Frequently Asked Questions
Pike Place Market Foundation supports the heart and soul of the Market – its people.
By helping our neighbors who work, learn and live in and around the Market, the Foundation helps the Market we love remain a thriving, caring community. Established in 1982, The Market Foundation has granted more than $26 Million to provide housing, healthcare, healthy food, childcare and a community of support to our downtown and Market neighbors. Over the past 34 years, The Market Foundation has contributed to a neighborhood model that allows a diverse community to live and thrive here at Pike Place Market.
Dating as far back as 1985, nearly 55,000 tiles were laid on the Market floor to honor donors who helped “Care for the Market” during our renovation campaigns.
To find your tile by inscription, click here to open the Tile Catalog (use “CTRL + F” to find your inscription). Based on your inscription, use this map to determine the exact location of your tile:
You can also visit the Info Booth located at the main entrance of the Market on the corner of Pike Place and Pike Street. Contact us at info@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org if you have any questions!
After more than 30 years of carrying millions of visitors throughout the busy marketplace, some of these tiles are cracking and breaking from wear and tear on the Market. As needed, tiles are replaced with more durable flooring to improve safety and conditions in the Market. Therefore, we cannot guarantee named tiles will remain in the Market floor forever and we are unable to replace any missing tiles.
Thank you to the thousands of supporters who helped Care for the Market! Your gift lives on as a legacy in preserving the Pike Place Market and making it what it is today.
Back by popular demand for the first time in 30 years, Market supporters have the opportunity to write your name into Market history.
Add your name or the name of a loved one to a Bronze Hoofprint on the MarketFront.
We love connecting with new partners. Your organization could sponsor an event, volunteer with us, host an info session, or choose us as the beneficiary of your product or event. Visit the Event Sponsorship page.
We’d love to have you! Find the list of our events tab on the website. Please contact info@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org or call (206) 774-5254 for more information about any of our events or to learn how to participate.
Contact us! Email info@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org or call (206) 774-5255.
Please contact Lillian Sherman, Executive Director, if you’re interested in joining our Board of Directors: lillians@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org or call (206) 774-5246.
Rachel and Billie the piggy banks are the mascots of Pike Place Market and our best PIG-lanthropists! Rachel the Piggybank has been “bringing home the bacon” for Pike Place Market Foundation since 1986 and Billie the Piggybank since 2011 to support our low-income neighbors who live in and around the Market. Legend has it that if you rub their snouts and make a donation, you’ll have good luck. Learn more about them at this page!
Rachel is a bronze cast piggy bank created by Georgia Gerber, a sculptor from Whidbey Island, Washington. Rachel weighs in at 550 pounds and was named after a real 750-pound pig who won the 1985 Island County Fair. She has been located since 1986 at the corner of Pike Place under the iconic “Public Market Center” sign and clock. Her cousin Billie the Piggybank arrived in the Market in 2011 where she took her spot on Western Avenue at the bottom of the Hillclimb, Billie the Piggybank took flight on December 16, 2016 when she moved to her new home on the new Pike Place MarketFront! Watch our Pigs Fly at Pike Place Market video to celebrate the occasion.
Rachel was the inspiration behind the Pigs on Parade fundraiser throughout downtown Seattle in 2001 and again in 2007 for the Market’s centennial celebration.
Rights & Use: Rachel the Piggybank’s name and any graphic representations of the statue are registered trademarks. Commercial use of these properties requires a trademark licensing agreement. Please contact us at info@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org or (206) 774-5249 for more information.
The Market Foundation has produced Pigs on Parade twice. The first time was in 2001 and featured 170 artist-adorned fiberglass replicas of Rachel the Piggybank. Originally, the purpose was to provide an engaging venue to tell the story of Rachel and her job as the Market’s piggy bank. We thought that would be the one-and-only Pigs on Parade. However, 2007 turned out to be an auspicious year – it was both the Market’s Centennial and the Chinese Year of the Pig – so we succumbed once again to the charm of pigs. In 2007, 100 pigs were decorated by local artists. Most pigs are in private homes and not viewable by the public. The ones that are publicly viewable can be found on this spreadsheet.
Currently, we are not able to reproduce pigs or commission any new pigs due to the production costs.
Usually, yes! But it’s best to contact us directly so we can confirm needs in our community. Please contact info@pikeplacemarketfoundation.org or call (206) 682-7453 if you have in-kind items to donate.
The Market Foundation office is located at 93 Pike St Room 310, Seattle, WA 98101. Enter the Market under the clock and sign and say hello to Rachel the Piggy Bank. Walk past the Pike Place Market Fish and find the double doors and stairs next to Sunny Honey Company or the elevator just behind DeLaurenti’s. Take the stairs/elevator up to Level 3. The Market Foundation office is down the hall, first door on the right. Visit our Find Us page for more info!
The Market is open daily from roughly 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. except for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, and is home to nearly 500 residents, 300 commercial tenants, 200 craftspeople, 100 farmers and 200 street performers. For specific information about any of those, please visit the Market’s website: www.pikeplacemarket.org or call (206) 682-7453.
Though Pike Place Market is a public market, it is owned by the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority (PDA) which does not receive any city or state funding to operate the Market. Revenues come from the Market’s tenants through rent, utilities, and other property management activities. The PDA is a nonprofit, public corporation chartered by the City of Seattle in 1973 to manage 80% of the properties in the nine-acre Market Historical District. Its mission is to preserve, rehabilitate and protect the Market’s buildings; increase opportunities for farm and food retailing in the Market; incubate and support small and marginal businesses; and provide services for low-income people, including supporting The Market Foundation.
Market Charms are all sold out – thanks to the 9000+ donors who came together to fill up the MarketFront fence.
If you’re looking for a naming opportunity at the Market, you can still order Bronze Hoofprints – learn more here!
The Market Charms are made of 2″ diameter stainless steel.
Check out our Market Charm Finder to locate your Charm or Hoofprint! Once you know your panel number you can determine your location on the Market Charm map below to find your location on the MarketFront: Click here for the printable version of the Charm & Hoofprint Map
The last Charm installation will take place in August 2020 – all Charm donors will receive an email letting them know when the Charms are up on the MarketFront!
Monthly installments are processed on the 15th of the month immediately following the transaction date. Quarterly installments are processed on the 15th of the calendar quarters January, April, July, and October. If you would like to pay off your pledge now, call us at 206-774-5254.
Yes! Send your check payable to “Pike Place Market Foundation” to:
Pike Place Market Foundation
93 Pike Street, Room 310
Seattle, WA 98101
Or call us at 206-774-5254. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards
Many companies match charitable donations made by their employees and retirees. Contact your company’s human services department to submit your request for a matching gift today. Completed matching gift forms can be faxed to (206) 682-7447 or mailed to the Pike Place Market Foundation at 93 Pike Street, Room 310, Seattle, WA 98101.
Yes! The Market Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of law. Our tax ID number is 91-1197625.
There’s no current deadline to donate for a Bronze Hoofprint – we will let donors know when we start to run out of them!
Your donation for a Bronze Hoofprint goes directly to our mission to nurture a thriving Market community, including a village of social services such as the Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank, Neighborcare Health Center, and more. Learn more about our mission here!
Billie the Piggybank’s Hoofprint path is on the top of the new Market plaza where she has made her new home on the MarketFront, as well as on the sidewalk on Western Avenue toward The Market Commons.
There are less than 30 Hoofprint opportunities remaining on the plaza!
The Hoofprints are cast in bronze, 4.5” x 3”, inset in concrete.
The Hoofprint can be personalized with the engraved message of your choosing, 37 characters total.
Check out our Bronze Hoofprint Finder to locate your Charm or Hoofprint! Once you know your Hoofprint number you can determine your Hoofprint’s location on the MarketFront or on Western Ave. Click here for the printable version of the Charm & Hoofprint Map
You will receive a card in the mail personalized with your Hoofprint inscription. If this is a gift in honor of someone special, we can mail it to the destination of your choice. As a Hoofprint donor, you will be invited to exclusive events hosted at Pike Place Market. You are also eligible for complimentary Pig Pins that you can pick up at our offices on 93 Pike St, Suite 310, up the stairs by Pike Place Fish.
If you are interested in making a recommendation through your Donor Advised Fund for the MarketFront, our staff will follow-up with you regarding your inscription. Gifts may be sent to The Market Foundation at 93 Pike Street, Room #310, Seattle WA 98101
If you order your Bronze Hoofprint before March 10th, your Hoofprint will be installed in Spring 2020.
Monthly installments are processed on the 15th of the month immediately following the transaction date. Quarterly installments are processed on the 15th of the calendar quarters January, April, July, and October. If you would like to pay off your pledge now, call us at 206-774-5271.
Yes! Send your check payable to “Pike Place Market Foundation” to:
Pike Place Market Foundation
93 Pike Street, Room 310
Seattle, WA 98101
Or call us at 206-774-5271. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards
Many companies match charitable donations made by their employees and retirees. Contact your company’s human services department to submit your request for a matching gift today. Completed matching gift forms can be faxed to (206) 682-7447 or mailed to the Pike Place Market Foundation at 93 Pike Street, Room 310, Seattle, WA 98101.
Yes! A naming opportunity on the new MarketFront is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give the gift of the legacy of Pike Place Market. We’ve created gift-giving tools like e-Cards and print-at-home cards to share.
Yes! The Market Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of law. Our tax ID number is 91-1197625.