Pioneer Courthouse Square

Known locally as the city's living room, this brick-paved square occupies a full downtown block once held by a hotel and later a parking garage before public campaigns reclaimed it in the 1980s. Its curved amphitheater steps, whimsical bronze figures and named commemorative bricks make it a beloved civic gathering place. The neighboring Pioneer Courthouse lends the square its name. Festivals, farmers' markets, rallies and a giant holiday tree fill the space through the year, and light-rail lines converge at its edges.