Downtown Seattle 1978 Pt. 1
April 15th, 2009 @ 12:49 am by Cliffe | Sorted Photo Exposure
Well, bless. Reader Jana Robertson e-mailed me with word of some photos she’d taken around the city during Christmas 1978. Here are a number of them, with more to come later. Thanks for sharing, Jana! Click for higher res.
 |
| Myer’s Music; 1206 1st AVE; Seattle, WA. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
 |
| Herfy’s Hamburbers, Burts Shoes. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
 |
| 122 Jackson St. Herman and Blumenthal. Sportcaster America’s Finest Jackets. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
 |
| “Meet Father Christmas in Pioneer Square - Seattle’s oldest Shopping Center.” “United States Post Office”. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
 |
| 701 2nd AVE, Seattle, WA. “Olympic Torch”. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
April 15th, 2009 @ 9:18 am
I love these, all chock full of humans. I especially like the first one, how the guy seems to be hoping to be invisible by looking down and yet becomes the nt visual element in a photo stuffed with bright shiny objects. Brilliant.
Also love how the shot down Cherry Lane is “blocked” by the woman waiting to cross. You can almost see her expression…squinting maybe, burdened a little by the weight of whatever she’s holding in her right hand — a shopping bag? a child’s hand ? There’s something really tender and intimate about that photo. I don’t think I’ve ever had the courage to shoot right through and into people like this. Wonderful photos.
Note for those out of town: they’ve recently put up a clothy exterior around much of the parking garage in shot 2. It used to be a great spot for getting good views and photos.
April 15th, 2009 @ 10:42 am
This was a field trip for my high school photography class. I think being a teenager and “being on assignment” made me think it was okay to take anyone’s and everyone’s photo. I don’t think I would have the guts now! We shot in black and white since we could buy it in bulk from the school and develop it ourselves. I’m sure at the time I found them boring as B&W but now I think I can see more detail without all the color distractions.
Because I’ve enjoyed this website so much, I recalled taking these photos and felt obsessed to find them. Thank-you, Jess for the incentive. Most of these I had only seen three decades ago as minis on contact sheets so it was a bit of a thrill for me to see them big.
April 15th, 2009 @ 11:05 am
A Herfy’s downtown? Awesome.
April 15th, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
A few minutes ago I walked past the storefront visible in the first photo and got a little electric shock in my head when I realized…”hey, this is that!” I should have recognized it earlier from the way the window to the left of the door is at an angle but the one to the right is square. Sadly, this is a Money Mart now. The building nextdoor, just visible at the right edge, is gone now and there’s a tiny playground for local kids.
April 15th, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
If you haven’t before, you should check out Stephen Cysewski’s photos of Seattle from a similar vintage:
http://www.cysewski.com/seattleweb/
April 16th, 2009 @ 6:51 am
The vacnat lot with kids playground was there back in the 70s, I believe. I remember it had a gazebo whose roof was entirely covered with Coke cans. Or was that the early ’80s?
April 16th, 2009 @ 8:26 am
Will, thanks for linking up to that website! Those are amazing to see. Seattle was so much grittier back then. Also fun to see a photo of the record store I used to work in 15 years prior!
April 16th, 2009 @ 8:44 am
In that now-vacant lot immediately south of the music shop / Money Mart, there was a multi-story brick building (not sure how tall). It housed Empire Loans at 1204, and the Anchor Inn tavern at 1202, which anchored the northern corner of the First and Seneca intersection. This building lasted through at least the 1969-70ish.
The music store at 1206 First Ave. is noteworthy because it is said to be where Al Hendrix bought Jimi his first guitar. Too bad they painted over the mural of Jimi that was up in the 1990s back when it was a pawn shop.
April 16th, 2009 @ 9:08 am
Gavin,
Yes, my bad. I mistook the mass at the right side of the photo for a separate building, but I checked this morning and that’s just the outer edge of the music shop/Money Mart. If the shot was wider I assume we would see the empty lot there.
Will,
Yes. A wonderful site. Thank you for that link. There are great shots there of the Savoy standing next to the Brooklyn, before WaMu tower replaced the former, and lots of other goodies. I didn’t get through all the treasures there.
April 16th, 2009 @ 9:30 am
Nice pics, Jana!
Will, I was just about to recommend Stephen’s site. Amazing photos!
Has anyone seen the 1987 David Mamet movie “House of Games”? There is a scene that takes place in a Western Union office on First Avenue. I always thought it was the shop at 1206-1st Ave., but maybe it was at a slightly different address at the time. Anyone know?
There used to be so many loan/pawn shops downtown. And then there were those “passport” shops, where us high school kids used to get our fake ID’s!
April 17th, 2009 @ 11:58 pm
I’m sure someone has probably posted this before, but there’s a restaurant in Wallingford called Bluestar on Stone Way that features vintage Seattle photos and news clippings from all eras as the artwork. It’s worth eating there for the food but the pics are a huge treat. Many shots are 80s north Seattle. I wonder if the owners would consider scanning the photos and placing them here…? Many should see their collection.
July 5th, 2009 @ 6:32 pm
Great photos! Now I wish they were of photos along 3rd Avenue between Srping and Union Streets as that is where the Bogardus Building stood until it was torn down for the bus tunnel and the Benaroya Hall. My maiden name was Bogardus and I am trying to find out if that building belonged to my family as my grandfather was in real estate and owned a good deal of Auroa Avenue land as well as land in White Center and Burien. My Dad’s family lived along Lake Burien.