Post Alley

Post Alley
	The street in 2013
	Post Alley in Downtown Seattle
Length	2,000 ft (610 m)
Location	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates	47°36′27″N 122°20′23″W / 47.60760°N 122.33966°W
North end	Virginia Street
South end	Seneca Street

Post Alley is a short street in Seattle. The northern end of the street runs under and through Pike Place Market. The alley is mostly paved with bricks.^[1] It was called "Seattle's best-known alley for its pedestrian environment and abutting shops and restaurants" out of all 425 alleys in the city,^[2] and has been described as having a "European feel".^[1]

The street was originally named Post Street or Post Avenue for the first U.S. post office in Seattle, opened in 1880 on the corner of Yesler Way, which may also have been the city's first United States Government building.^[3]^[4] The alley reaches a pedestrian-only area at the Harbor Steps development a block uphill from the Seattle ferry terminal, Colman Dock.^[5]

There are notable locations on the alley including Cafe Campagne, The Pink Door,^[6]^[1] Ghost Alley Espresso, the Gum Wall, Pike Place Chowder, and Post Alley Pizza. The Federal Office Building was built on an entire city block that was bisected by Post Alley until the early 1930s.^[7] Other notable entities on still-extant Post Avenue south of the Federal Office Building include Seattle Steam Company.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Lilly LeClair (October 6, 2016). "The 10 Most Adorable Cobblestone Streets in the U.S." oyster.com. Tripadvisor. [T]he cobblestoned [sic] and very European-in-feel Post Alley [has] eccentric attractions like the chewing gum wall, and elegant restaurants like the Pink Door.
^ "Alleys in context" (PDF), Alley congestion – Response to Statement of Legislative Intent 56-1-A-1, Seattle Department of Transportation, p. 3, retrieved October 31, 2022
^ Williams, David B. (2017), Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City, University of Washington Press, p. 14, ISBN 978-0-295-74129-1
^ Jean Sherrard (June 25, 2020), "In challenging times, the Post Office delivers human connection", Pacific NW, The Seattle Times, retrieved October 31, 2022, Seattle's main post office was erected in 1880. Historian Greg Lange suggests that it might have been Seattle's first federal government building. (image caption) also posted on Paul Dorpat's Seattle Now & Then blog [1]
^ Robert Chandler; Stephen A. Kliment; Joan Goody; John Clancy; David Dixon; Geoffrey Wooding (2010), "Housing and community – Case study: Harbor Steps", Building Type Basics for Housing, Wiley, pp. 21–25, ISBN 978-0-470-40464-5
^ DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Pacific Northwest, 2015, p. 139
^ "Federal Office Building, Seattle: Significance". General Services Administration. September 15, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
^ John Caldbick (September 14, 2015), "Seattle Steam Heat & Power Company", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink, retrieved October 31, 2022