|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
fashion
Exclusive exerpts from CLARK HUMPHREY'S new photo book
Seattle's Belltown Some things take a while, like the Belltown boom. A century ago, civic boosters promised that Belltown, incorporating the flattened Denny Hill district to the east, would become a jewel of a neighborhood, glistening with fabulous shops and sophisticated residences. It took about eight decades for that destiny to transpire. That was a little late for the original boosters, but not for the descendants of landowners who held on.  The Edgewater Inn on Pier 67 was built in 1962, as part of a hotel-and-motel building boom accompanying the world's fair. As the Beatles' 1964 U.S. tour was being organized, owner Don Wright devised a plan to get the idols on and off the premises and to keep the screaming hordes out. Afterwards, Wright had the hallway carpets cut up and sold as souvenirs. The Edgewater continued to welcome rockers-and their adventuresome groupies, as recounted in Frank Zappa's song "Mudshark." (UW Special Collections, Hamilton Collection #D-24.)  Here's one of the earliest photographs of "Bell Town, Washington Territory" in 1882. Carleton E. Watkins, an employee of Asahel Curtis, took it. (Seattle Public Library Seattle Room.)  Bob Murray, a nightclub and wrestling promoter, opened the Dog House in 1934. With Murray's showmanship and a prime location at Denny Way and Highway 99, it became Seattle's top "roadhouse" restaurant. After WWII, Murray relocated to Seventh and Bell. (The original building became a strip club in the 1990s, and was razed in 2006.) (Deran Ludd collection.) Find Seattle's Belltown on Amazon or go to MiscMedia.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
© 2007 Belltown Messenger