Back in 1889, Seattle suffered from a what’s known as The Great Fire. After the fire, which destroyed about 25 square blocks of wooden buildings known as Pioneer Square, located right in the heart of Seattle, the city town council unanimously decided to build over this mostly soggy, muddy tide-flat streets with retaining walls, eight feet and higher, fill in the space between the walls and pave over the burned down town, making the streets raise one story higher than the old sidewalks. All new construction must then on be of stone or brick masonry.

One year later, 1890, building owners quickly rebuilt on the old, low, muddy ground where they had been before, not being mindful that their first floor display windows of shops and lobbies of Seattle hotels would soon become basements, because, eventually, sidewalks would cover the gap between the new raised streets and the second story of the new buildings; this left hollow tunnels, some as high as 35 feet between the new and the old sidewalks, creating was is today’s Underground passageways.

In 1897, eight years after the Great Fire, the Yukon Gold Rush rushed in hundreds of thousands of adventures through Seattle en route to Alaska; giving Seattle an unexpected financial boom. Pioneer Square, became a hot bed for entrepreneurs. Ten years later, when the rush was over, most of the reputable businesses moved out of Pioneer Square, leaving the con men, gamblers, barmen and madams behind, which gave the area a bad reputation. Pioneer Square was soon forgotten.

Until Bill Speidel, back in the late 50′s decided Pioneer Square was worth preserving and worth turning into a tourist site. Located at 608 First Avenue, Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour is one of the city’s most unique tours. Going from Doc Maynard’s Public House from First Avenue and James Street, the tour goes through the Pioneer Square area both above and below.

Now that it’s really coming down to the wire, and the ones who have acted like pros all along reveal their true personalities, the world is observing that they are still absolute pros. There’s something about the game that brings out the best in people. Certainly, everyone has bad moments, and there have been players in history who have more bad moments than others, but the majority of players demonstrate a coolness. At least at times there’s a coolness, and a composure that’s hard to observe in other sports. That makes it tough to call which matches will be the most emotional, even when the French Open schedule is announced.

It seems to be in the history of the game. Players today have a reputation to live up to, and it has nothing to do with them at all, but with the long lineage that is part of the package. Even those who manage to have scored a Grand Slam often demonstrate a grace under pressure that is pretty extraordinary. It could be well argued that it all comes from the first person to ever accomplish that feat, a boy from Oakland, California named Don Budge .

He’s well-remembered, and well-regarded everywhere as one of the great tennis players of all time, if not the greatest. His backhand was a work of sublime grace, and the serve was something else. Coming from a 6 foot 1 inch frame, and one that had been training for baseball and basketball, it had a power that was very difficult to contend with. John “Donald” Budge was offered the chance to go pro, and decided to wait, which was the smartest move perhaps anyone ever made, because the next year, 1938, was the one where all the magic came together and he won the big prizes at all four games.

He suffered a shoulder wound as a soldier in WWII, which cost dearly, but he still played for years after that. When he retired, he also did that as a gentleman, and lead programs that taught tennis to kids. In 1964, the world recongnized his achievements and he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They don’t make them like that anymore, or perhaps they do.