the pipers came to seattle in 1873. he owned a bavarian style "konditorei", the puget sound candy manufactory, in seattle's pioneer square on front st. between cherry and mill streets. a typical "konditorei" is much more than a bakery, making candies and many other types of confections. he was known for his wedding cakes and other creative, artistic confections, including "piper's cream cakes" (or "dream cakes") that were especially popular in the 1870s, made from a recipe piper never revealed. by the 1880s piper employed a number of assistants. prosch said that seattle's lake union often froze over in winter, and that in those days, before seattle's ice factory was built in 1882, piper would harvest large blocks of ice from the lake, which he saved until summer for making ice cream.