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Old Ballard?s Portland Building
2008-05-14 10:33:00 If you’ve ever found yourself wandering down historic Ballard Ave then you’ve probably noticed this building. Over the years it has gone by many names: The Portland Building , The Buffalo, The Cedars, among others. Since it was built in 1901, it has housed dry good stores, drug stores, JC Penney, and a hotel upstairs. A ...
Past Post: The Last Seattle Public Library
2008-05-13 10:27:00 I wanted to make a quick Past Post thanking Carol Lo and Heather McLeland-Wieser of the Seattle Public Library for contacting me recently offering to aid in blog research. They also run a Seattle Public Library blog called Shelf Talk, so give them a look. I thought it was appropriate to check out an old ...
Seattle, The Nation?s Most Beautiful City Pt. 3
2008-05-12 19:52:00 Welcome to the third installment of our look at the 1961 pamphlet “Seattle , The Nation ?s Most Beautiful City ”! Thanks again to John Chilson of Lost Oregon (formerly Stumptown Confidential, which was all lost due to a hosting problem) for sending it to me. This time ’round we’ve got aerial shots of Rainier, Lake Washington Ship ... More About: The Nation
Me Gusta El Blog De Gabi Campanario
2008-05-11 09:56:00 A very cool new blog popped up recently from Seattle Times illustrator and Vintage Seattle reader Gabi Campanario, El Blog De Gabi Campanario. Gabi has been posting some really awesome sketches and I especially loved the House That Got Away feature. Also check out his Fairview Home sketch (I profiled the homes here) and the ...
Player O The Week: Enrique Romo 1978
2008-05-10 10:45:00 Vintage Seattle Player O The Week goes to Enrique Romo . He was a Mariner from 1977-1978 before being traded for none other than Mario Mendoza. So, you could call Romo an “enabler.” He pitched just six years in the majors before failing to show up for spring training with the Pirates in 1983. After failed ...
Denny Hotel, Gone Too Soon
2008-05-09 10:07:00 I first talked about the Denny Hotel about a year ago and have been meaning to return to it. This old Victorian hotel has always intrigued me, mostly because it had a pretty rocky existence. It was built in 1889 by developers including Arthur Denny but in-fighting and market woes kept it unfinished until 1903. ...
Past Post: Redacted 1944
2008-05-08 10:00:00 Today’s Past Post card is, well, I don’t know. It was redacted by the army examiner in March of 1944. Come on now, kind examiner! Private Hugh ——– was just trying to tell ——— about his scandalous time at ———– in Seattle during his leave. Can anyone make anything out? Give the thumbnails a click and ... More About: Redacted
81 Years Of Fire Station No. 23
2008-05-07 09:56:00 Planned obsolescence be damned! The Central District’s Fire Station No. 23 had stood for more than 81 years serving the city in one way or another. Since the 1960’s, it has housed CAMP (the Central Area Motivation Program). I’ve come up empty handed trying to find background on the fire station itself. Anyone who can ... More About: Years
Early U.W. Buildings, Where Are They Now?
2008-05-06 09:43:00 I’m serving up two early photos from the University of Washington campus. First up, you’ll find the Chimes and Observatory. The chimes from the tower were a gift from A.J. Blethen (see his house here) and rang until the tower burned down in the late 1940’s. The 1895 built Observatory is still in use (see ... More About: Buildings , Early
Reframe: West Seattle?s Halleck and College
2008-05-05 09:32:00 Just into year 2 here and Chainsaw Riggins, Vintage Seattle reader of superior name, requested more Reframe s for the coming blog year. And really, how can you say no to someone named “Chainsaw Riggins”? So I loaded up my gear and headed down toward Alki in my new home, West Seattle. See the Reframe comparisons ... More About: College
Second Oldest Photo Of Seattle On NPR
2008-05-04 10:35:00 The Washington State History Museum’s Abigail Azote writes in to let us know about a KUOW feature on the second oldest photo of Seattle . It’s not quite as high-res as we’d like, but maybe that means you and I need to head to the museum to see it in person. Take it away, Abigail. We have ... More About: Photo
Vintage Vintage Seattle, 1 Year Old
2008-05-03 16:37:00 It’s hard for me to believe, but today marks the one year mark for Vintage Seattle . It opened up precisely one year ago. I’ll skip the year in review since a 2007 In Review was already posted. Instead, I’ll be celebrating. Big thanks to all of you who’ve been loyal visitors for this past year. ... More About: Year
QAHS Playfield Update Circa 1928
2008-05-02 09:57:00 Just a quick follow-up on last week’s discussion of a 1914 Queen Anne High School playfield photo. I did some digging and it looks like my initial thought that the field was to the south of the school along 2nd/3rd and Highland is most likely wrong. Though the pictures are from more than a decade ... More About: Update , Circa
Past Post: U.S. Public Health Service Hospital
2008-05-01 10:23:00 With Amazon.com announcing their plans to move to South Lake Union, the future of the iconic headquarters atop Beacon Hill is uncertain. A number of potential future tenants have already been in talks with the company’s landlord. Will it be more biotech? Condos? Hard to say right now. The Art Deco Marine Hospital operated until ... More About: Health , Public , Post , Service
First Hill?s Historic Marlborough House Pt. 2
2008-04-30 10:25:00 Thanks for checking back in for Part 2 of my Marlborough House tour — now 83 condos from Live Historic with move-in expected this summer. If you missed Part 1, check it out for exterior photos. Onward! This Gothic revival style building was constructed in 1927 and was even once home to a member of ... More About: Hill , First Hill
First Hill?s Historic Marlborough House Pt. 1
2008-04-29 10:33:00 A few months ago, while lamenting the loss of the Northcliffe Apartment Building, I spied construction equipment gathering around First Hill ’s historic Marlborough House apartments. Come to find out, Live Historic purchased the property for a condo conversion. This was good news since my previous tours of the Queen’s Court and The Pittsburgh had revealed ... More About: First Hill
Green Lake Panorama-o-rama 1907
2008-04-28 09:55:00 What a pleasant weekend — at least in between rain showers it was. For those of you lucky enough to spend it tooling around Green Lake , I’m offering up the latest in our “Panorama -o-rama” series featuring said lake circa 1907. Look for my photos of the recently unveiled Marlborough later this week. Until then, here’s ...
Queen Anne High School Playfield 1914
2008-04-25 09:05:00 I was reading this UrbanAsh blog entry about 30 townhomes being proposed for the site of Queen Anne High School ’s gym, and was reminded of a photo from my archives. After some digging, I found this 1914 photo showing the high school’s original playfield. If you locate QAHS on the map and look to the ... More About: High School , Queen Anne High School
Past Post: Modern Ideals
2008-04-24 09:59:00 Anne Forestieri let me know about an upcoming lecture by Alan Hess on Googie architecture held on May 21 at the Swedish Club. Here are the details below and I’ve coupled two postcards of some modern Seattle buildings, Washington Plaza and the Norton Building. Thanks Anne, we’ll see you there. A Second Look: Googie Architecture and ... More About: Post , Past , Modern , Post-Modern
SLU?s 1114-1124 Republican Homes
2008-04-23 09:29:00 Jonathan Hanlon wrote in today inquiring about the four early 20th century homes on Republican St in South Lake Union. It just so happens that I’ve had my eye on these for quite some time, having been a SLU resident before. These four homes are nearly all that is left of the original Cascade Neighborhood ... More About: Homes
Flour Your Consideration, Holly Flour
2008-04-22 09:56:00 As wheat and other grain prices surge upward, we can look back to a time when it wasn’t quite as pricey. Check out this early 1900’s ad for Holly Flour and the Mills of Lilly, Bogardus & Co. of Seattle. It makes me nostalgic for a time when speculators didn’t jerk our lives around so ...
George Carmack House Update
2008-04-21 11:09:00 For those of you who’ve been following our features on the historic George Carmack House located at 1522 E Jefferson (see the original post here, first floor photos here, and 2nd and 3rd floor photos here), well are you ready for more? I have an update for you. You may remember that we were speculating ... More About: Update
Player O The Week: Jerry Don Gleaton 1982
2008-04-20 09:24:00 Vintage Seattle Player O The Week Jerry Don Gleaton is back from the 1982 season showing us that it’s ok for major league ballplayers to go ahead and use that middle name. Jerry Don was only with the M’s from 1981-1982 and after retiring from playing in 1992 he went on to scout for the ...
Talkin? Lake Washington Floating Bridge Blues
2008-04-18 10:09:00 Now that I’ve already complained about the 520 Bridge , I suppose it’s the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge’s turn (you may just call it the I-90 Bridge). Yesterday it took me an hour and a half to cross it on the way home from work. The trip is 16 miles — giving me an average ... More About: Blues , Washington , Floating , Lake
Profile: Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant
2008-04-17 11:02:00 Heading down Fairview Ave toward Lake Union you’ll find one of the city’s finest examples of industrial age architecture in the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (now Public Storage). It was designed by architect John Graham Sr and constructed in 1913. Model T’s were assembled at the plant for years and in 1932 operations moved ... More About: Profile
Riding A Pimped Out Escalade In? ?62?!
2008-04-16 09:36:00 Now that’s urban progress! It’s not Seattle, but it’s a vintage 1962 photo showing Tacoma’s “escalades” — touted as the nation’s first publicly-owned moving sidewalks. According to this article, they led from Pacific Avenue up to Commerce and Broadway and were out of service by the early 1980’s. Every time you’re at Sea-Tac whisking by ... More About: Riding
Past Post: Cherry Street 1908
2008-04-15 09:10:00 Today’s Past Post card has traveled 100 years to arrive at your desktop. In May of 1908 it was sent to Stow, Massachusetts showing a look down Cherry Street . Scope out the text and card. A long time since I have sent you any postal. But I do get careless at times. I am well and having ...
Do You Know These Skiers?
2008-04-14 10:02:00 Julie Kerssen, archivist at the Seattle Municipal Archives, wrote in to let me know that they’ve just launched a Flickr site. If you love the Seattle Municipal Archives like I do, then you’ll want to check it out for the offbeat items they’re posting. Julie and her colleagues are also looking for some help in ...
Past Post: Leshi Park 1905
2008-04-11 11:23:00 Continuing in our fine tradition of Leschi Park postcards is this 1905 Lowman & Hanford beauty. I’m a big fan of those tinted, muted colors, use of white space, and the typeface. Nice work, L&H. Give it a click for more resolution. Front: No. 1042. Leshi Park, Seattle, Washington. Back: Post card sent December, 1905 to Nettie Anderson ... More About: Past
Just Watch Out For The Algae Blooms
More articles from this author:2008-04-10 10:22:00 With the weather finally getting warmer it’s time to start coming out of our shells and enjoying the surrounding area. Swimming on Lake Washington anyone? Well, maybe not just yet. Here are two vintage photographs of the resplendent views we take in on a regular basis. Click on them for more resolution. Lake Washington Boulevard and ... More About: Watch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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