VintageSeattle.org

Today’s Past Postcard is mysterious in a number of ways. The card from an unknown writer with an unknown date was on its way to “Miss Ella”… somewhere. The look of the card and the fact that it has a divided-back most likely place it between 1907 and 1930. See the text below and click on the images for a high-res copy.

Front: 5576. Seattle, Wash. Green Lake.

Back: Postcard meant for Miss Ella.

A pretty important 100 year birthday is coming up — our old boy, the Moore Theatre hits the mark this December! Check your calendar, because there’s going to be an epic celebration with theatre tours, program and poster exhibitions as well as performances by local artists. It’s happening December 10th from 5pm until 8 at the Moore. Click here for more information. Sounds like a great event, I know I’ll be there. Here’s the poster for the monthly tours in higher-res than you could ever possibly need.

Historic Tours Of The Moore Theatre. 2nd Saturday of every month at 10:00AM. Free and open to the public.

I may not have gotten to the Bridge Motel in time to capture it before its demise, but I was able to get to the Wonder Bread Bakery site in the Central Area literally days before it came down completely. Two months ago, this blue-collar icon that had been in business from 1916 until 1999, was torn down in order to make way for (you guessed it…) an apartment building! Click here to see renderings of the new site being developed by Legacy Partners. It’s just another shabby, cookie-cutter, cheaply made apartment building. The interesting twist here is that Legacy has announced that they will be preserving and hoisting the iconic 50 plus year old Wonder Bread sign onto the apartment building roofline to mimic old times. Now this is either a farcical slap in the face, or a win for preservationists, depending on your viewpoint. Personally, I feel that this is a sad reminder of the changing state of our city, from unique and interesting to faceless, with nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to highlight the history of the area. I’m glad the sign will remain on the skyline, but to have it on top of this building leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Well, enough of my ranting. What do you think? Also, please e-mail me if you know anyone who worked at the bakery at any point who is interested in sharing their experience there. I’m always looking for first-hand accounts like this. Let’s check out the images, and know that you won’t see said sign in these images — it had been previously taken down for restoration. Click on the thumbnails to reveal the full-res copies.

West face of the building complex. At 70,000 square feet, this is one of the largest blocks of land in the city. It was purchased by Legacy Partners for $9.4 million.	South face of the building with many windows broken and boarded up. You can see the platform that once supported the Wonder Bread sign before it was taken down.
Building facade along South Jackson Street. This area will become 7,000 square feet of retail space.	Close-up of the South Jackson Street wall with broken out windows exposing demolition in progress.
This is the east side of the lot once again showing the Wonder Bread sign support and a parking area.	Another view toward the northeastern side of the complex. Just beyond this area you’ll find Pratt Park.
Returning again to the West face of the building, you can see where another Wonder Bread sign once was. All that remains to remind are the rust stains.	When I visited the site for photographs, demolition was just under way. Broken concrete and rebar littered the site.
A view of the entrance along Pratt Park boundary. This area was fenced off and overgrown.	Alternate view of the same entrance with yet another Wonder Bread rusted ghost sign.
This is the shipping and receiving area along 18th Ave. Scaffolding looms overhead…	…And casts a dramatic shadow. “White flour” had not been received at this site since the bakery closed in 1999.

Links To The Past is back this week after a layoff during slow news.

• The Warpath Not Taken
  Mossback ponders how differently history might have played out had we taken a different tack with Native Americans.
• Historic Tacoma Bridge Closed
  Not quite Seattle, but close enough. The Murray Morgan Bridge was shut down for safety reasons.
• What’s Going to Happen To Oddfellows Hall?
  Local developers have purchased the historic Oddfellows Hall and citizens are concerned about the future of this icon.
• Treasured Dance Hall Sold; Some Anxious About Next Step
  The Seattle Times steps into the ring on the Oddfellows Hall issue.

Last week we saw postcards of and from Smith Tower and this week’s vintage postcard is Smith Tower minus a few years. The venerable tower also shares the stage with Mount Rainier in this 1930 card on its way to Albany, Oregon. This 42-story Seattle landmark was the tallest building on the west coast when it was built in 1914 and remains the oldest skyscraper in the city. You can bet I’ll have more here at VS.org about the tower in the future. Anyone interested or planning on living in this building if/when it becomes a condo? For now, let’s take in this postcard. Click on the thumbnail for a high-res version.

Front: 456: — 42-Story L.C. Smith Building And Mt. Rainier. Seattle, Wash.

Back: Postcard sent July 11, 1930 to Dan Zeh in Albany, Oregon.

Today’s Seattle Vintage Ads come from an unknown 1919 Seattle area High School yearbook and the theme revolves around keg stands, ravers, and co-eds. Well, sort of. Business Colleges, my friends! The first is from Hall Business College on Third and Columbia urging readers to “start right!” and learn shorthand from the “world’s foremost exponent of Gregg Shorthand.” The second ad shows Wilson’s Modern Business College located at 2nd and Stewart, who were convinced of their superiority. Check out this 1910 photo from MOHAI showing a group of students learning shorthand. Let’s have a look at the images, click on them for a high-res version.

Wilson’s Modern Business College, Seattle. Second Ave. At Stewart St. Main 3016. 1919.

“Start Right!” Hall Business College, Seattle. Third And Columbia. A Business Training School Of The Highest Class. 1919.

Not much of a challenge this week for our Hawks, with 0-7 St. Louis coming to the table. 33-6 was the final and with that it’s time for our 2nd ever Player O The Week. Getting the honors this week is legendary Seahawk QB Jim Zorn — the image is from his 1977 Topps card. He is known for being the Hawk’s first ever quarterback in 1976 and stayed in town for 7 and a half seasons. If you’re a local fan, you also probably already know that Zorn is now the quarterback coach for the Seahawks. Here’s the image, click on it for the high-res copy.

Jim Zorn, Quarterback, 1977, Topps.

Took a trip over to Magnuson Park a few weeks ago to see for myself what had become of the old Sand Point Naval Air Station Commissary building. If you haven’t yet, check out my original post on the imminent demolition. Sure enough, it’s gone. Way gone. Not even so much as a piece of rubble to remind anyone that it stood and soon these will be soccer fields. But on the bright side — look at that sky! As always, click on the image for a high-res version.

Looking north toward where the Sand Point Naval Commissary used to stand.

Alternate view of the site.

Past Postcard time once again and this go-round we’ve got two views of Seattle probably from some time in the 1950’s. The first is from the Smith Tower observation deck, 35 stories from the ground. The second is a shot of King Street Station and Union Station (with Smith Tower in the distance). So if you want to see the glorious full-res versions of the postcard — just click on the image. Great, how that works.

Front: The view from Smith Tower’s 35th floor observation deck.

Back: Seattle, Washington. From Smith Tower’s observation platform, 35 stories high, is seen this view of busy Seattle, Washington’s major city. On the left is a portion of Puget Sound and waterfront.

Front: King Street Station and Union Station.

Back: Seattle Railroad Depots, the starting point for transcontinental railways. King Street Station is on the left and Union Station is on the right. Famous Smith Tower, 42-story office building, shown in center.

Just received an update from Sabey’s Jim Harmon regarding their meeting with the Landmarks Preservation Board and Architectural Review Committee. Recall that they have filed to demolish the Rainier Cold Storage Stock House. They are also planning a meeting with Georgetown locals. Here’s the full update from him and another unreleased photo of my visit to the Stock House in August.

*Update: John from The Paper Noose blog let me know that he posted his take on the meeting with the Landmarks Preservation Board. Sounds like they are at an impasse. Thanks John.

The only wall remaining of the Stock House up against the Brew House. Click here for the rest of my exterior Rainier Cold Storage photos.

Lately the SLUT has been getting a lot of attention. Yes, yes, I’m talking about the unfortunately named South Lake Union Trolley that’s set to start rolling by the end of the year. It’s officially called the South Lake Union Streetcar, but that hasn’t stopped Cascade (my old stomping grounds) residents from having a laugh or two. But before the SLUT, Seattle’s very first horse-powered streetcar began service in 1884 along 2nd Avenue. The horse-drawn route was such a success, that builder Frank Osgood brought electric streetcars online in 1889. Throughout the 1900’s Seattle’s streetcars began mounting debt and the last streetcar ran on April 13, 1941. Now here we are in South Lake Union as the cycle continues. I’m kind of bummed that they didn’t go for the vintage look for the SLU streetcars (anyone else agree?), as from the looks of the photo it seems like they went modern. Alas, let’s look backward to that very first Seattle Streetcar. Click on the image for a high-res version.

Seattle’s first street car turning from Occidental Avenue to Yesler Way, 1884. Photo by Theo. E. Peiser. Image courtesy Marian S. Carson Collection (Library of Congress).

Rough day for our Hawks — 28-17 loss to the Saints. Regardless, I’m starting off a new feature here at the Org called Player O The Week, sorted under the new Old Sport category. This first one is dedicated to Jonathan Shipley, who namechecked Dan Doornink. Well here he is — number 33 from the 1981 Topps card. Doornink took over as the Seahawks’ starting fullback in 1979 and was actually born in Yakima, Washington. And did you know that Doornink is now a medical doctor practicing Internal Medicine in his hometown. Click on the image for the high-res version.

Dan Doornink, Running Back, 1981, Topps.

We’re going way back 101 years for today’s Past Postcard… way back when you weren’t even allowed to write a message on the back of a postcard. You had to scrawl it in the margins — and they say we haven’t made any progress! Well here it is, a beautifully haunting image of Kinnear Park. The park was purchased by the city in 1889 from George Kinnear for one dollar (that’s right, one dolla). Click on the thumbnail for the full size image.

Front: 1032 — Kinnear Park, Seattle, Wash.

Back: Postcard sent May 12, 1906 to Lois Harris in Syracuse, New York.

Lately I’ve had this terrible habit of completely wasting realtor’s time by having them show me great old houses that I’d love to buy one day, but have no intention of buying at this moment. I’m saving my pennies. So I can sleep better at night knowing that I didn’t totally waste their time, I wanted to show off this classic Craftsman I toured in Judkins Park. It was built in 1917 and just recently renovated to sell for a reasonable $499,000. When I toured the house, some of the detail work was lacking and some of the renovation craftsmanship sub-par, but this could be a nice way to get the selling price down further in this soft market. Click here to see the seller’s web page if you are interested. Click on the images for the high-res versions.

Front face of the 1917 Craftsman. The palm trees give the house’s curb a pretty unique look. I’m a fan of the muted green shingles with white trim. A very classic look.	Back side of the house. The lawn and fencing in this area need some work, but the area has potential. Hey, there’s Anna.
The front entrance of the house opens to the living room. The fireplace and built-in cabinets are very nice.	The dining room has copious windows and a window seat made just for cats. It’s nice to see that the trim is left stained instead of painted.
Shot of the downstairs bathroom. Tastefully done. The upstairs bathroom features a claw foot tub.	The dining room leads to the kitchen, now fully remodeled. The cherry cabinets and lighter granite counter go well together. Wood flooring is original.

Check out this vintage advertisement for H. Hanson’s Sewing Machine Agency’s carload sale of Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines. It comes from 1902’s Seattle Mail And Herald, boasting a ruffler that will “ruffle everything but your temper” and whichever model you buy is sure to “turn drudgery into pastime.” Now that’s how to market a sewing machine! Though I’m afraid that if you heed the call to action today and go down to 215 Columbia Street looking for a sewing machine, you’ll only find Pacific Northwest Title Company. I guess that sale really didn’t last forever. Click on the image for a larger view.

Big Discount Sale Of Sewing Machines. Seattle Mail And Herald, 1902.