The chain saws had been sharpened. The notices were posted. Seattle was going to remove the Japanese Cherry trees that had framed the entrance to Pike Place Market for 43 years in memory of the Japanese-American farmers and families who helped establish Pike Place Market in 1907, driving daily wagon-loads of produce in from their farms in and around Rainier Valley.

75% of the farmers and merchants feeding Seattle before the outbreak of World War II were of Japanese descent. Men, women, and children who had lived here longer than many of their non-Asian neighbors were forcibly extracted from their homes and places of business and detained against their will without due process. Was it truly for national security, or was it greed and bigotry? In either case, the result was undeniable. Lands and wealth were redistributed from the immigrant families who worked hard and long, to the men in power who knew how to work the system and were undeterred by who had to suffer. 

In 1980, as the Market laid its last brick on Pike Place and neighbors revitalized the last of the historic buildings at the entrance at 1st & Pike, these sacred symbols of life’s fragile and fleeting beauty were planted and dedicated to the memory of our collective story and our pledge to do better in the future.

Progress always requires change, but change is not always a sign of progress.

Seattle has been pursuing a plan to take advantage of the removal of the old Alaskan Way Viaduct to enhance the Waterfront and improve the connections between it and the downtown core, particularly given recent completion of the new Convention Center.

The plan was to replace the Cherry Trees with tall, handsome, generic, hybridized European Elms. But just like we did, in the 1960s when urban renewal threatened to demolish our history in favor of fancy and expensive skyscrapers, Seattle objected. 

Thanks to everyone who made their objections known, at the eleventh hour, on March 6th, when the heavy equipment rumbled in and the 100 block of Pike was blocked off, instead of chain saws and chippers, we saw protective orange fencing around each tree. 

Thanks to Council member Andrew Lewis and Mayor Bruce Harrell, we had our temporary Stay of Execution.

The mayor and councilman met with Japanese American Citizens’ League Co-Chair Kyle Kinoshita, Nisei Veteran Jerry Lee, Market business owner Olga Sagan, and two representatives of SaveTheMarketEntrance: President Ruth Danner, and Public Affairs Coordinator Cindi Laws. Waterfront Executive Director Angela Brady and other members of Seattle staff were also in attendance.

The mayor heard our concerns. He acknowledged that our collective history matters, but stressed that timely completion of this project was non-negotiable. Staff insisted that the trees had already passed their life expectancy despite strong statements from numerous tree experts to the contrary.

In the end, Mayor Harrell offered a compromise. 

One week and one day later, just as the buds were beginning to sprout, the fencing was removed, the chainsaws came out, and the trees came down. Some wood may have been repurposed. Some branches were taken in by neighbors to enjoy one last blooming. Some of those branches rooted and today are being nurtured into their next chapter. The rest went into the chippers.

But the Mayor has promised that Cherry Trees will be planted later this year, once the rains return. Eight trees will be planted to replace 8 of the ten cherry trees that were removed (the plans only had root wells for eight elms, due to the need for curbside pull-outs for passenger loading). The Mayor also declared that three healthy trees will be planted for every healthy tree removed. Plans are afoot to plant 8 trees along Waterfront Park, with the balance to be placed in Chinatown International District, Rainier Valley or other locations where they will be welcomed and honored.

The Waterfront is collaborating with the Japanese American community to craft a plaque commemorating the cultural and historical significance of this place, its people, and its trees.

We are sad to see the old trees go. We are concerned for the loss of shade while we wait 20 years for the new trees to reach similar size and carbon absorption, but we are grateful that cherry trees will again blossom over the entrance to Pike Place Public Market and that our history will not be forgotten. 

Visit the nation’s oldest Asian American civil and human rights organization at www.seattlejacl.org to learn more about our friends and neighbors and their fight for self-respect and human dignity, for us all.

Visit https://visitseattle.org/neighborhoods/waterfront/ to learn more about Seattle’s Waterfront.

Seattle is Built on Native Lands

The City of Seattle resides on the traditional land of the Coast Salish Peoples, past and present. We aspire to honor with gratitude our shared land and waterways, as well as the history and heritage of our indigenous neighbors.