VintageSeattle.org

The condos inside the historic Queen Anne High School building have now been on the market since 2006. There are at least 3 units still floating around for a whopping $450 to $700 / square foot. “Own a piece of history” they always say, well, if you’ve got the cash. This magnificent Beaux-Arts beauty was built in 1909, with significant additions in 1929 and 1955. After the school was shuttered in the early 1980’s it was sold to developers for use as apartments. In 2006 the condo market came a callin’ and still calls here in 2009. Here’s a 1940 shot. Click for higher res.

Queen Anne High School, 1940. Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection .

0h em gee the tea cup woman is back! Ok not really, but the scene does look suspiciously similar to the now infamous tea cup woman’s. Same photo shoot, perhaps. This time we’ve got “despondent woman” — in the process of being shouted down, shushed, or both. Let’s see — harsh shadows? Check. Harsh light? Yap. A harsh man? Certainly. Click to study.

Dinner atop the Space Needle, Seattle, Washington. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc.

But not just any “Roman Catholic Cathedral”… St. James Cathedral. Just posted a profile tour last week — but let’s pile on anyway. The stately home on the right is long gone. Clickit clickit.

Roman Catholic Cathedral. Seattle.

Rumors are swirling over at the Slog about the Pacific Science Center closing in February due to insurmountable debt. An update refutes it, but we can agree that the PSC has seen better days. So, we look back to the glory days. These 1962 snapshots are a compliment to this original post. Click for higher res.

The U.S. Science Pavilion arches, designed by Minoru Yamasaki. 1962 The Craftsman Press, Seattle.

The U.S. Science Pavilion arches, designed by Minoru Yamasaki. 1962 The Craftsman Press, Seattle.

Reader submission time! Allen sends in this photo and is looking for additional information. Can anyone help? Take it away, Allen:

Taken by the firm of Webster & Stevens in Seattle, in the very early 1900s. The car is covered in mud and is stocked with supplies. Unsure of meaning but could probably be a cross country race. Webster and Stevens are well known photographers of historical Seattle images. They were the official photographers for the Seattle Times from1903 to 1946(?). The Seattle Times was located at 1402 2nd ave. The paper moved into a new building in 1916. The building pictured here has long since been demolished. This address is now a Thai restaurant.

Past Post today takes us back to 1911 for this tinted graph of First and Highland, Queen Anne. Our trusty Google street view shows that the house on the left is alive and well. Two of the three homes in the distance are also still kicking (one became a pretty horrendous mid-rise). I guess three out of four “ain’t bad.” Click for higher res and have a good weekend.

First Avenue North and Highland Drive.

Postcard sent June 1911 to Ellensburg, Washington.

You don’t have to be a (wo)man of God to appreciate one of First Hill’s, h***, one of Seattle’s great architectural treasures. I am of course talking about St. James Cathedral at 804 9th Ave. Bishop Edward J. O’Dea hired architectural firm Heins and LaFarge to design the grand structure in 1904. The cornerstone was placed in 1905 and the cathedral opened on December 22, 1907. The original 40-foot central dome crashed to the floor in 1916 after heavy snow, but no one was hurt. Divine intervention? Well, maybe if the dome hadn’t crashed to the floor. Anyway, St. James is now a designated city landmark. Click on the thumbnails for higher res photos.

St. James Cathedral from 9th Ave, built 1907 and designed by Heins and LaFarge.	Alternate angle from Terry Ave.
The towers of St. James are 167 feet high.	North side of the cruciform structure.
West entrance. The large bronze doors were designed in 1999 by Ulrich Henn.	The view, once you step inside from the west.
Looking back toward the west entrance.	In 1994 the altar was moved to the center of the assembly and skylight added. The central dome collapsed in 1916 under the weight of snow.
Interior courtyard.	Back face of the cathedral.

Past Post today shows Hotel Stevens. Beautiful building, but I can’t find what happened to it. Anyone have any idea when this one was torn down? UW Digital Collections has this photo and present day view is here. In September of 1908, the author writes:

Hotel Stevens, Seattle. Postcard sent September 24, 1908.

Today Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. In the summer of 1923, Seattle had a six-hour visit from President Warren Harding. During this cross-country “Voyage of Understanding,” he became the first President to visit Alaska. Vintage Seattle reader Jana Robertson wrote in with this snapshot, from her husband’s Grandmother, showing Harding on parade route through Seattle. That same day Harding made the last speech of his life at the University of Washington Stadium before dying of either a heart attack or a stroke the next month. Thanks for the submission, Jana.

President Harding in Seattle. July 27, 1923. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson.

With it being Martin Luther King Jr. Day I thought we could go back into the Seattle Municipal Archives to get some local perspective. These 1964 photos show a Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sponsored protest of the Lake City and Aurora offices of Picture Floor Plans Inc after a May 1963 investigation found it had discriminated against non-white buyers. Click here for an in-depth narrative of the Seattle Open Housing Campaign from 1959-1968. And click on the thumbnails for more resolution.

CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) sponsored demonstration at realtor office of Picture Floor Plans, Inc. May 1964. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives. .

CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) sponsored demonstration at realtor office of Picture Floor Plans, Inc. May 1964. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) sponsored demonstration at realtor office of Picture Floor Plans, Inc. May 1964. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

Todays Past Post shows the Seattle waterfront in the early part of the century. Not the most exciting card ever, but I do like the angle from which it was shot — very near the water line presumably from a small boat. It kind of gives the city a dark and foreboding look. Well, anyway, we can at least play “guess the year” based on the buildings.

Water Front, Seattle, Washington.

I’m not trying to pile onto Judkins Park here — I really do like the neighborhood (I once considered moving there). But… here’s what you’ll find literally across the street from this unfortunate mess. At first, you’re thinking “Ok, a tasteful modern piece of new-construction, I can live with that.” (photo #1) Then as you continue down the street: “Wait, what the… they’re attached?” (photo #2) Call me crusty, but I’m not a fan. Click for the higher-res versions.

Modern addition in Judkins Park.

Original portion of home built 1904 with 1140 square feet, 2 bed, 1.5 bath.

Since Litlnemo, Alan Stein, and Paul Dorpat were so kind to help us out yesterday, I’m raising another question today. These four photos are from the Seattle Municipal Archives showing Collins Playfield and Field House. The question is: where was it (CD?) and what happened to it? Click on the thumbnails to have a closer look.

Collins Field House, with Ben Evans’ first automobile, 1917. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

Collins Playfield [Field House interior] Game Room, 1915. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

Collins Field House. 135 lb football team, city champs. Nobi Kawa, second row on left, 1950. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

Children wading, Collins Playfield. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives.

This 1910 postcard, blithely captioned “A Seattle Home,” might make dwellers of any other city think that here in Seattle we have mansions on every corner and we’re just giving them away. Does anyone recognize this home? There’s an address listed in the upper right corner but it must have been that of the writer (both locations in the CD and Capitol Hill don’t seem to correlate). Edward writes, with regret:

No. 1358. A Seattle Home.

Postcard sent September 10, 1910.

Spent some time this weekend giving the site a quick 2009 spitshine: updated color scheme and header image. Let me know if you find any problems. This 1912 photo of Lake Union from high is a companion piece to this Capitol Hill shot. Speaking of Lake Union, it looks like the last remnants of the Brace Sawmill are being SLU’ed (not sure what that means? Read this). I’m in favor of leaving a couple pilings. Click for higher res.

Looking west across Lake Union. Photo by Webster & Stevens. The Argus, 1912.