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Every work morning – more than 1,000 so far – I walk through Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, looking down at the 55,000 inscribed tiles laid into the floor. People began purchasing them in 1985 to rescue the Market, keeping it from being torn down and turned into condos.
I’ve been taking photos, researching and writing stories about the more unusual ones – just as I did when I worked at KIRO-TV back in the 1980s. This morning, at last, I found the very first tile.
Out of 55,000 tiles, this was the one I was seeking. (Photo: Helen Holter)
(And yes, that is Seattle’s legendary Mayor Charlie Royer’s tile next to The Very First Tile.)
