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One block east of the Marlborough House on First Hill, you’ll find a strange vestige of single family opulence in the Stimson-Green Mansion. “Strange” because it is almost entirely surrounded by large multi-story apartments and hospital complexes — a true anachronism. The Stimson-Green has held on since it was built in 1901 for Charles D. Stimson (and designed by architect Kirtland Cutter). The 10,000 square foot mansion was lived in by Stimson and family for 14 years before being traded for the parcel that would one day house the Coliseum Theater. Historic Seattle saved the home from demolition in the mid 70’s and Patsy Collins, a Stimson descendant, purchased and renovated the mansion in 1986. Since then, it has served as headquarters for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and can be rented out for special events. I’m presenting a couple vintage photos and my modern day snapshots (which did not turn out all that well, forgive me).

Stimson-Green Mansion, as pictured in 1901 upon construction completion. Photo courtesy Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture / Eastern Washington State Historical Society.	Interior library space, 1901. Photo courtesy Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture / Eastern Washington State Historical Society.
Stimson-Green Mansion entry, modern day view. The English Tudor style home is clad in stucco with half-timber.	Northwest corner of the property.
Southwest corner with lawn signage.	Southeast portion of the grounds showing decorative bargeboards.
Back of the mansion revealing diamond-paned leaded glass windows.	Close-up entering the carport.
North end of the mansion.	Small detached guest home.

Another long day and late night at work for me, so I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. I’m probably not as tired as the workers from Boeing’s “wing room” were at the end of day, shown here in August 1922. Who is the man in the suit? An inspector perhaps? Did their wings flex this much? Click on the thumbnail to fully appreciate the panoramic goodness.

Panoramic view of Boeing’s “wing room.” August 26, 1922. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Guess some things never change. H.R. Kuhlman writes in April 1910 that they’ll be leaving Mount Vernon because it’s too cold, too wet, and the doctor bills are too high. Michigan might not have been the best refuge from the cold but who am I to judge? If you’re new to Vintage Seattle, this is where we peak into someone’s life via old postcards. Who were they? What stories did they have to tell? Did the doctors rip them off in Michigan too? Click on the postcard to see for yourself.

Lake Union, Seattle, Wash.

Postcard sent April 20, 1910. No 5228. Publ. by Portland Post Card Co., Portland, Ore. and Seattle, Wash. (Made in Germany.)

As 2Pac once said, “Pour out a little liquor for your homies.” While he may not have had Malt Rainier in mind, there is a Rainier Ale still poured out or imbibed by homies today — as this website clearly shows. This is the third in our series of vintage Seattle Brewing & Malting Company ads (see previous entries here and here). If you zoom in on the Malt Rainier bottle you can once again make out that old slogan “There’s new strength and vigor in every drop.” Indeed! Click on the thumbnail for higher resolution.

Malt Rainier. The Pure Malt Tonic. For mothers who require additional nourishment and strength. Seattle Brewing & Malting Company. The Argus. February 20, 1909. Price 50 cents. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published by H.A. Chadwick.

Here’s a question for you. What do Brendan Fraser, one of the blue men from the Blue Man Group, and Nancy Wilson (of Heart) all have in common? Anyone? Anyone? The answer is that they all attended Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. I’m not sure if the writer of this 1926 card did too, but I do know she was “wearing a black eye groaning with a sore rib.” Ouch. The building, now known as Kerry Hall, is still standing on Capitol Hill. Click for more res.

Cornish School, Roy Street at Harvard, Seattle.

Cornish School, Roy Street at Harvard, Seattle. This building, designed by A.H. Albertson, Architect, was built by popular subscription for the Cornish School, and was opened in July, 1921. The Cornish School is recognized as the foremost school of the Arts west of Chicago. It has a faculty of 50 instructors in Drama, Music and Dancing. Students are registered from all parts of this country and Canada. The total is enrollment is about 1200. Postcard sent March, 1926.

I had a chance to tour Knights of Columbus Hall on Capitol Hill not long ago. If you have around 250 friends, you can rent out the Colonial Room and get your own up-close look. This handsome brick Colonial Revival building went up in 1913 for the Seattle council of the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. The three story building is in excellent condition, with minimal alterations. It features an ornate entry bay, a second story and roof line cornice, stepped parapets, and almost 100 years of history. Check out the high-res photos below. Be careful, however, you may want to throw a party just as an excuse to rent it out.

Facade of the Knights of Columbus Hall, built 1913.	Southwest corner of the building with “K of C Club” painted sign on brick.
East face of the Colonial Revival structure.	Back of the building.
A cloth awning replaced the original metal version.	West entrance.
Stairs leading to the third floor.	Main “Colonial Room” reception area. The 3,000 square foot room seats up to 250 people.

It’s summer. Baseball is on the mind. After a visit to Safeco Field for my birthday a few weeks ago, I thought I’d look up the older pro stadiums from years past. As it turns out, Seattle has gone through stadiums like it was a full time job. Madison Park, YMCA Park, Recreation Park, Yesler Way Park, Dugdale Park, Civic Field, Sick’s Stadium, Kingdome, and now Safeco Field. Dugdale Park lasted from 1913 until July of 1932 when it was burned down by local arsonist Robert Driscoll. It was the first Seattle stadium to use lights at night and among the players who graced the field were Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Sick’s Stadium was built on the same site in 1938 (there’s now a Lowes there). Scope out this vintage photo of Dugdale, well before it met its fiery demise.

Dugdale Athletic Park, circa 1907. Copyright deposit; Fremont C. Plummer; November 24, 1907; Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

During my “day job” as a game designer, one of the first steps we take in creating spaces is to whip up a few rough concept sketches. Architects use the practice as well, as these early Space Needle design sketches illustrate. I found these in an old ‘62 World’s Fair book I was flipping through last night. While definitely not as stunning as the set over at the Architecture of the Pacific Northwest Database, they do show a nice progression of ideas. The final design is said to be a compromise of Edward Carlson’s cabled balloon idea and architect John Graham’s flying saucer. Click on the thumbnails for a higher-res look.

Early cabled balloon design; flying saucer on a spire. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc.

Revolving restaurant with planetarium dome; cruciform shaft and disk first called the “space needle” from Art Edwards. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc.

Bennett’s crossed cables sketch; Ridley’s tripod in plastic form. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc.

Steinbrueck’s later sketch; Ridley’s new tophouse detail sketch. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc.

Our first and second What Year Was I Taken posts brought the VS readers out of the woodwork. It’s now time for the third installment so don’t be shy. This one is pretty easy — you get four angles. The question is: what year was this downtown Seattle bird’s-eye photo taken? Use your detective skills, pool your knowledge, show us what you’ve got. Lets see how quickly we can figure this one out. Winner(s) get their name(s) in lights. And… here are the four views.

Update: Congrats to Scott, Bryan, Shipley, Litlnemo, Julie Anne, RyanB! In the comment section, they correctly id’ed the photo was being from 1928. It was taken by Asahel Curtis from the Northern Life Building. We’ll play again soon. Full captions to follow.

Looking south from the Northern Life Tower. Above the Dexter Horton Building is shown the tower of the L.C. Smith Building, the tallest structure west of the Mississippi, and to the right of this the tower of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific depot, railroad tracks extending through the valley to the south. The bare spot on the edge of Beacon Hill is soon to be occupied by a $2,500,000 Veterans Hospital. Photo by Asahel Curtis. The Argus, December 15, 1928. Price 35 cents. Vol. 35, No. 48.

Looking east from the Northern Life Tower. Another section of Seattle’s business and apartment house district. The twin tower building is the Catholic Cathedral. In the distance, on a clear day, the Cascade Mountains, snow capped most of the year, are clearly visible. Photo by Asahel Curtis. The Argus, December 15, 1928. Price 35 cents. Vol. 35, No. 48.

Looking east from the Northern Life Tower. Overlooking a portion of hte business and apartment house district. The tower on the skyline is hte standpipe in Volunteer Park, named in honor of the soldiers in the Spanish-American war. Photo by Asahel Curtis. The Argus, December 15, 1928. Price 35 cents. Vol. 35, No. 48.

Looking north from the Northern Life Tower. In the right foreground, corner of White-Henry-Stuart Building, on ten acre tract owned by the University of Washington and under lease to the Metropolitan Building Co. In distance Lake Union, connected by ship canal with Puget Sound and Lake Washington. Beyond Lake Union is beautiful Green Lake, surrounded by a boulevard and entirely within the city limits. In the left foreground the new 1411 Fourth Avenue Building, under construction by the Metropolitan Building Co. Photo by Asahel Curtis. The Argus, December 15, 1928. Price 35 cents. Vol. 35, No. 48.

Not only is the Furuya Building being redeveloped (see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of last week’s feature), the adjacent Corgiat Building (222 S Main St.) is as well. On the same tour I was able to snap some shots. The building went up in 1900 for real estate mogul and bar owner John Corgiat, with a hotel on the upper floors and retail at the ground level. Former ground floor retail tenants include a cigar shop, eatery, barber shop, among others. As with most Pioneer Square post-fire buildings, it is brick exterior and timber/post/beam structure. Sadly, the original cornice and parapet are now gone, as is the large plaque which read “J. Corgiat 1900.” The spaces are currently under restoration and should be completed in 11 months. Once again, thanks to Rob Brewster of ConoverBond Development for the tour.

Demolition of the basement area of The Corgiat — former home to the Comedy Underground.	Alternate angle of basement demolition.
Ground floor retail area.	Second floor landing.
Alternate angle of second floor landing.	Second floor rooms. The building was designed by architect Robert Robertson in the Italian Renaissance style.
Alternate angle of second floor rooms. Note the markings from the original lath and plaster walls, just recently demo’ed.	Looking up toward a skylight.

After yesterday’s somewhat contentious Paccar Tower post, I think it might be best to cool our jets with something a bit more peaceful. If you know your way around the blog here, you no doubt know the work of Asahel Curtis. While his brother Edward mostly concentrated on photographing Native Americans, Asahel took a keen interest over the years in documenting Washington’s natural landscapes and industries. An avid hiker, he even helped develop Mount Rainier National Park. His thousands of photographs today allow us to piece together the landscape and lives of early 20th century Seattle and surrounding areas. Here is one of his tinted Rainier pieces published in 1909. Enjoy. We’ll have more arguments over gnarly 1970’s architecture coming up!

Mt. Rainier From Spray Park. Photo by Asahel Curtis, Copyright, 1908. The Argus, 1909 A.Y.P.E. Edition. Price 50 cents. February 20, 1909. Vol. 16, No. 3. Published by H.A. Chadwick

I point you to the Downtown Bellevue Network Blog, not because I want to, but because I have to. This post in particular. Writing about Bellevue’s first tall Skyscraper, Paccar Tower built in 1970, the author states: “I’d suggest that they bulldoze the current building to make way for a new tower on one of their many properties that they hold. A new building would help improve people’s current perception, that they are a very traditional (old and set in their ways) and aging company. [...] They continue to contribute to the community in many ways, but it is time to upgrade. They ‘call home’ the ugliest building in Bellevue, and there is no way around that. It’s time to move.” End quote. Bulldoze this lonely representative of modern 1970’s near Brutalist architecture because of the general perception of The Paccar Company as old and crusty? Seriously? The Paccar Company builds trucks. Trucks. I work in downtown Bellevue and look out of our office window every day to see the Paccar as welcome concrete relief, awash in a sea of glass and cranes. I’ve said my piece. What do you think? Modernist marvel that should be preserved, 1970’s blight that should be razed, or somewhere in between?

King County Central Blood Bank Building, Southcenter Branch, Tukwila. Built 1970, designed by Seattle architect Benjamin McAdoo (the first African American architect to own and operate an extended practice in Washington), another example of early 70’s modern architecture similar to the Paccar Building. The building was based on pre-cast concrete panels to control the sun and allow a modular interior. Click here for the modern day map view.

This postcard takes us back to another time of war, World War II. It was written to the parents of Henry Coleman (of the U.S. Engineers) in December of 1944 — more than a year of fighting was left in the war. Here’s to hoping the strapping six footer made it out of France OK and had (has) a good life. Click for more resolution.

Skyline, Seattle, Washington.

Postcard written December 27, 1944 for Mr. and Mrs. John Coleman of Vandalia, Illinois.

I came across this photo while researching Queen Anne High School being converted into condos last year. It’s a sea of screaming students cheering on their fellow Queen Anne High School Grizzly football team in 1939. Note that the students closest to the camera are the most animated. Were they playing it up for the camera? Is that an apple the bottom left girl is biting into? Two people over, is that a purse or a cowbell? I’m going with cowbell. Anything else of note that I’m missing?

Queen Anne High School students at football game, Seattle, 1939. Staff Photographer Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection PI25680

Like his Northwestern League brethren before him, Miller is our honorary Vintage Seattle Player O The Week. He was a crafty ballplayer — during windup you never knew if he actually had a ball in his mitt or not. The card comes from the 1910 OBAK mouthpiece cigarette collection. Click on the image for a larger version.

Miller, Seattle, N.W.L. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Obak Mouthpiece Cigarettes. “Convenient Sensible.” Base Ball Series 175 Subjects Selected From Pacific Coast And Northwestern Leagues. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.