Finally! A non-political post. Just boring and nostalgic

While I am a somewhat nostalgic person, I do not long for an earlier era. My nostalgia is tempered by the realization that many aspects of “The Good Old Days” were not that good. Particularly if you were a minority, a woman, a homo, or a guy of draft age.

With said, there are some things about Seattle I miss. Some things I experienced first hand, other things I have only heard about. But they all were cool, and that’s why I bring them to you, my dear readers.

So, without further ado, I bring you…..

THE LIST
1. Frederick & Nelson: Seattle’s Late, Great department store, it had EVERYTHING. Books, Candy, Wine, Vacuum Cleaners, Toys, Stamps – you name it. It also had a fabulous “Tea Room” and a cafeteria. And it just felt classy. You don't see that much anymore.

2. I. Magnin: A very “old money” women’s clothing store. Its severe looking exterior of white marble was exceeded only by it’s post-war styling on the inside. It had the most amazing HVAC vents. They were bronze and quite heroic, as well as some handsome chandeliers. It’s an Old Navy now, and not at all the same.

3. The Coliseum Theatre: Actually, this theatre was a dump. I don’t really miss it (and it’s not really gone, it’s a Banana Republic store now) but I do miss its marquee, which was a massive neon affair that rotated. I keep trying to find a picture for you, my dear readers, but so far I have been unsuccessful.

4. The Doghouse: Everyone misses the Doghouse, and it’s really quite pedestrian to miss the Doghouse, but miss it I do. From its crusty lounge to its skanky food, it was a 24-hour Seattle institution.

5. Rocket to Mars: This was a sad, tacky “thrill” ride at the Seattle Center Fun Forest. Most of its effects didn’t work, and sometimes it just broke down, requiring you to walk out in the dark. But it was fun.

6. The old Monorail station: I first moved to Seattle just as the old Monorail station was closing in preparation for the construction of Westlake Park and Westlake Center (which is a scar on Our Fair City) Sure, it was full of homeless and smelled like urine, but so did the rest of Seattle at the time. What can I say? Ronald Reagan brought out the urine in all of us.

7. The Orpheum Theatre: This was torn down in the late 60’s to build the Washington Plaza Hotel (later the south tower of the current Westin Hotel) I actually would simply have built the Washington Plaza Hotel one block to the east, as it is actually kind of cool, in a 1960’s hotel sort of way.

8. Trader Vic’s: This was in the Washington Plaza/Westin Hotel (another reason why I would still have the hotel built) It was a truly epic place, and was closed to make room for a tacky sushi bar that is now gone as well.

9. Ben Franklin Hotel/The Outrigger: The Benjamin Franklin Hotel was on the site of the current north tower of the Westin Hotel. Unremarkable by itself, it featured “The Outrigger” – an early incarnation of Trader Vic’s. Taken together with the Orpheum Theatre, you can see why it would have been better to build the Westin on another lot, so we could have both an Outrigger AND a Trader Vic’s!

10. Sick’s Stadium: This was right by my house, and is now a Lowes Home Improvement thing. It was quite fabulous, and the home of the Seattle Pilots (or was it the Seattle Rainiers?) a minor league baseball team. I know this sounds old and crotchety of me, but I would much rather have a minor league team that is affordable and fun to go to than that overpriced “funplex” mall known as Safeco Field.

11. The Downtown Sears: Actually, this is still in operation (the oldest operating Sears store in the nation!) but has had its coolness rather severely curtailed in recent years. From it’s fantastic candy counter to it’s turquoise clad front with Sears spelled out in three story high neon cursive script, it was quite a place.

12. The Marine Room: This was in the Olympic Hotel, and featured walls full of aquariums. It was also one of Seattle’s most exclusive haunts for the closet queen set. I never saw the Marine Room, but when I worked at the Olympic, there were quite a few old hands who had interesting stories about it.

13. Rainier Brewery: Ah, the Rainier Brewery. Rainier Beer was nothing to write home about, but the brewery tour was an awful lot of fun, in a lame sort of way. And the after-tour tasting was held in a fabulous room. It’s part of the Tully’s roasting operation now, and you can rent it for parties, but it’s just not the same.

14. Woolworth’s: Who didn’t love Woolworth’s? But most of the Woolworth’s I knew were 50’s era mall Woolworth’s (Not that there’s anything wrong with THAT!) but the downtown Woolworth’s was a fabulous Art Deco Terra Cotta Birthday Cake of a store, and the inside was as glam as a Woolworth’s gets. It’s a Ross Dress For Less now, which is nowhere near as cool as its predecessor.

15. The 611 Tavern: This was a tacky, nasty, scary, gay bar down off of Pioneer Square. I was there once, and a woman who was getting thrown out for being drunk (and you really had to be DRUNK to get thrown out of the 611) said she was coming back with her gun to kill us all. Fun times!

16. Spin’s Friendly Tavern: The straight version of the 611, and as such, much more genuinely terrifying.

So that’s it. That’s all I would have kept. I love Seattle as it is, but it would have been neat if these things had survived to today.