Picked this one up the o ther day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crackdog/5153038438

The back of the photo reads:

Where we live.
115 Belleview (sic) Ave North
Seattle, Wash.

I recognized the location right away and was surprised to see that it had not changed much at all in 90 years. Both the apartment building and the house in the background have managed to survive.

Here’s a present day image I just took today:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crackdog/5166176780/

-Allen

Hi Jess-

You know I was quite young when the Olive Studio closed down, I’d say in the mid 1970s. I can’t say what exact year. There were studios are Southcenter, Northgate, etc and they remained after the one on Olive closed down.

It was called Kennell-Ellis because Kennell was my grandpa’s name and Ellis was my grandma’s name. They were active travelers and did these extensive slide shows of their travels to faraway places. They showed to publicize their business and encourage others to explore the world. They were in Bali in the early 1950s and have these extensive slide shows of Egypt, India, etc. They were quite well-known around the city for their civic involvement and their wandering natures, at a time few people were traveling so far and wide.

The studio photography business used to be so vital to society and that changed with the changing technology and everyone taking snap shots. I have fished out a photos of their first studio in Colfax taken in 1919, exterior with Earl and Irene Kennell standing by their car out front, and the interior. It might be fun to put that with the other photo. The fancier photo is the interior of the studio on Olive taken in 1938 with Earl and Irene Kennell behind the counter, so that one was not taken by my family but rather one of their “artists.” That Olive Way Studio was south, just down the street, from the original Ward Family “El Gaucho” restaurant.

When I go into the homes of old Seattle families I see that their wedding photo on display or children’s graduation photos were taken by Kennell Ellis and the 20% of Seattle residents that were born in the city relate my last name to that business in a snap. They did early early hand-colored photos and they are still fun to see. I am the keeper of the family photos and I’ve scanned many of them, you can imagine what an archive they have. They were both born in Washington so they have a treasure trove of photos for instance of Armistice Day etc.

[...]

All the best,
Kristin Kennell

This is a photo of our family’s business that was at 616 Olive Way for many years just around the corner from the old Fredrick and Nelson’s. They had several studios in downtown Seattle and many regionally around the PNW, naturally in the age when people dressed up to have their pictures taken and when fewer people had photo capabilities at home. I thought you’d enjoy this photo. I am still digging for older ones of Seattle in the early days. Stay tuned.

Thanks for your website,
Kristin Kennell