Today we have the fourth and final installment of Vintage Seattle reader Jana Robertson’
s 1978 photos of downtown Seattle. See Pt. 1
here, Pt. 2
here, and Pt. 3
here. The full set of Jana’s photos are available on Picasa
over here, including some not seen here. Be sure to thank Jana in the comments for sharing these great photos.
Of course, don’t forget that you too can share your old Seattle themed images by hitting the
submit page. Click on the thumbnails for higher res.
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| Woman walking. Facing north on 3rd Ave. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Old Timer’s Cafe. Chaumet Jewelry and Gift Shoppe. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Woman looking into display, with Nordstrom purchases. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Women walking along 102 Occidental. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| 1st Ave. and Yesler Way. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Shorey’s Bookstore and Hancock Building and Sound Printing. 110 Union St. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Winchell’s Donuts, Burt’s Shoes. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
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| Man holding baby. 1978. Photo courtesy Jana Robertson. |
Love the prominent Texas Instruments calculator display on the counter in the last photo. I loved those fat calculators!
And, Shannon, lest we forget the TI Speak N’ Spell that was used for Kraftwerk’s vocals on their Computer World album.
I’m fondly reminded of Shorey’s Bookstore, where I spent hours perusing the multiple floors. Here’s a bit from the 2007 obituary on it’s owner:
Shorey’s was founded by newspaperman Sam Shorey in 1890 as a small magazine and cigar store at Third and James. John W. Todd Jr. bought the store in 1939 at the age of 25, after looking for a new business opportunity from the desperation of the Dakotas in the Dust Bowl. He quickly built up the store’s stock with more than 1 million volumes.
“He wanted it to be a huge bookstore, or do something else at a young age,” said Jim Todd, who followed in his father’s footsteps at the bookstore and took over as manager in the late 1980s.
Shorey’s maintained its huge inventory even though the store had to move several times during its history. It left its second location at Third and Marion for larger quarters at First and Union in 1975, a move that John W. Todd Jr. likened to “emptying the Pacific Ocean with a spoon.”
loving these shots mate – fantastic collection.
The man holding the baby is about to be attacked by Darth Vader! His lightsaber is already drawn.
Thanks for sharing all of these Jana!
One of my favorite sources for pre-gentrified Seattle pictures is
http://www.cysewski.com/seattleweb/
Lots of neighborhood and downtown shots from the 70′s. Reminds me of taking the 210 to 2nd and Pike way, way back in the early 80′s. Can you believe that 2nd and Pike used to be sorty of sleazy?
those sleezy areas gave the streets character ! I rememeber when 1st ave. was filled with wine’nos and the misfortunate ,then “sad to say” they cleaned up 1st ave and the riffraff moved up town LOL…..you will never get rid of the riffraff becuzz every town has a 1st ave. THANK GOD!
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