VintageSeattle.org

The 34th Annual Seattle Pride Parade came downtown after being held for a number of years on Capitol Hill. Three hours of parade, thousands of spectators… and three paragraphs from the Seattle Times. I suppose nekkid bikers will always be more newsworthy. So let’s turn our attention toward another parade with a different emphasis (though both were no doubt heavy on sailor outfits). This handsome hand-tinted Asahel Curtis photo comes from a parade on Second Ave greeting the Atlantic Squadron, 100 years ago. Give it a click.

On Second Avenue. A section of the parade which greeted the Atlantic Squadron at Seattle. The Argus, A.Y.P. Edition. Price 50 cents. February 20, 1909. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published by H.A. Chadwick. Photograph by Asahel Curtis.

I really like the stylized look of this 1950’s era postcard advertising the Vance Motor Hotel. Built in 1926, the Vance only recently received a hipster-inspired update as the Hotel Max. The large neon “Vance Hotel” also changed over to “Hotel Max.” This is one of Seattle’s Beaux Arts masterpieces — the brick and terra cotta exterior is very impressive. To anyone who has stayed here (be it the Vance or Max) — how was it? Click on the thumbnails for higher-res copies.

The Vance Motor Hotel.

The Vance in Seattle, Wash. Ten floors of moderately-priced comfort and conveniences. Drive-in entrance with free parking under same roof. Coffee shop, Mural Room for dining, fascinating Mill Room for cocktails. Center of the theater and shop district and all downtown business. Free radio and television.

Today we’re going way back to 1900 for these vintage Seattle area ads. The first is for the Puget Sound Machinery Depot (see here for a tour of their 1922 facility). After that, find an ad for the Z.C. Miles & Piper Company selling Ohio Steel Ranges. Note that they used corn as a fuel source. Our brilliant plan for getting off of oil isn’t so new. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.

Puget Sound Machinery Depot. Corner Railroad Avenue and Washington Street. The Argus, 1900.

The Ohio Steel Ranges. Z.C. Miles & Piper Co. 78-84 Yesler Way, Seattle. The largest stove house in the northwest. The Argus, 1900.

Raise your virtual hand if you were at the Solstice Parade in Fremond last weekend. Even better than the bikers, was the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Check out the pictures here if you missed it. What a great float — and those spaghetti tentacles! Brilliant. In addition, Anna ran Beat The Bridge last month and sadly, the bridge beat her! It was for charity though — so all is well. Who made all this possible? A number of engineers, builders, and workers from 1917. Check the plans and photos of the Fremont Bridge being built.

Fremont Avenue Bridge plans. Apr 24, 1914. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Fremont Avenue Bridge under construction. Sep 6, 1916. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Fremont Avenue Bridge under construction. Oct 31, 1916. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Fremont Avenue Bridge under construction. Nov 16, 1916. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Fremont Avenue Bridge under construction. Mar 31, 1917. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

Fremont Avenue Bridge being paved. May 1, 1917. Courtesy Engineering Department Photographic Negatives, Seattle Municipal Archives.

On my way into work this morning, I noticed that the old 60’s marina style Bellevue Safeway has just three days of business left before the new monstrosity next door opens up. Very soon it’ll be rubble, with a new tower rising in its wake. Of course that type of thing happens all the time in Bellevue, but surely not in Seattle, right? Well, wrong. The older (and I’d argue, more architecturally interesting) Deano’s Grocery at 2040 E Madison St is about to make way for a new apartment building. Check out this disappointing piece from the Seattle Times. Not a mention of how this building could be re-purposed — just full speed ahead with how quickly can it be torn down. I beat the wrecking ball to the site this past weekend and snapped these photos. Have a look, and enjoy the architecture while it lasts.

Deano’s Grocery at the corner of E Madison and E Denny Way.	South face of the building, fenced up and prepped for demolition.
East face of the building.	Back side view revealing roof parapet.
Close-up of store entrance.	West face of the building.
Showing entrance and east face.	Further down the east face.

The next time someone you know asks what’s so special about Seattle (and doesn’t it rain there, like, every day?)… you may want to whip out this ad from the 1914 Cosmogram. Tell ‘em Seattle has the most equitable climate. Tell ‘em about the twenty miles of Boulevards. Tell ‘em its death rate was 8.37 per thousand. Tell ‘em Seattle has the lowest rate of illiteracy of any city. Tell ‘em it’s the City of Destiny ™. Just don’t tell ‘em about the Mariners.

Seattle — The City Of Destiny. The New York of the Pacific and the Home Port of Alaska — WHY? The Cosmogram, 1914.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Bill Stein of the 1981 Mariners. He played major league ball from 1972 until 1985 with the Cardinals, White Sox, Mariners, and Rangers. According to his Baseball-Reference.com entry, Stein played every position except except pitcher, catcher, and center field. The utility man retired from baseball in 1994 and currently lives in Texas. Click!

Bill Stein, Seattle Mariners, 3rd Base, Topps, 1981.

I’ve always been interested in vintage uniforms, especially baseball uni’s. Don’t ask me how much time and money I’ve spent over the years putting together a fairly large collection of old MLB uniforms. Right now they’re sitting in boxes upstairs, but someday I’d love to devote a website to them and all old uniforms. Hmm. Until then, get a load of these Queen Anne High School uniforms from the 1952 yearbook. Think those basketball shorts would fly these days? These were the only sports that earned a full size action shot in the ‘52 annual. Those that didn’t make the cut: track, golf, tennis, skiing, and “yell teams.” I can see all you former yell team alumni, well, yelling.

Queen Anne High School Basketball. Grizzly, 1952.

Queen Anne High School Football. Grizzly, 1952.

Queen Anne High School Baseball. Grizzly, 1952.

I give you: The Leschi Park Pavilion. This mammoth building was opened in 1890 by John Cort as a terminus of the Yesler Ave cable car line. At the time, Leschi Park was a an amusement area with a zoo, casino, bandstand, gardens, and boathouse. The pavilion, mainly used for dancing, was popular up until the 1920’s when it started to deteriorate. In 1929 a smaller brick building was constructed and the pavilion was destroyed a year later. Give the images a look.

Pavilion Leschi Park, Seattle, Washington. Edward H. Mitchell, Publisher, San Francisco.

Postcard sent May 1905 to New York.

Way back in 1896, Seattle donated 703 acres of what is now Discovery Park to the Government for construction of Fort Lawton. It was originally envisioned as an artillery battery protecting Puget Sound from naval attack. During World War II, more than 20,000 troops were stationed there and the base was even used to house German Prisoners of War. In 1971, 534 acres of Fort Lawton were surplussed and given back to the city of Seattle. The U.S. Army is still stationed there today, but in 2005 it was announcedthat it may close for good. Check out these 1981 photos by Paul Macapia for the Historic American Buildings Survey. The city of Seattle established The Fort Lawton Historic District in 1988.

General view taken from east. Guard House on extreme left, Quartermaster Storehouse and Office in center, Quartermaster Storehouse on extreme right, stables behind and slightly to left of Building No. 915. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Quartermaster Storehouse in foreground with stables behind and to left of Building No. 915, taken from southeast. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Double Officers Quarters, taken from northwest. Building No. 644 on left, Building No. 642 center, Building No. 640 on right. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Double NCO Quarters, taken from south. Building No. 903 is frame structure on right, Building No. 905 in center, Building No. 907 to left of Building No. 905. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
View taken from southwest. Building Nos. 733, 734 on left. Building No. 417 on right. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Parade grounds, taken from North. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Hospital. One of the earliest buildings completed on post. This structure is excluded from the district because of its alterations. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Fort Lawton Street Lamp & Post drawing. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Last month’s City Center Motel post had John Methot wondering if the Towne Centre Motel was what we know today as the Kings Inn Motel. Not only was John right, but the 1962 “Beautiful Seattle Offers A Plus Convention” pamphlet also contained an ad for the Towne Centre. Here it is. They both had “courtesy and consideration to the commercial traveler” and “sparkle-clean housekeeping,” but the “center” vs “centre” should tell you which was slightly more snooty. Speaking of ads, you may have noticed the Google ads to the right. This is a test to see if I can offset some material acquisition costs. At the current rate I should have everything paid off in 7 or 8 years. In other words, you may see those ads disappear quite soon. It’s not worth the bother and really, I kind of loathe website ads. Regardless, check out the Towne Centre.

Towne Centre Motel. 2106 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington. Two blocks from Frederick & Nelson and three blocks from Bon Marche, the Caravan Towne Centre Motel is considered the best located in Seattle. This new, completely modern motel has all the regular features plus many extras to make your Seattle visit most pleasant. From “Beautiful Seattle Offers A Plus Convention,” Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1962.

We’re now rolling with reader submissions. Today Dan (of the super cool Portland Buildings Ads Blog) writes in with some vintage Seattle shots of his own from March 1966. You know, back when a road trip didn’t break the bank. Give the photos a look below and click for more resolution. Thanks, Dan.

Seattle World’s Fair Grounds, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

Seattle World’s Fair Grounds, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

Seattle Panorama from Wes Seattle, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

He’s a loyal Vintage Seattle reader, commenter, contributor… and he’s my neighbor. I’m speaking, of course, about Richard P. Hill. After sharing his old growth postcard in March, RPH is back. This time around he sent along this interesting piece of Seattle Times copy showing relative area real estate prices in 1978. Thanks Richard. Don’t forget that you too can share your vintage with us by e-mailing me.

Seattle Times real estate report, September 3, 1978. Courtesy Richard P. Hill.

You’ll know that you’ve hit Eastlake’s L’Amourita Apartments when you can’t hear the person next to you commenting on what a unique building it is. The roar of I-5 towering overhead is deafening, but it only takes away some of the large heap of charm at the root of this building. There are some loose Spanish Revivial style apartment complexes in Seattle, but none this intricate. L’Amourita (Spanish/French for “lovers”) was built in 1909 by investment speculator Adolph J. Jarmuth and there he lived with his family for two years. Still going strong, the building is now run as a co-op. Also check out this Flickr photo set to see a recent remodel of the interior. Looks awesome in there.

Front of the Spanish-Revival L’Amourita Apartments, looking North along Franklin Ave E.	South east corner of the lot. One of the first things you notice is the shaped parapet with coping.
South face of the building. Consistent with the Spanish Revival style is the hipped roof and buttress pier.	Closer look at the southeast section of the apartment. The red clay mission tiles are very striking.
Alternate view of the main entrance.	Looking north shows the proximity of the I-5 Bridge.
Apartment doors along the center of the building.	An archway looking south.
Circling around back to the northeast corner of the building.	The back courtyard can be reserved by co-op tenants.
Looking up at the back of the building.	A canyon formed by the courtyard entrance.

Hear that? It’s Cher belting out “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Wait, no. Damn. She’s singing that infernal “Do You Believe In Life After Love?” again! Regardless, if I could turn back time I’d try to block the demolition of this First Hill Beaux-Arts classic. We first studied this building way back in October 2007. The Perry was built in 1907 by architects Somervell and Cote, best known for their work on Saint James Cathedral, Providence Hospital, Fire Station #25, among others. Interestingly, the original entrance courtyard was enclosed in 1912 to form a lobby. You can see that original entrance below along with a floor plan, both from the July 1909 edition of Western Architect.

Hotel Perry, Seattle, Washington. Somervell and Cote, Architects. Western Architect, July 1909.

Entrance To Hotel Perry, Seattle, Washington. Somervell and Cote, Architects. Western Architect, July 1909.