Market Ghost Tours

The Pike Place Market was declared a Federal Historic District in 1971.  It went through massive renovation and restoration in the years following.  Today, it is both a working Market and the number one tourist destination in Washington State.  Many people do not realize that within the Market there are over 400 residents, the majority of them Senior Citizens.  Low-Income housing and services also exist within the Market including; a Senior Center, Medical Clinic, Pre-School, and Food Bank.  It is a city within a city, with its own political oversight and management, established as a non-profit Public Development Authority (P.D.A.)
 
It is an incredible National treasure and a unique community with its own set of problems.  For instance, how do you support a farmer base and promote farmers and also support customers who are there to take pictures and not necessarily buy from the farmers?  How do you maintain service businesses that meet the needs of the residential base and also capitalize on some of the best real estate in Seattle?  It has been a challenge to solve these issues, and currently, it is the opinion of many people within the Market, that the P.D.A. is not finding solutions for these problems, that rather the management and Council are no longer adhering to their own governing documents.
 
I must say that it must be incredibly difficult to figure out how to have a vibrant and economically healthy Market, to maintain the old buildings, to meet the changing needs of the customers, and to adhere to the rules of a Historic District, but all of these issues must be addressed without changing the very nature of the community.
 
The P.D.A. is preparing a Levy, asking for millions of dollars to maintain and renovate the Market.  Indeed, they have already started some of the remodels.  They have taken out a tree that was very important to our community and have altered a courtyard that provided seating and shelter for visitors.  They recently accepted large donations personally (members of the management received free airline tickets) from Jet Blue airlines to use our Market as a backdrop for a promotional event.  They have changed the operating hours at their sole discretion for promotional events for other corporate entities, forcing farmers and craftspeople to close early.
 
They now want to renovate the building in which my parents’ shop is located.  My father (the Mayor of Pike Place Market - not an elected title) is fighting these proposed renovations on the grounds that they will significantly alter the historic nature of the Economy Market, which was once a set of Stables.  There are ramps from the old Stables that are still in use today and my family's shop is in the Stable Master's office.  He has found records and photographs of the Stables to support his claim.  So here is where it gets really muddy, and where I want your opinion.  As a Historic District, how much of it do you feel should be, or can be, altered?  Should something like ramps from the old Stables be preserved?  For me, the answer is yes, but I am curious what you think?
 
I am working on getting the Federal documents from 1971 and anything that would support his mission.  I would like to see the Levy only address structural repair and not renovation or alteration of the interior of buildings.  I also would like to see the return of service businesses that address the needs of the residential community.  (The P.D.A. did not renew the lease of a hardware store that was a necessary shop for both the commercial and residential base at the Market in favor of moving a high-end optical shop into their location.)  I would like to see the services supported as well.  For instance, the clinic that was once a Walk-In clinic is no longer accepting Walk-In patients.  It is sad for me to see someone I know is a resident at the Market at a large grocery store miles away because they can no longer get reasonably-priced food at the Pike Place Market.  I am sad, too, when I see the current P.D.A. management abandon programs like the Farmer CSA that supported small farmers and gave them guaranteed sales while providing a vital service to the ever-growing residential base of downtown.  The number of farmers in the Market has decreased, and the number of 5-dollar items for the tourist trade has increased.  For me, the Market is changing, and not in a direction which this City should be supporting.  You tell me.  What do you think?
 
And if you have any historic photos that show the Stables in the Economy Market, please send them to me and I will pass them on to my Dad.  I rarely get political on this site, as it is my blog for the Tours, but this fits with my overall mission and I feel it's very important to share with you.  Thanks!

Edited by Thomas Speer - thank you!