Grower‐Only Farmers' Markets: Public Spaces and Third Places

I N 1970, THE PIKE PLACE MARKET IN SEATTLE WAS A COLLECTION OF run-down buildings in a worn-out corner of downtown. There were always farmers selling produce they had grown and a shopper could find a parking space on the street near the market, unless it was a particularly nice Saturday morning. The market regularly brought together small farmers from the Seattle area and loyal urban customers. There were also fish vendors and green grocers who sold produce they had purchased wholesale, but the heart of the market was the tables where farmers sold the fruit, vegetables, and flowers they had grown. As the sign said (and still says) ‘‘Meet the producer.’’ Developers who saw the potential of a six-acre site on the bluff overlooking Elliot Bay and the waterfront threatened the future of the market. A grassroots organization, ‘‘Friends of the Market,’’ went to work to save the livelihoods of the farmers and the market with its laid back atmosphere (Figure 1). In September 1971, Seattle citizens voted to make the market an historic district, and the market was saved. Today, Pike Place Market is probably more successful financially than ever, but something has been lost. The market has become a tourist destination and the experience is staged for the tourists. Parking is more difficult, and the crowds have become thick. Though there are still tables for farmers, only on Wednesday and Sunday are the local farmers out in force. The market is less a place for the old, regular, Seattle shoppers looking for regional, seasonal food, and easy interaction with growers and other shoppers. It is more a place for out-oftowners to take pictures, buy souvenirs, or have seafood packed as