Underneath

a writing prompt for you

Welcome to Writing in Company. This is a community for you, whatever your experience with writing. It’s an invitation to write about what matters—grief, gratitude, grace, and more. Each week I share some words and a writing prompt, meant to be jumping-off points. Use the prompts however you like—to journal, to draft thoughts for your own writing project, as meditation or prayer ideas, or for another creative endeavor. You can always look back through the archive for more ideas. Grab your pen and paper, and let your words loose on the page.

Today’s prompt was inspired by the Seattle Underground tour we took yesterday. In town to visit our oldest child, we are enjoying a mix of activities both touristy and local. On the touristy side, we ventured underneath the Pioneer Square neighborhood with a funny campy knowledgeable guide to see some of the original streets of the city. From the tour company’s website, here is what happened after a huge fire in 1889 burned much of the town that was prone to rain and mud:

After the fire, which destroyed some 25 square blocks of mostly wooden buildings in the heart of Seattle, it was unanimously decided that all new construction must be of stone or brick masonry. The city also decided to rise up from the muck in which its original streets lay. It was this decision that created the Underground: The city built retaining walls, eight feet or higher, on either side of the old streets, filled in the space between the walls, and paved over the fill to effectively raise the streets, making them one story higher than the old sidewalks that still ran alongside them.

Building owners, eager to capitalize on an 1890s economic boom, quickly rebuilt on the old, low, muddy ground where they had been before, unmindful of the fact that their first floor display windows and lobbies soon would become basements. Eventually, sidewalks bridged the gap between the new streets and the second story of buildings, leaving hollow tunnels (as high as 35 feet in some places) between the old and new sidewalks, and creating the passageways of today’s Underground.

City planning was trial and error, it seems. Mistakes were made, and corruption was a given. But enterprising business owners rebuilt the historic part of town, and Seattle grew. Under the streets we saw evidence of what was left behind. Old pipes, plumbing, brick archways, twisted doors. The echoes of a part of town lost to fire and time and progress. It’s dusty and a little spooky down there, but fascinating.

Our guide stopped us underneath one of the skylights that was added to the underground passageways. Manganese was mixed in with the glass, and over time, turned purple. You can still see these skylights in the sidewalks all around Pioneer Square. From above, you have no idea that there are passageways and perhaps people below you, and no hint that light passes through. From below, the light is surprisingly clear and bright, and you can tell that people are walking above you, busy and oblivious. Here are photos from above and underneath.

a writing prompt

What’s underneath?

That’s it. That’s the prompt. Take it anywhere it wants to go.

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