stay open late.
Social Services:
The Market is home to a senior center, medical clinic, child care center, food bank and an assisted-care facility for elders. The Market Foundation is an organization that raises money to help pay operating costs for these services. The social services serve all people regardless of ability to pay.
Languages:
Over a dozen are spoken and written, including Spanish, Chinese, Hmong, Vietnamese, Hindi, Tagalog, Turkish, Russian, German, Japanese, French, Arabic.
Shoppers:
Up to 10 million annually; between 20,000 and 40,000 daily.
Annual Sales for the Market Historical District:
Over $150 million in goods and services each year.
Oldest Market Business:
Virginia Inn, a restaurant at First Avenue and Virginia Street. It started in 1903 before the Market opened in 1907.
Largest Commercial Business:
Market Theater (home of Unexpected Productions), almost 6,000 square feet. It’s located at the Gum Wall in lower Post Alley.
Smallest Commercial Business:
La Vaca Burrito Express, 60 square feet. It’s located on First Avenue.