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October, 2008 Archive

Happy Halloween ‘08

October 31st, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Past Post | 2 Comments » border

Happy Halloween everyone! The most relevant images I can think of posting would be from Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. They’ve got mummies, a voodoo monkey, shrunken heads. They’ve even got a stuffed jackalope that I always try to convince my girlfriend to buy when we’re down there. Being an animal lover, let’s just say she isn’t pleased. Scope these early 1900’s Ye Olde postcards showing the exterior and interior. And tell us in the comments what you’re dressing up as this year.

Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. 2248 — Alaskan Curio Shop, Seattle, Washington. Most unique shop in the world. On the Colman Dock Front. J. E. Standley, Prop.

Interior of Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, Seattle, U.S.A. Located in the Colman Dock. Most unique shop in the world. J. E. Standley, Prop’r. Established 1899.

Oh Baby! More Curtis

October 30th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 1 Comment » border

We’ve looked at Edward Curtis portraits before. These color-carded shots of Native American infants are some of the sharpest photos of his that I’ve seen. The first shows an Apache babe and Nez Percé (a tribe that lived in the Pacific Northwest) in the second. Click on the thumbnails for full res versions.

An Apache infant in cradleboard c1903. Copyright by E.S. Curtis. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Nez Percé infant in cradleboard c1899. Copyright by E.S. Curtis. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Golden Nugget Jet Service 1961

October 29th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads | 6 Comments » border

You can’t seem to escape Alaska these days. Senator Stevens found guilty. Palin’s “wardrobe malfunction.” So why not go back to 1961 when people wanted to escape to Alaska. This is an ad for Alaska Airlines’ “Gold Nugget Jet Service.” Also check out their website’s cool high-res gallery of photos (including this shot of their first stewardesses in 1945). Clickity-click.

Alaska Airlines advertisement. The Argus, 1961. Thrill to the real Alaska… An Alaska Airlines Golden Nugget Adventure Visit is your passport to vacation adventureland. For in no other place in the world are the ingredients of fun and adventure so fantastically and so generously blended as in Alaska — the Great North Land. It is a breathtakingly big land… a land of sharp contrast… modern cities and picturesque villages… lending to the excitement of a new adventure. Be sure to extend your trip to Century 21 this spring to include Alaska.

Eitel Building, I Can’t Tell

October 28th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 11 Comments » border

I’m convinced that local government needs to hire a marketing consultant in order to clearly communicate with the public. This is the steel frame City landmark Eitel Building, located at Second and Pike ever since it was built in 1904. It was first used as a medical building and even had a drug store at ground level (later in 1922 it would become a Bartell Drug). Historic Seattle has a very in-depth writeup on the building’s history here. There’s also a 1926 photo here. Back to the original point… Here’s what’s posted on the “Notice Of Proposed Land Use Action” in the ground level window of the building:

To construct a 22 story building with 92 residential units above 23,000 sq. ft. of administrative office and 3,000 sq. ft. of retail at ground level. Portions of existing structure (floors one through six on second avenue and on Pike Street) to remain. Review includes demolition of 30,000 sq. ft. of existing building.

Huh? So portions (floors one through six) remain despite demolition of 30k square feet? Yet a 22 story building goes up? Where exactly? On top of the building? The Eitel is sandwiched in between two other structures and the old building to the west of it has its own distinct Land Use Action and corresonding demo plan. Before I give DPD a call to ask about it, who’s got a theory as to what this means?

The Eitel Building at Second and Pike.

The building entrance.

Southeast corner of Eitel Building.

South face of building.

Notice of proposed land use action, posted in Eitel window.

Past Post: Seattle Civic Auditorium

October 27th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Past Post | No Comments » border

The old Seattle Civic Auditorium (opened 1928) had seen quite a bit of history. Sinatra sang there. Eisenhower spoke there. Even though the postcard proclaims it had “been given the most thorough acoustical treatment, in accordance with the specifications of some of the foremost acoustical engineers in the United States,” the sound was in fact horrible. Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, said that it was leading Seattle into a “cultural dustbin” in the early 1940’s. The facility was remade into the Seattle Center Opera House for the ‘62 World’s Fair. The latest version of the building opened up in 2003 as McCaw Hall, after 127 million in renovations.

Seattle Civic Auditorium. Schack, Young & Myers, Architects & Engineers.

Seattle has constructed a Civic Auditorium, Exposition Hall and Recreation Field, as a three-fold civic development, on a centrally located twelve-acre site, bounded by Third and Fourth Avenues North, Harrison and Mercer Streets. The entire project cost $1,115,000.

House O The Week: 3211 S Dose Ter

October 26th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 2 Comments » border

House O The Week honors this time around are going to this Neoclassical Mount Baker jewel located at 3211 S Dose Ter — just waiting to be polished. Actually, it looks to be in the process of being polished. I have to admit, this is one of my favorite houses in the city and it’s pretty amazing even in this state (in a neighorhood already busting at the seams with high-end homes). It was built in 1912 and sports 5 bed, 2.75 bath, 2,560 square feet. It’s now worth around $1.1 million (interesting to note that in the past month it has lost $18,000 in value due to the market). Typical with Neoclassical homes, the most impressive part of the facade is the full-height porch supported by classical columns and topped off with Corinthian capitals. Click on the thumbnails for larger photos.

3211 S Dose Ter in Mount Baker.

Alternate angle of 3211 S Dose Ter in Mount Baker.

Help A Vintage Seattle Reader

October 25th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 7 Comments » border

Out of state reader Kathy Oster wrote in with a photo of her great grandfather Charles Franklyn Bernard. The image shows him sitting in a mining office and Kathy is hoping to track down the building. Can anyone help? She writes:

I have attached a picture of a building I am hoping that you might know which one it is. Since the picture is taken from within, I am not able to get a good idea of what area it is to even start looking…and I live in Phoenix, which makes it difficult to see

The clues are that it was taken about 1900-1904. The names in the windows are Grand View Gold Mining Co. and Crown Point Gold Mining Co. The notes are from my Uncle and this is where my Great Grandfather had his business. My Great Grandfather’s name is Charles Franklyn Bernard.

Any ideas?

Kathy Oster (Bernard)
Via E-Mail
10/19/2008

Charles Franklyn Bernard in a mining company office, Seattle circa 1900-1904. Image courtesy Kathy Oster.

WWCBBD Or What Would C.B. Blethen Do?

October 24th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 2 Comments » border

I know what you’re thinking. “Another sepia-toned photo of an old white guy in a suit, no thanks!” But wait — this image is actually timely. Let me explain. This shows C.B. Blethen, son of Colonel Alden J. Blethen, who published the Seattle Times starting in 1921. While his father never shied away from a controversy, C.B. was known for sanitizing the Times and giving it a conservative journalistic voice. After years of being known mostly as the right-leaning sister newspaper to the more left Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Times endorsed Barack Obama last month. It’s also worth noting that current publisher Frank Blethen (yes, another Blethen) called the paper’s 2000 endorsement of George W. Bush “the biggest presidential endorsement mistake we have made.”

C.B. Blethen, Publisher of Seattle Times, 11/2/25. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

World’s Fair Snapshots 1962 Pt. 3

October 23rd, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 2 Comments » border

I just wanted to tie up some loose ends I’ve left since June. This is Part 3 — the final installment in the World’s Fair Snapshots series from this particular unknown fair attendee and photographer. To view them all, you can go pack to Part 1 here and Part 2 over here. If you’re into candid World’s Fair stuff you can also check out these four color shots sent in from World’s Fair historian and authority Bill Cotter. He’s literally written books on the subject. Enjoy.

Ringling Brothers Circus at Memorial Stadium. Candid snapshot from the Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) #1.

Ringling Brothers Circus at Memorial Stadium. Candid snapshot from the Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) #2.

Space Needle with United States Science Pavilion below. Candid snapshot from the Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) #3.

The original International Fountain, designed by Hideki Shimizu and Kazuyuki Matsushita. Candid snapshot from the Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) #4.

Looking up toward the Space Needle. Candid snapshot from the Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) #5.

Past Post: Third And Pike 1947

October 22nd, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Past Post | 2 Comments » border

It was 1947 and Rosina was moving. So she mailed Mrs Smith from Phillipsburg, NJ a postcard showing Third and Pike. She didn’t have a whole lot to say, mostly smalltalk, the weather, etc. On the right you can see the old F.W. Woolworth Building (now Ross). Click on the postcard thumbnail for the full version.

Hello Dear, Am moving so please write me address below. Weather still lovely. Warm days & cool nights. Hope you are well and doing allright these days. Write soon — Regards — Rosina Patricelli, 1112 Yakima Ave., Seattle, 44, Wn.

Third Avenue and Pike, Seattle, Wash. 2B-H347.

Postcard sent to Mrs. Rodge L. Smith of Phillipsburg, NJ August 21, 1947.

Erecting The Needle Pt. 2

October 21st, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 3 Comments » border

Earlier this month when we started Part 1 of the Erecting The Needle series, concrete was being poured and leg pedestals were being bolted down. Worked progressed through the Summer of 1961. Each double-column leg was made of three massive steel I beams joined at the edges. These beams were three feet wide and seventeen inches across the flanged sides. The steel would weigh 300 pounds per foot — some as many as 90 feet long. All told (with fittings), each column was to weigh more than 90,000 pounds. Check out the photos below and click on the thumbnails for larger versions. Don’t forget to check out Part 1 of this Erecting The Needle feature, if you haven’t already. [see also: Part 3, Part 4]

Excuse Me, Do You Have The Times?

October 20th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads | 1 Comment » border

Today’s vintage ad comes from the 1918 Argus. The Seattle Times used the Times Building from 1915 until 1931 (when they moved into their current home in South Lake Union featured here). Architecture firm Bebb and Gould designed the terra-cotta beauty as Times circulation rocketed to around 70,000. The newspaper was bought in 1896 by Col. A.J. Blethen (see his house here) and his descendants still own a majority of the paper today.

Times Printing Company of Seattle. Times Building, times Square. Joseph Blethen, President. C.B. Blethen, Editor-in-Chief. The Argus, 1918.

House O The Week: 731 16th Ave

October 18th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | No Comments » border

Recently while helping out Historic Seattle with a landmark nomination presentation, I found myself with a huge collection of house photos used as neighborhood “historic relevance.” It gave me the idea to highlight here on VS those houses that aren’t for sale (and tour-able) but are worth noting. So I’ll just call it “House O The Week” and keep it informal on weekends. First up is 731 16th Ave located in Squire Park. Yeah, I know I’ve been over-representing the CD — but hey, it’s where I used to live so I have all sorts of back-photos. This 2 bed, 1 bath, 2070 sq ft home was built in 1904. The low-pitched symmetrical hipped roof, front entry, and wide porch put this one squarely in the Prairie Box category (a style indigenous to America popular from roughly 1900 to 1920). Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo.

731 16th Ave in Seattle’s Squire Park Neighborhood. Photographed head on.

731 16th Ave in Seattle’s Squire Park Neighborhood. Photographed from the southern side.

Doric Motor Hotel

October 17th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure | 3 Comments » border

Meet the Doric Sixth Avenue Motor Hotel, built 1958. It’s fairly unusual to find a motel like this smack dab in the middle of downtown Seattle. It was designed by Bellevue architectural firm Lindahl and Bacon and when constructed replaced a parking lot, car dealership, and a gas station. The building is still around and still in use as a motel (now the Sixth Avenue Inn) — the most obvious differences being the blue color and mansard style roof. Check out the Department of Neighborhoods listing for the modern day shot. One last thing… it had a “drive-in lobby” — that’s rad.

Doric 6th Avenue Motor Hotel. 2000 6th Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. 175 Modern Units — TV’s, Radios, Drive-In Lobby and ample covered parking. Automatic Elevators, 24 hour desk service, automatic dial phones, heated swimming pool, ROD & REEL Restaurant and Lounge. 2 blocks from Downtown shopping center and Monorail Terminal. Seattle’s most conveniently located downtown Motor Hotel.

Manufacturers’ Building Plans

October 16th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 5 Comments » border

I’ll concede to RPH and Derek that not all early 20th century buildings need necessarily be kept around forever. On the other hand… though they were designed for specific show functions and not intended themselves to be around for all that long, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition buildings are pretty breath-taking. I just posted this print a few days ago and these postcards a few months ago. The Manufacturers’ Building was torn down in 1918 as the University of Washington Campus grew. If nothing else, this architectural print deserves to be printed out, matted, and framed. Click on the images for high-res goodness.

Update: Ben Lukoff asked in the comments about why these buildings were taken down. I forwarded his question on to local historian Alan Stein of HistoryLink. Here is his response:

Only four buildings were specifically funded, designed, and constructed to be permanent. The Fine Arts building (which is now the Architecture Building), the Auditorium (which became Meany Hall, but had to be torn down after the 1964 earthquake) the Machinery Building (which lasted until 1957) and the Power House (which still stands today). Most of the other buildings — especially the big ones around the main court — were planned to be temporary, constructed of staff — a mixture of plaster, cement, and straw.

After the fair closed, the University saved some of the non-permanent buildings, which were then shored up and put into service. Some only lasted a few years, others for decades. The Woman’s Building lasted all this time, and is now Cunningham Hall. During our research, we were surprised to find out that the humble little Michigan Club Building still survices as the Physical Plant Office Building. It’s been heavily remodelled and enlarged, but it’s still there.

Alan Stein
Via E-mail
10/18/08

Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, Manufacturers’ Building, court and Bering Avenue elevations architectural drawings. Designed by W. Sommerville and Joseph Cote, 1907. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division.

Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, Manufacturers’ Building, end elevation and transverse section architectural drawings. Designed by W. Sommerville and Joseph Cote, 1907. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division.