It is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which are Lower Queen Anne (sometimes known as "Uptown"), Seattle Center, and South Lake Union; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which is Capitol Hill to the northeast and Central District to the east; on the south by S Dearborn Street, beyond which is Sodo; and on the west by Elliott Bay, a part of Puget Sound.

Smith Tower, in the Pioneer Square area, once held the title of tallest American building west of the Mississippi.

Other notable buildings are the 1201 Third Avenue (formerly the Washington Mutual Tower), Two Union Square, Nordstrom's flagship store, Benaroya Hall, the Seattle Central Library designed by Rem Koolhaas, and the main building of the Seattle Art Museum (built 1991, expanded 2007), the main facade of which was designed by Robert Venturi.

The neighborhood had dozens of street clocks in the early 20th century to advertise businesses; by 1950, only 24 were left in the entire city.

[1] After abandoning "New York Alki", the Denny Party moved across the then-named Duwamish Bay in April 1852 to a low level marsh situated with a safe deep water harbor, located roughly in the city's Pioneer Square district.

[9] Office construction continues apace in Downtown Seattle, with 6.4 million square feet (590,000 m2) planned to open in 2019, along with 161 projects.

[12] Several Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Downtown Seattle include Amazon, Nordstrom, and Expeditors International.