Closure expected to last two days
The sidewalk under the Pergola in Pioneer Square will be closed on Thursday, Feb. 6, and Friday, Feb. 7, while workers repair broken glass and assess other damage to the structure.
Contractor Herzog Glass will be on site to replace the 28 glass panels that were broken or damaged after Super Bowl revelers climbed on the Pergola. During the sidewalk closure Seattle Parks and Recreation staff will make a closer inspection of the top of the structure to better understand any damage.
The cost of repairs is estimated to be between $15,000 and $25,000, which has all been donated by the community. Community members Amanda Gallagher Quinn and Shana Pennington-Baird started a crowd-funding campaign that raised more than $16,000 in less than 24 hours. The Western Washington Honda Dealers Association donated $10,000. The Seattle Parks Foundation is handling all the donations. Any money left after Pergola repairs are paid for will be used for Pioneer Square parks and green spaces.
The Pergola was commissioned for construction in 1909 to be the covering to an underground comfort station, said to be the most ornate west of the Mississippi River. When local media told the public about the $25,000 price tag, there was some community resistance. Then-Park Board Executive Ferdinand Schmitz was so certain of future popularity of the Pergola and underground restroom that he promised to repay the City in full if people objected to it. He never had to make good on his promise. The comfort station closed in the 1940s.
On Jan. 15, 2001, the Pergola was hit by a truck, and shattered. The thousands of shards of cast iron were painstakingly pieced together by the century-old, family owned Seidelhuber Iron & Bronze Works in South Park. The refurbished Pergola is now supported by an internal skeleton of 20 tons of structural steel.
The Pergola and the Tlingit Totem Pole in Pioneer Square Park, as well as the adjacent Pioneer Building are all National Historic Landmarks.
