The Sanitary Market building, across the cobblestones from Lowell’s in the main area of Pike Place Market, always provokes the question; “Sanitary Market?’ Isn’t the whole market sanitary?”

The Sanitary Market was so named back in the early 1900’s when the market was served by dairy farmers, fishermen and produce vendors that arrived with their horse drawn wagons laden with their wares. Vintage photographs we’ve framed inside Lowell’s show not only us in those days, but also those farmers unloading the wagons while their horses munched out of their feed bags.

On the arcade side, where we are, there was yet to be built the long wall enclosing the arcade from the elements and so the produce stalls were able to be loaded daily with fruit and veggies straight off the backs of those wagons.

THE SANITARY MARKET, though, did not allow horses inside or close enough to the dairy farmers, in order to prevent any “horse apples” from contaminating the milk, cream, butter and all the other fresh dairy products. The Sanitary Market still has a small, fresh dairy vendor inside, “THE CREAMERY”, which is owned and operated by our good friend Nancy Nipples. Stop by and grab some organic eggs (hen, duck, quail, emu, ostrich!) or some fresh whole milk with the layer of cream on top the same as the 1900’s as well as fresh goat milk, yogurts, vegetarian items and all sorts of unique products that Nancy carries that are good for you!

The Sanitary Market now has every other building in Pike Place Market joining it in our mutual sanitary cleanliness,  each with its own unique history and stories, and the photographs adorning our stairwell walls as well as our booth atrium walls and scattered around all three floors tell a portion of Lowell’s stories…Join us!

~Mark