VintageSeattle.org

A very cool new blog popped up recently from Seattle Times illustrator and Vintage Seattle reader Gabi Campanario, El Blog De Gabi Campanario. Gabi has been posting some really awesome sketches and I especially loved the House That Got Away feature. Also check out his Fairview Home sketch (I profiled the homes here) and the Minor Ave homes (which were what Jonathan Hanlon was actually writing in about). Give Gabi’s blog a look — you’ll be impressed.

Fairview home in South Lake Union. Sketch by Gabi Campanario.

Minor Ave homes in South Lake Union. Sketch by Gabi Campanario.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Enrique Romo. He was a Mariner from 1977-1978 before being traded for none other than Mario Mendoza. So, you could call Romo an “enabler.” He pitched just six years in the majors before failing to show up for spring training with the Pirates in 1983. After failed attempts to locate him, he was released. As the Romo Phone Home Blog (Pirate fan site) asks… where are you Enrique Romo?

Enrique Romo, Seattle Mariners, Pitcher, Topps, 1978.

I first talked about the Denny Hotel about a year ago and have been meaning to return to it. This old Victorian hotel has always intrigued me, mostly because it had a pretty rocky existence. It was built in 1889 by developers including Arthur Denny but in-fighting and market woes kept it unfinished until 1903. That year (renamed the Washington Hotel) it had a remarkable guest in Teddy Roosevelt and enjoyed brief success before being torn down for the Denny Regrade in 1907 (see that old post). The hotel stood roughly where the Moore Theater is today. It’s a shame that such a majestic hotel had such bad luck.

The Denny/Washington Hotel. Built 1889, demolished 1907. “The scenic hotel of the world, and without question the best hotel west of New York. Elegantly furnished rooms. Over one hundred private baths. European or American plan. Headquarters for everybody.”

Today’s Past Postcard is, well, I don’t know. It was redacted by someone after March 1944. Come on now, kind examiner! Private Hugh ——– was just trying to tell ——— about his time at ———– in Seattle during his leave. Can anyone make anything out? Give the thumbnails a click and let’s see who has the most elite Photoshop CSI skills.

Update: Gabi Campanario sent in this winning entry. Bravo!

Front: Aeroplane View Of Seattle, Washington.

Back: Postcard sent March, 1944. Censored by Army Examiner.

Back: Photoshop CSI winner Gabi Campanario decrypts the postcard.

Planned obsolescence be damned! The Central District’s Fire Station No. 23 had stood for more than 81 years serving the city in one way or another. Since the 1960’s, it has housed CAMP (the Central Area Motivation Program). I’ve come up empty handed trying to find background on the fire station itself. Anyone who can help? Meanwhile, check out these 1927 Municipal Archives photos, followed by my modern day shots.

Front view of Eighteenth Avenue Fire Station No. 23 at Cherry Street, 1927. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, Engineering Department Photographic Negatives.	Side view of Eighteenth Avenue Fire Station No. 23 at Cherry Street, 1927. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, Engineering Department Photographic Negatives.
Corresponding modern day photo of the side view.	Looking along the front of the fire house reveals that some windows have been bricked-in.
The doors are still painted “fire red.”	Showing nice door trim stonework.
Stepping back to the intersection for a wide angle view.	Alternate angle along Cherry. The tower has lost its original hipped roof.

I’m serving up two early photos from the University of Washington campus. First up, you’ll find the Chimes and Observatory. The chimes from the tower were a gift from A.J. Blethen (see his house here) and rang until the tower burned down in the late 1940’s. The 1895 built Observatory is still in use (see photo). Next up is Denny Hall, built in 1895 and site of the University’s first administration building. It is also still in use today (see photo). Click on the images for high-res copies.

Chimes and Observatory — U of W Campus — 1112

Looking West To Denny Hall — U.W. Campus — Seattle — 1114

Just into year 2 here and Chainsaw Riggins, Vintage Seattle reader of superior name, requested more Reframes for the coming blog year. And really, how can you say no to someone named “Chainsaw Riggins”? So I loaded up my gear and headed down toward Alki in my new home, West Seattle. See the Reframe comparisons — Seattle Municipal Archives photos from 1933 and present day. We have these vintage photos because of a mud slide that year. If there are any other requests, just call it out like Chainsaw did.

Dec 22, 1933: Halleck Ave. SW and SW College St. slide. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, Water Department Photographic Negatives Collection.

May 4, 2008: Looking down Halleck at present day. You’ll notice that many of the structures from the 1933 photo still exist.

Dec 22, 1933: Halleck Ave. SW and SW College St. slide. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, Water Department Photographic Negatives Collection.

May 4, 2008: Looking up Halleck Ave toward SW College St at present day. The home at the intersection is still standing and now has a deck.

The Washington State History Museum’s Abigail Azote writes in to let us know about a KUOW feature on the second oldest photo of Seattle. It’s not quite as high-res as we’d like, but maybe that means you and I need to head to the museum to see it in person. Take it away, Abigail.

Robinson panorama photograph of Seattle, Wash., dated 1869. Courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society.

It’s hard for me to believe, but today marks the one year mark for Vintage Seattle. It opened up precisely one year ago. I’ll skip the year in review since a 2007 In Review was already posted. Instead, I’ll be celebrating. Big thanks to all of you who’ve been loyal visitors for this past year. This blog certainly wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without all of the reader involvement. Here’s to the next year, as Vintage Seattle itself becomes vintage!

Original May 2007 Vintage Seattle logo.

Just a quick follow-up on last week’s discussion of a 1914 Queen Anne High School playfield photo. I did some digging and it looks like my initial thought that the field was to the south of the school along 2nd/3rd and Highland is most likely wrong. Though the pictures are from more than a decade later, they give us a good idea of what this area looked like. The photos come from the 1928 Kuay Annual (QAHS yearbook) showing construction of the auditorium, which was just behind the original structure to the south (where the fountain is now). In addition, the yearbook these images were scanned from was owned by Custer Chappell (pictured below), who was a successful track star at the school. He was one of the only black American students at the school in 1928. Click on the images for more resolution.

Queen Anne High School, 1928.

Bird’s-eye view of new center of activities — the auditorium.

Skeleton of new auditorium.

Civic auditorium from new locker rooms.

“We be of sky aspiring, and ambitious thoughts.”

The 1928 Queen Anne High School yearbook these images were scanned from was owned by Custer Chappell (pictured), who was a track and football star at the school. He was one of the only black American students at the school in 1928.

With Amazon.com announcing their plans to move to South Lake Union, the future of the iconic headquarters atop Beacon Hill is uncertain. A number of potential future tenants have already been in talks with the company’s landlord. Will it be more biotech? Condos? Hard to say right now. The Art Deco Marine Hospital operated until it was closed in the late eighties. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and granted landmark status in 1992. Check out this postcard from the 50’s/60’s.

U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, Seattle, Washington. “This 323 bed hospital located at 1131 14th Avenue South was built on land donated by the City of Seattle and was opened in 1933. It is devoted to the care of certain classes of legal beneficiaries of the Federal Government. These include American Merchant Seamen, members of the U.S. Coast Guard, members of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Government employees when injured in line of duty, dependents of members of the uniformed services and others. It is staffed by Commissioned Officers and Civil Service Employees of the Public Health Service.”