Pike Place Market: An amazing maze of shops

The Outing: Next time you go to Seattle's Pike Place Market, take the time to look beneath the surface.

Below the popular arcade of produce and craft stalls is an often-overlooked warren of about 50 small shops tucked into the lower floors of the Market's main building.

In a confusing architectural quirk, the fruit, flower and fish stalls so beloved by locals and tourists actually are on the top floor of the Market's main building. Ramps and wood staircases, not always easy to find, lead down to the shops in two of the lower floors and a mezzanine.

It's easy to overlook this maze, dubbed Down Under. Yet it offers some of the most quirky and fun shopping in the market. Stores line the wide interior corridors of the building, with its creaky plank floors and thick wood columns and beams. Built in 1911, it first housed farmers' stalls, then gradually gave way to shops.

In these weeks of pre-Christmas shopping, this warren of offbeat merchandise can be a welcome antidote to big chain stores.

"We're certainly not the mall," said Bonnie Kirby, who's run Grandma's Attic shop in Down Under for 35 years.

The shops, many of them not much bigger than a living room, sell something for everyone, from knickknacks for a few dollars to artworks for hundreds of dollars. Devotees of vintage stuff flock to Down Under's half-dozen specialty stores for World War II posters and 1960s Life magazines, decades-old records and comic books. Whimsical prints and lamps are sold at an artists' co-op shop; another store specializes in stuff for left-handed people. Or head to shops specializing in props for magical tricks; miniature model cars; Afghan embroidered clothing and intricately patterned Polish pottery.

It's not stuff you'd find in most malls ... and neither are the shoppers. Pierced teens in black and artsy types wander among the tourists and grizzled guys getting a break from the cold life of the streets.

Shopping ops: First, you need to get your bearings and find Down Under: The Market's main arcade — with the fruit and flower stalls and those guys who toss salmon — opens onto the narrow Pike Place. A stairway and ramp within the arcade (the easiest to find is toward the north end) lead down to the shops. Or get to them from the main Market building's lowest level, on Western Avenue, where stairs lead up. The shops are on two levels and a mezzanine; the lowest floors contain a day care and a few stores opening onto Western. Get Market details and a map, and links to some shops and restaurants, at www.pikeplacemarket.org or phone 206-682-7453.

A sampling of the Down Under shops:

Market Magic sells all sorts of magical props, from trick cards, coins and squirting pens for a few dollars to clowning supplies and books of instruction for more serious tricks. Staff sometimes cheerfully demonstrate the wares. 206-624-4271.

Hands of the World offers folk art and jewelry, much of it from Asia. Get an embroidered change purse for a few dollars or a five-foot tall carved wood Buddha statute for almost $1,500. 206-622-1696.

Grandma's Attic specializes in dollhouse furniture and figurines, vintage dolls and teddy bears, but also offers folk-art prints and more. 206-682-9281.

Old Seattle Paperworks offerings include vintage posters, magazines and photos, among them prints of the Ballard Locks in 1917 and other historic shots of Seattle. 206-623-2870.

Outside the shop's entrance is the Giant Shoe Museum, a tiny display of very big shoes that's like an old-fashioned peep show. Drop 50 cents in a slot to open velvet mini-curtains on a collection of a dozen pairs of giant shoes. Or pay a quarter to peek through a viewfinder at a size 40 shoe, said to be that of an Illinois man who grew to almost 9 feet tall before dying in 1940.

Good eats: The Market is loaded with good food places, from upscale to budget. Only a few are part of Down Under, including Pike Place Chinese Cuisine. It's wedged into a skinny space, with big views of the waterfront from a dozen small tables. For around $10 you can get a fresh and filling meal. 206-223-0292. Or head to the Soundview Café for an excellent salad bar, soup and sandwiches or more gourmet choices, 206-623-5700.

Getting there: Take a downtown bus that gets you within walking distance of Pike and 1st streets; then follow the crowds into the Market. If driving, park on the street or in the many lots around the Market; the Pike Place Market Garage off Western Avenue is connected by a skybridge/elevator to the Market.

A tip: The small Christmas trees lining the Market's rooftops will be lighted Friday at 4:30 p.m. Gather at the Market clock or along Pike Place for the lighting ceremony.

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com