Pike Place Market’s quietest voice goes silent

Pike Place Market famously has strict controls on street musicians, from permits required to how it delineates 15 spots, marked by red musical notes on the sidewalks, where buskers are allowed to stand. Just as famously, Jeanne Towne was in a league of her own.

“Her favorite spot was in front of Michou’s deli, where buskers are not allowed, but what was anyone going to do – shoo the blind woman with the soft voice away?” said one of Towne’s many Market friends, Rhonda Guilford, a day-stall jewelry merchant there for the past 38 years.

“She could set up and play wherever she wanted,” echoed Artis the Spoonman, another busker, who went on to play with world-famous rockers during the grunge heyday. He called Towne a “legend.” Read more >