Vanishing Seattle

Images of America: Washington

by Clark Humphrey

Though Seattle is still a young city, growing and changing, much of its short past is already lost-but not forgotten. Generations of Seattleites have fond memories of restaurants, local television shows, stores, and other landmarks that evoke a less sophisticated, more informal city. This new book explores Seattle at a time when timber and fish were more lucrative than airplanes and computers, when the city was a place of kitschy architecture and homespun humor and was full of boundless hope for a brighter future. These rare and vintage images hearken back to the marvels of the 1962 World's Fair, shopping trips to Frederick & Nelson and I. Magnin, dinners at Rosellini's, dancing at the Trianon Ballroom, traveling on the ferry Kalakala, rooting for baseball's Rainiers, and local personalities including Stan Boreson, J. P. Patches, and Wunda Wunda.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Photography, Travel

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 2006

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I'm feeling dickish I will often pop into my "Post-Modern Smughole" phase (or, P.M.S.) in order to review culturally relevant books in the style of academics and writers that I loathe more than, say, primal scream therapy with Richard Simmons. Now, the temptation was great with this excellent book, since it just seems to scream "Overanalyze my mostly textless profundity!" But I can't. I just can't. I got as far as drily setting my cappuccino to one side, feathering back my moustache, and coming up with the "new" po-mo phrase Histopia to describe this book. It is an account of what gentrification and overly whiting-out a city's past can do to a skyline. Take those bits of DC north of the Capitol. Swathes of Manhattan, like Harlem. Much of Baltimore's character. Cities drown in Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and mustachoied, mocha-sipping, insufferable "young" people. Vanishing Seattle is a pictorial account of all the weird, groovy shit that used to pulse just beneath the surface of the city. Depressing and enlightening at the same time for, my god, Dave, what are we doing to ourselves?!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. It's partly due to the trade paperback size of the book, which meant that the photos necessarily had to be small as well, but since most of them were likely in color to begin with, printing them in black and white made them look muddy and ill-defined. The bigger problem, though, is that the photo selection is not very good. The Last Exit coffeehouse photo was taken from inside and was mostly a closeup of two random guys' faces, there's a shot of an amusement park that's nothing more than an aerial plat photo that probably came from the county property records, there's a photo of a pool table that's supposedly from a famous pool room but which could have come from anywhere. Humphrey also gets a number of facts wrong, misstating the location of the Hat 'n' Boots gas station, confusing Memorial Stadium with Sicks Stadium, and, if he didn't know when something closed down, he went with the all-purpose "early 1980s." And while of course not everything could be included, some of the omissions are glaring. No PI Building, Andy's Diner, Blue Moon Tavern? WTH. Worst of all is the cover photo of the Dag's on Aurora (or really, just the sign in its parking lot) instead of the far more interesting looking Dag's on 4th Avenue with the giant roating Beefy Boy cup on the roof. This is one time I should have judged a book by its cover.

[Will Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always fun to learn more about my city. Seattle is changing all the time, often it’s for the better (the link, gutting the viaduct, the sculpture park) however, sometimes it’s sad. Seeing the decline of pacific place and westlake in real time, lookin at the abandonment of little Saigon by the city is all disappointing. Seeing some of the cool architecture, restaurants, and theaters we lost is depressing, especially as the capitalistic forces that have been allowed to run amok in our country homogenize the landscape and take away cheap family owned places. The fact is Seattle needs to grow up (literally). Apartment complexes, condos, link and BRT expansion needs to keep going. I just wish we could do so in a way that offers something unique to our city, and doesn’t just turn our skyline and neighborhoods into every other city in this country. I love walking through pike place, I love finding places to eat on the ave after husky games, I love trying new bars in cap hill and Fremont, I love having a world class library system, and I love seeing the space needle from my cubicle. I want Seattle to stay Seattle. I hope that people care enough to make sure that the good parts of Seattle, the places with some culture (whether that’s the cinerama or the duchess) aren’t lost to progress. If anything this book just made me more excited to keep exploring the city I love.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read. The photos were great, but the names and adventures of many "old friends" were the highlight. From J.P. Patches to Brakeman Bill, Wayne Cody to Pat O'Day, this book is a treasure trove of Seattle history and the characters who made it sing. Those who grew up elsewhere won't find much to celebrate, but if you are "from Seattle," you'll enjoy this book as I did.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nostalgia buff's dream! Lots of photos of older Seattle sites. many of which don't exist anymore. Also photos of personalities, such as JP Patches, a clown with a popular children's show. Not only did I watch it, I was on it once, along with my Bluebird troop.

This book is great fun. I recommend it to anyone interested in Seattle History.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photographs and text about Seattle mostly in the mid 20th century. The theme of the book is that the 'old' Seattle has mostly disappeared - the downtown department stores, loads of restaurants, odd and unique buildings, and so on. Though I understand the impulse to want to return to a simpler time, it's not really something that resonates with me. But for the nostalgic or for people interested in recent cultural history, this book will be of some interest.

[John E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best of the Images of America series I have encountered. That might just be because I am more familiar with the subject, but it seems that the pictures are a great selection and the write-ups are knowledgable and witty.

[Chris Estey · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite in this series, which I would love to own every edition of. And this could have been four or five times bigger for sure ...

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to see so many iconic buildings and businesses from my home town., many oif them now gone.