Old Commodore Hotel Ghost Signs
November 3rd, 2008 @ 12:17 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure
Vintage Seattle reader Shannon Callin (who runs her own blog Mouse In The Sauce) writes in with this excellent photo of some old ghost signs uncovered a few years ago. The signs, in excellent condition, were exposed when the Crystal Pool Natatorium site at Second and Lenora was being turned into condos in 2003. Check out the bird’s eye view map and you can see the old Crystal Pool facade (with condo growing out of it) and the Commodore next door. Huge thanks to Shannon for digging this up and sending it in. She writes:
So, this was taken around September/October 2003. The building that was knocked down (with only the historic facade left) was the old Crystal Pool Natatorium, which was built around the turn of the last century, on 2nd Ave & Lenora. Decades later, the pool was morphed into a temple until the condo craze hit downtown. The site is now retail with condos, built around the facade that they were required to leave in place. It’s amazing how difficult it is to find any history on the Crystal Pool. There’s only one photo I could dig up:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-desmo/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/imlsmohai&CISOPTR=1377&CISOBOX=1&REC=1
The wall that the ads were painted on belonged to the Commodore Hotel, which was built in 1909, I believe. And again, very hard to find info on this building too. Now it’s gone or been gutted and the original address, 2013 2nd Ave., doesn’t even exist on the King County Tax Parcel website. The Inn at Pike Place now owns it and has changed the address, so there is no history showing on that parcel. Frustrating!
I know the Seattle Times ran a story about these wall ads when they were uncovered because it was so cool and unusual. I looked in the Seattle Times archives around those two months and found nothing, though. I was hoping to get some background there. I did find this one piece of info about these wall ads, from Metafilter:
http://www.metafilter.com/28813/Ghost-Signs
So, that’s as much history as I could dig up. Maybe you’ll be more successful! In any case, it’s nice to know that these cool old ads are still on that wall today, covered up and preserved. At least, I hope they are–haven’t been to that intersection of downtown since I stopped working downtown in February. If the old Commodore Hotel has been completely knocked down, then the ads are gone. Which would be sad.
Shannon Callin
Via E-Mail
11/1/2008
http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-desmo/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/imlsmohai&CISOPTR=1377&CISOBOX=1&REC=1
The wall that the ads were painted on belonged to the Commodore Hotel, which was built in 1909, I believe. And again, very hard to find info on this building too. Now it’s gone or been gutted and the original address, 2013 2nd Ave., doesn’t even exist on the King County Tax Parcel website. The Inn at Pike Place now owns it and has changed the address, so there is no history showing on that parcel. Frustrating!
I know the Seattle Times ran a story about these wall ads when they were uncovered because it was so cool and unusual. I looked in the Seattle Times archives around those two months and found nothing, though. I was hoping to get some background there. I did find this one piece of info about these wall ads, from Metafilter:
http://www.metafilter.com/28813/Ghost-Signs
So, that’s as much history as I could dig up. Maybe you’ll be more successful! In any case, it’s nice to know that these cool old ads are still on that wall today, covered up and preserved. At least, I hope they are–haven’t been to that intersection of downtown since I stopped working downtown in February. If the old Commodore Hotel has been completely knocked down, then the ads are gone. Which would be sad.
Shannon Callin
Via E-Mail
11/1/2008
 |
| Uncovered ghost signs on the Commodore Hotel, Second and Virginia circa 2003. Photo courtesy Shannon Callin. |
November 3rd, 2008 @ 12:23 am
Looks like the Commodore is pretty smutty. Check out the reviews.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60878-d224833-Reviews-Commodore_Hotel-Seattle_Washington.html
November 3rd, 2008 @ 8:15 am
Great article! In doing some quick searching for what the Crystal Pool building looks like now (Cristalla Condos), I was able to find a second picture of the old building. It shows the Commodore Hotel next door, too:
http://stroupeblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/cristalla-pool.jpg
Source: http://stroupecondoblog.com/2008/01/10/cristalla-2033-2nd-ave-seattle-wa-98121/
November 3rd, 2008 @ 10:21 am
Where have I seen that Albers sign before?
There’s a pretty cool faded-sign pool at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fadedsignage/pool/
November 3rd, 2008 @ 10:38 am
The Commodore is/was very seedy! I set foot in there once to say hi to a friend of a friend who worked the front desk many years back. He said it was chaos that day because the owner was busy having him shred all sorts of financial documents and there were to be “no questions asked.” Heh!
Maybe I’ll submit this photo to that pool. Thanks, Ben! And thanks for posting this, Cliffe!
November 3rd, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Long after it was a pool, there was a church on this site that I heard about on a crime tour of Seattle.. The pastor made off with all the money and his secretary one day. His name was Brother (something or other). He had a radio shoe too. He did background checks on his flock and when the collection plate came around, he’d say to some members things like, “I know you can afford more than that.”
November 4th, 2008 @ 1:01 am
So how does one sign up the for the “crime tour of Seattle”? Sounds neat.
November 6th, 2008 @ 10:03 pm
http://www.privateeyetours.com/
I’ve taken the Queen Anne and Capitol Hill tours. Both are very interesting! Especially if you have lived in or around these areas like I have. I learned that I lived a block away from a horrible crime that happened 20 + years before. I also learned that I have been in Ted Bundy’s bedroom. No joke! A relative rented a house that he had lived in while he was at UW and their bedroom was his, supposedly. I took these tours about 5 years ago or so. If anyone reading this is interested in true crime and Seattle history, take his tour.
November 10th, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
Wow, I remember these! I kept meaning to take pictures before the new condo was constructed, but never did. I’m glad to know I wasn’t the only one who found them to be interesting.
March 11th, 2009 @ 10:52 am
Actually, it was Todd’s comment that interested me. I’d picked up an airline magazine which had Ted Bundy’s address in it — just down the street from where I lived at the time, but I don’t remember any more if it was north or south of Ravenna Blvd. Any chance to ask? Thanks.