The Seattle Convention Center is closing 9th Avenue between Pike and Pine to traffic from July 28 through September 8 — a six-week "pilot neighborhood activation" meant to turn the block into a walkable public space.
The centerpiece is Market at the Marquee: night markets from 5 to 8 p.m. on four Thursdays — August 6, 13, 20, and 27 — run in partnership with Seattle Theatre Group, with local vendors, music, and food, plus "additional activations" through the week. Buildings with alley access between 8th and 9th keep it.
Three of the four Thursday markets fall on nights when the campus has little or nothing else booked on its calendar — a crowd invited to the block precisely when there'd otherwise be none. That's the right move: put a draw on the street when the building is quiet.
This isn't the campus's first time reclaiming the block, whether for PAX or other occasions. What's new is who it's now for: that was a perk for conventiongoers; this one is largely for the neighbors.
And so let's celebrate the occasion: Go to a night market, buy something from a local vendor, and carry that energy toward a Convention City that's alive all 365 days per year, indoors and outdoors, for visitors and residents alike.
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