The Seattle Times had a great article today in the NW Weekend Section on “A Self-Guided Tour Through Seattle History”. One of the stops is Oliver’s at the Mayflower Park Hotel and we thought we’d share a little history of this corner of our hotel at 4th & Olive Way. From 1929 until 1946 it was the location of Bartell Drug Store #13. From 1949 until 1974 it was the popular Carousel Room. Oliver’s opened in 1976 and continues to be a Seattle favorite. Anyone remember going to the Soda Fountain in Bartell Drug Store #13 or having a Paul Bunyan Hamburger at the Carousel Room? We’d love to hear your stories…
Audrey McCombs
Human Resources Director
Mayflower Park Hotel
Via E-Mail 4/1/2010
Audrey McCombs
Human Resources Director
Mayflower Park Hotel
Via E-Mail 4/1/2010
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| Carousel Room, Mayflower Park Hotel. |
The waitress is Marian Faulkner. She and her husband, Lou, had my family over for a Christmas party – My father, Howard Johnson was the manager of the Mayflower at the time, my mother, Lucy, was renamed Lucifer by Lou, and I was about 15 years old. My Mom was fully a Norwegian, making me 1/2 Norsky but Marian, not at all a Norwegian, has the honor [?] of getting me to eat my one and only bite of lutefisk.
The man being served by Marian is a Western Hotel man. [her name may have been Marion?].
No self-service in those elevators beyond the clown, a bellhop or other employee was always there to take you to your floor.
This is entirely too cool. Sure the photo looks casual with the coffee cups and salad bowls, but just out of frame are Larry Tate and Darrin Stephens blazing through a three-martini lunch, mesmerized by the Carousel…
Tangentially, I remember hearing once that Oliver’s was the first bar in the state of Washington to have windows; previously, the law had required that places that sold alcohol by the drink have no windows, I guess so the good people passing by wouldn’t see the vice going on. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it makes a good story.
DT, it is true. Oliver’s was the first daylight bar in the state of Washington. Until then Washington “Blue Laws” prohibited anyone from looking into a lounge where hard liquor was sold. With the new laws, customers could now look out on the street scene, and pedestrians could watch the bartender mxing drinks. Part of the original decor design in 1976 included cafe curtains in Oliver’s to remain in compliance with the Washington State Blue Laws, however, they were never installed because just before Oliver’s opened in June of 1976, the blue laws changed allowing us to enjoy the full vusual enjoyment of the city scene at 4th & Olive.
Bev, we at the Mayflower Park Hotel would love for you to contact us and share your memories of the Carousel Room and other aspects of our hotel. We are amazed you remember the names of the Server’s.
Do you remember when the Front Desk was directly across from the elevators……….do you have any pictures by chance? We have yet to meet someone with that recollection.
Our records indicate that your father, Howard Johnson, was our General Manager from September, 1955 until December 1959.
I hope to hear from you!
Oh, yes I remember that front desk in that dark alcove, leading towards ??? Well I was too young to go into the Carousel Room. We had moved from Vancouver, B.C. where Dad was one of two assistant mgrs of the Georgia Hotel, the only hotel in Western Hotels chain that was “international”. With later additions, of course, they changed their name to Westin – Western International.
My father had the Mayflower always fly both an American and a Canadian flag, since that was part of the clientele he was encouraging.
For my part, one great “beni” was to always have a 3rd storey window seat to watch the Seafair Parade!
Also, the U of Oregon Ducks were coming to play the Huskies [football] and staying at the Mayflower – mmm, maybe 1954 or 5? and Daddy asked me to make duck “cartoons” to put up in the lobby – my ducks looked a lot like bathtub yellow rubber duckies – I was too young and didn’t know that their mascot looked like Donald Duck! I did meet some of the players and they were gracious about my gaffe! I was so young and so impressed and I’m pretty sure they secretly thought “dumb kid!”.
Another time there was a large group coming from Alaska and I made cutesy, simplistic Inuit [then called Eskimos] to hang in the Carousel Room.
As for the Faulkners, they were family friends – my Mom was a waitress at The Turf on 2nd and Union [?], and probably knew Marian through Union stuff. They also lived about a mile from us out in North Seattle.
my email is bev@dickhawes.net
Lots of things to love in this pic.
That clown and those monkeys creep me right out.
The salads that that couple are getting are crazy! How you gonna eat that? It is one giant piece of lettuce and half a tomato!
I think the gentleman being served by Marian was perhaps a Mr. Dupar, whose daughter or granddaughter is now a caterer/restaurateur in Redmond?
And more and more I’m thinking her name was Marion Faulkner.
B.
Dupar was one of the big wheels at Western/Westin – there used to be a Dupar meeting room in the south tower (formerly known as the Washington Plaza) of the Westin Hotel. (They changed the name to Westin when they demolished the old Ben Franklin Hotel, and put the north tower in)
It would be great to see an entry dedicated to the Western/Westin company. They were based out of Seattle until 1999 or thereabouts, and ran the Olympic, the Ben Franklin, the Washington Plaza, the Mayflower, and a few others – as well as their other non-Seattle properties. They were owned by United Airlines for a time (which is why the old UAL building connects with the Westin Building) and had the food franchise at the Space Needle for many years.
I worked at the Seattle Westin in the late ’80′s – early ’90′s, and it was a class act back then: Palm Court, Fitzgerald’s, Champer’s Market Cafe, Trader Vic’s – all gone now.
When I was a little kid, whenever we went by the Carousel Room I always wanted to go there, but instead I had to settle for the Carousel Drive-In on the NW corner of Denny & Aurora.
I’ll always remember the Mayflower Park my for nearly being assaulted by the chef there, a pinheaded Michael McDonald lookalike.