VintageSeattle.org

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.

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