By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

THE AESTHETICS of Pioneer Square are really a 19th-century invention. The area represents the collective aspirations of a young city with dreams of becoming a great city like Chicago or San Francisco.

Pioneer Square rose from the tidal muck and the ashes of Seattle's Great Fire, which roared through the first wood-frame district on June 6, 1889, leveling everything in its path.

"The burnt district presents a scene of smoking desolation," the Post-Intelligencer reported at the time.

But calamity begat opportunity. Seattle's bankers, builders and property owners vowed to rebuild -- with fire-resistant brick.

"We want a city of brick and stone, and the only way to get it is to build brick and stone buildings. This must be done, not in one year, nor in five years, but now," the P-I said.

Many of the buildings standing today represent a collection of Victorian Romanesque style, with stately pillars, terra-cotta trim, cornices and bay windows.

It is wonderful neighborhood for those who like city dwelling, says acclaimed jewelry artist Cathryn Vandenbrink, who lives with her partner, painter Michael Fagans, and his 12-year-old son, Pepper, in a second-floor loft above First Avenue.

Pepper, who has grown up in the Square and is one of the few children living there, says his favorite hangouts are The Elliott Bay Book Co. and Ruby Montana's Pinto Pony. And he's buddies with Hadley Long, who runs the nearby Bagel Express, and bookseller David Ishii, who sometimes gives him a ticket to a Mariners game.

"I've been here 12 years," Pepper says. "I know it real well. I'm usually not scared, and at night I usually don't go out alone.''

Continued:

• A new ballgame for artist lofts and flophouses, tourism and nightlife
• Big changes planned in tiny area
• Pioneer Square forms its own home team of defensive specialists
• Artists fear their low rents and high ceilings will fly, fly away
• From Smith Tower to lesser lights, Samis plans to upgrade its buildings