Re:Take: Price Check on Pike Place

Re:Take is a weekly look at the Emerald City now and in days of yore through photos dug out of the city archives. This week we shop for good deals at the Pike Place Market.

Pike Place looking west 1910

Pike Place looking west 2010

When you play tour guide to friends and relatives this summer, take along this 1910 price list and entertain yourself comparing to today (c=cents; lb=pound):

T bone steak, 15c lb
Pig's feet, 5c each
Hamburger, 3 lbs 25c
Goat cheese, 40c lb
Local ranch eggs, 2 doz 75c
Washington creamery butter, 40c lb
Mt. Vernon milk, 3 cans 25c
Home rendered lard, 17c lb
Toke points, 25c dozen
Finnan haddie, 15c lb
Norway mackerel, 4 for 25c
Salmon, 3 lbs 25c
Grapes, 10c lb
Bananas, 5c dozen
Apples, $1 box
Pears, 15c dozen
Sweet potatoes, 3 lbs 10c
Grape fruit, 4 for 25c
Celery, 5c bunch
Lemons, 15c dozen
Sugar, 16 lbs $1
Honey, 15c comb
Jams, 10c glass
Coffee, 33c lb
Pies, 10c
Carnations, 35c dozen

Yes, salmon was cheaper than butter.

More about the market in 1910 over at Flickr.

(Price list Seattle Times 1/17/1910, page 15. Photo Seattle Municipal Archives August, 1910.)

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By Rob Ketcherside in Miscellaneous on July 12, 2010 12:00 PM

Comments [rss]

netbuilders

I don't see any parking meters in the old picture

Rob Ketcherside

Well, there aren't any parking meters in the new picture either. You're probably not a bot, but you're also not a thinking, caring human.

There were parking problems around the corner on Pike Place in 1910. The city was forced to take action in 1919, and I'll talk about that a bit in a future post.

Of course, you're just trying to improve your website's search ranking and don't really care about history. Or Seattle. Or other people in general.