Fence to protect historic pergola damaged after last year's Super Bowl win

Last year's Super Bowl win celebrations got rowdy in Pioneer Square when 12s climbed the historic pergola and broke the structure's unique and expensive panes of glass, causing thousands of dollars in damage.

This year the city parks department isn't taking any chances.

Nearly 9 hours before kick-off crews prepared for a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl win that could again end in chaos,fencing off the area around the pergola. “Nothing here, while it appears uniform, is uniform. There are things that are out of square and it's all a cast structure, so it looks the same but every little piece of glass is different,” sad Dan Johnson, the park department maintenance director.

Each one cost several hundred dollars to replace; repair costs totaling $25,000 were raised privately by individuals and businesses that love and appreciate this piece of Seattle history.

"I remember when people started climbing the pergola," said Tiaria Horn, a bartender at Merchants Café, Seattle’s oldest restaurant located just across the street from the pergola.

She watched sadly as the structure was vandalized.

"I'm glad they have these up so they don't mess it up today,” she said, referring to the fence.

The fence isn't as sturdy as a wall.  Each panel is fitted into concrete blocks and secured to the next panel by a zip tie and one clamp, but more than anything city officials say it acts as an obstacle.

"Well I think it's a visible deterrent to access and it's something our police force can work with,” Johnson said. Seattle police tell us there will be extra officers here.

Crews hope that means when they return Monday morning to take the fence down, it will look exactly like it does today.  "And the pergola will stand just like it is,” Johnson said.

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