VintageSeattle.org

On my way into work this morning, I noticed that the old 60’s marina style Bellevue Safeway has just three days of business left before the new monstrosity next door opens up. Very soon it’ll be rubble, with a new tower rising in its wake. Of course that type of thing happens all the time in Bellevue, but surely not in Seattle, right? Well, wrong. The older (and I’d argue, more architecturally interesting) Deano’s Grocery at 2040 E Madison St is about to make way for a new apartment building. Check out this disappointing piece from the Seattle Times. Not a mention of how this building could be re-purposed — just full speed ahead with how quickly can it be torn down. I beat the wrecking ball to the site this past weekend and snapped these photos. Have a look, and enjoy the architecture while it lasts.

Deano’s Grocery at the corner of E Madison and E Denny Way.	South face of the building, fenced up and prepped for demolition.
East face of the building.	Back side view revealing roof parapet.
Close-up of store entrance.	West face of the building.
Showing entrance and east face.	Further down the east face.

The next time someone you know asks what’s so special about Seattle (and doesn’t it rain there, like, every day?)… you may want to whip out this ad from the 1914 Cosmogram. Tell ‘em Seattle has the most equitable climate. Tell ‘em about the twenty miles of Boulevards. Tell ‘em its death rate was 8.37 per thousand. Tell ‘em Seattle has the lowest rate of illiteracy of any city. Tell ‘em it’s the City of Destiny ™. Just don’t tell ‘em about the Mariners.

Seattle — The City Of Destiny. The New York of the Pacific and the Home Port of Alaska — WHY? The Cosmogram, 1914.

Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Bill Stein of the 1981 Mariners. He played major league ball from 1972 until 1985 with the Cardinals, White Sox, Mariners, and Rangers. According to his Baseball-Reference.com entry, Stein played every position except except pitcher, catcher, and center field. The utility man retired from baseball in 1994 and currently lives in Texas. Click!

Bill Stein, Seattle Mariners, 3rd Base, Topps, 1981.

I’ve always been interested in vintage uniforms, especially baseball uni’s. Don’t ask me how much time and money I’ve spent over the years putting together a fairly large collection of old MLB uniforms. Right now they’re sitting in boxes upstairs, but someday I’d love to devote a website to them and all old uniforms. Hmm. Until then, get a load of these Queen Anne High School uniforms from the 1952 yearbook. Think those basketball shorts would fly these days? These were the only sports that earned a full size action shot in the ‘52 annual. Those that didn’t make the cut: track, golf, tennis, skiing, and “yell teams.” I can see all you former yell team alumni, well, yelling.

Queen Anne High School Basketball. Grizzly, 1952.

Queen Anne High School Football. Grizzly, 1952.

Queen Anne High School Baseball. Grizzly, 1952.

I give you: The Leschi Park Pavilion. This mammoth building was opened in 1890 by John Cort as a terminus of the Yesler Ave cable car line. At the time, Leschi Park was a an amusement area with a zoo, casino, bandstand, gardens, and boathouse. The pavilion, mainly used for dancing, was popular up until the 1920’s when it started to deteriorate. In 1929 a smaller brick building was constructed and the pavilion was destroyed a year later. Give the images a look.

Pavilion Leschi Park, Seattle, Washington. Edward H. Mitchell, Publisher, San Francisco.

Postcard sent May 1905 to New York.

Way back in 1896, Seattle donated 703 acres of what is now Discovery Park to the Government for construction of Fort Lawton. It was originally envisioned as an artillery battery protecting Puget Sound from naval attack. During World War II, more than 20,000 troops were stationed there and the base was even used to house German Prisoners of War. In 1971, 534 acres of Fort Lawton were surplussed and given back to the city of Seattle. The U.S. Army is still stationed there today, but in 2005 it was announcedthat it may close for good. Check out these 1981 photos by Paul Macapia for the Historic American Buildings Survey. The city of Seattle established The Fort Lawton Historic District in 1988.

General view taken from east. Guard House on extreme left, Quartermaster Storehouse and Office in center, Quartermaster Storehouse on extreme right, stables behind and slightly to left of Building No. 915. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Quartermaster Storehouse in foreground with stables behind and to left of Building No. 915, taken from southeast. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Double Officers Quarters, taken from northwest. Building No. 644 on left, Building No. 642 center, Building No. 640 on right. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Double NCO Quarters, taken from south. Building No. 903 is frame structure on right, Building No. 905 in center, Building No. 907 to left of Building No. 905. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
View taken from southwest. Building Nos. 733, 734 on left. Building No. 417 on right. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Parade grounds, taken from North. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Hospital. One of the earliest buildings completed on post. This structure is excluded from the district because of its alterations. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.	Fort Lawton Street Lamp & Post drawing. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Last month’s City Center Motel post had John Methot wondering if the Towne Centre Motel was what we know today as the Kings Inn Motel. Not only was John right, but the 1962 “Beautiful Seattle Offers A Plus Convention” pamphlet also contained an ad for the Towne Centre. Here it is. They both had “courtesy and consideration to the commercial traveler” and “sparkle-clean housekeeping,” but the “center” vs “centre” should tell you which was slightly more snooty. Speaking of ads, you may have noticed the Google ads to the right. This is a test to see if I can offset some material acquisition costs. At the current rate I should have everything paid off in 7 or 8 years. In other words, you may see those ads disappear quite soon. It’s not worth the bother and really, I kind of loathe website ads. Regardless, check out the Towne Centre.

Towne Centre Motel. 2106 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington. Two blocks from Frederick & Nelson and three blocks from Bon Marche, the Caravan Towne Centre Motel is considered the best located in Seattle. This new, completely modern motel has all the regular features plus many extras to make your Seattle visit most pleasant. From “Beautiful Seattle Offers A Plus Convention,” Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1962.

We’re now rolling with reader submissions. Today Dan (of the super cool Portland Buildings Ads Blog) writes in with some vintage Seattle shots of his own from March 1966. You know, back when a road trip didn’t break the bank. Give the photos a look below and click for more resolution. Thanks, Dan.

Seattle World’s Fair Grounds, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

Seattle World’s Fair Grounds, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

Seattle Panorama from Wes Seattle, March 1966. Photo courtesy Dan.

He’s a loyal Vintage Seattle reader, commenter, contributor… and he’s my neighbor. I’m speaking, of course, about Richard P. Hill. After sharing his old growth postcard in March, RPH is back. This time around he sent along this interesting piece of Seattle Times copy showing relative area real estate prices in 1978. Thanks Richard. Don’t forget that you too can share your vintage with us by e-mailing me.

Seattle Times real estate report, September 3, 1978. Courtesy Richard P. Hill.

You’ll know that you’ve hit Eastlake’s L’Amourita Apartments when you can’t hear the person next to you commenting on what a unique building it is. The roar of I-5 towering overhead is deafening, but it only takes away some of the large heap of charm at the root of this building. There are some loose Spanish Revivial style apartment complexes in Seattle, but none this intricate. L’Amourita (Spanish/French for “lovers”) was built in 1909 by investment speculator Adolph J. Jarmuth and there he lived with his family for two years. Still going strong, the building is now run as a co-op. Also check out this Flickr photo set to see a recent remodel of the interior. Looks awesome in there.

Front of the Spanish-Revival L’Amourita Apartments, looking North along Franklin Ave E.	South east corner of the lot. One of the first things you notice is the shaped parapet with coping.
South face of the building. Consistent with the Spanish Revival style is the hipped roof and buttress pier.	Closer look at the southeast section of the apartment. The red clay mission tiles are very striking.
Alternate view of the main entrance.	Looking north shows the proximity of the I-5 Bridge.
Apartment doors along the center of the building.	An archway looking south.
Circling around back to the northeast corner of the building.	The back courtyard can be reserved by co-op tenants.
Looking up at the back of the building.	A canyon formed by the courtyard entrance.

Hear that? It’s Cher belting out “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Wait, no. Damn. She’s singing that infernal “Do You Believe In Life After Love?” again! Regardless, if I could turn back time I’d try to block the demolition of this First Hill Beaux-Arts classic. We first studied this building way back in October 2007. The Perry was built in 1907 by architects Somervell and Cote, best known for their work on Saint James Cathedral, Providence Hospital, Fire Station #25, among others. Interestingly, the original entrance courtyard was enclosed in 1912 to form a lobby. You can see that original entrance below along with a floor plan, both from the July 1909 edition of Western Architect.

Hotel Perry, Seattle, Washington. Somervell and Cote, Architects. Western Architect, July 1909.

Entrance To Hotel Perry, Seattle, Washington. Somervell and Cote, Architects. Western Architect, July 1909.

Since we’re on the subjectof the A.Y.P.E., might as well stick to the U.W. grounds. This Past Post from 1910 shows Denny Hall, which opened in 1895 and is the oldest building still standing at the University. And speaking of A.Y.P.E. buildings, Ben Lukoff mentioned that they are planning on moving Cunningham Hall (originally the Women’s Building). I’m not sure I’m a fan of moving historic buildings like this — it takes away from their permanence. Of course it’s preferable to demolition, but a significant structure like this should stay put. Surely there’s somewhere else to stick a new molecular engineering building. What say you?

University Of Washington, Seattle, Wash.

The University of Washington is located on a beautiful site of 355 acres lying between Lake Union and Lake Washington. Twenty minutes from the heart of the city by street car, boat, or train. The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition will be held on these grounds in 1909.

You already know how much I love the panorama. You also know how much I love the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. So why not bring them together? This super cool 1909 panorama(o-rama), snapped by A.J. Park, may be as close as any of us will get to being there. It’s enough to make Lukoff and I cry. It’s time we started planning a second A.Y.P.E. and building even more impressive buildings, all by Pb Elemental. Ok, maybe not, but I do kinda like their stuff. Have mercy on me. Click on the thumbnail for full resolution, but beware — this thing is massive.

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition panoramic photograph, 1909. Copyright A.J. Park, August 5, 1909. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

I don’t come across a lot of 1970’s material for post here at Vintage Seattle  (well, except for tons of powder blues), so I was glad to receive this photo submission in my mailbox from Ryan Donaldson. He writes: “It is amazing to realize how much that skyline has changed and will continue to be altered.” And Ryan isn’t wrong. I’m also intrigued by the changing skyline over the years, not to mention the haunted quality of Polaroids. (soon to be gone). Give this 1979 skyline photo a once over.

Seattle skyline circa 1979. Photo courtesy Ryan Donaldson and Lucille Mroczek.

Past Postcard today is showing Denny-Blaine Park in 1912. It was originally donated to the city by Charles Denny and Elbert Blaine, the latter having served as Seattle Parks Commissioner from 1902 to 1908. If you go today you can find a stone wall that marks the original shoreline pre-1917, when Lake Washington sank nine feet due to the construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Go ahead, click on the thumbnails. Now that’s some nice calligraphy on the back — who can decode it?

1743 — A Scene in Denny-Blaine Park, Seattle, Washington.

Postcard sent to West Toledo, Ohio 1912.

Postcard detective work sent in by Gabi Campanario.