Look here for slang, shorthand expressions, knicknames, and trivia related to places and abodes now gone, but not forgotten (at least here), including diners, taverns, stores, buildings, and more. I've chosen not to list on this page, however, any of the night clubs, music clubs, coffee houses, movie theatres, or amusement parks which composed Seattle's entertainment scene of yore -- you'll find those places listed on the Pop History page.
The 206: The 206 Tavern (located at 206 Broadway E., thus the name.) A small, cubby-hole, tavern that was located up on Capitol Hill. It was primarily a geezer bar, but younger types used to hang out there on occasion, as well.
The 211: The 211 Billiard Hall. This was an historic billiard hall that was between Third and Second on Union (211 Union, thus the name) downtown. It was on the second floor, and you took an elevator from the street to get to it. It relocated to the Regrade, to a kind of warehouse space a number of years ago that was above the Speakeasy Cafe. The Speakeasy has since burned down, but the 211 had already closed.
Andy's: Andy's Cafe. Shares top honors along with the Dog House on the list of Seattle's dead diners. Andy's was for years and years the main gathering place for, and the spiritual center of, Capitol Hill. In the years that I went there, and I started when Hot Turkey Sandwiches were 75 cents, the place never changed. The menu, except for the prices, remained almost exactly the same. Much mourned. Spent many a day there hopping tables, moving from one conversation to another, eating two, sometimes three, meals, without ever leaving the place. Now that it's gone I no longer know where to go when up on Capitol Hill. Just not the same place anymore. Andy's is not to be confused with Andy's Diner, located in a series of railcars down on Fourth Ave. S., although there are undoubtedly some, who did not frequent the Capitol Hill establishment, who refer to the latter as "Andy's."
The Aqua Barn: The Aqua Barn Ranch, south of Renton off Maple Valley Highway. For years, it had been a place to ride horses, swim, square dance, and more. In its heyday, it had over 260 horses on 100 acres. These days, the horses are gone and only the cafe, RV park, and recreational hall are still open. The name actually comes from the fact that the original Aqua Barn was located on a barge moored on the west side of Lake Union, before the attraction was moved to the Maple Valley in 1951. Recently, the founder and long-time owner of the Aqua Barn, "Happy Jack" Riley, died of a heart attack at age 77. Before passing, he had negotiated the sale of the remainder of the ranch to developers, including the 1888 farm house (built by Arthur Denny). For a story on the Aqua Barn, see the Seattle Times' story, Aqua Barn On The Block.
The Bagdad: The Bagdad Cafe, which was located many moons ago (it seems now) at Broadway and Pike (I believe) up on Capitol Hill.
The Belmont: The Belmont Tavern, which was located on Olive and Belmont up on Capitol Hill. During the time that I recall it (back in the late- to mid-70's), it Capitol Hill's main black bar. Other bars, such as the Gaslight and the Elite in particular, were also frequented by many blacks. A sub-sandwich shop and part of the B&O Espresso now occupy the space where the Belmont used to exist.
The Ben Paris: A combination restaurant, lounge, pool hall, pull-tab parlor, barber shop, and sporting goods establishment. It was located on Fourth, facing the Bon Marche. A kind of "guy mall" kind of place, a bastion for fishermen (and I do mean fishermen) and other local sportsmen. It had a definite "subterranean", almost "speakeasy," feel to it (partly from its being down a flight of stairs, below street level). It had a large glass tank with live bass swimming in it, and it also had a live trout pool (although it may not have always had trout in it. For an account, see America's Oldest Bass Club, an article about the Western Bass Club, which began meeting in the Ben Paris in 1938. The founder, Ben Paris, supposedly started the very first fishing derby here, back in 1931. For many years, the Ben Paris published a comprehensive NW fishing guide.
The Blob: The Blob is no more--it bit the dust on November 18, 1997. The Blob is dead! Long live the Blob! A restaurant on Lower Queen Anne, it was commonly considered to be the biggest eyesore in town. The original owner went broke building it, a demented brainstorm if there ever was one, and no-one since was able to make a go of the place, which from starting out ugly just got uglier, ending up looking like a bowl of vanilla ice cream after being left out in the sun for ten minutes (a dirty bowl of vanilla ice cream). You can see a picture of the Blob, along with other NW kitsch landmarks, at Arthur Hu's Offbeat Tour of Seattle.
Bloch's: A sandwich place up on 15th on Capitol Hill that became a popular gathering place from the mid-70's through the late 80's. A great hang-out joint, you could spend the whole day, and the evening, there for the price of a cup of coffee. The suspicion is that Barry Bloch closed the place just to get rid of the freeloaders.
The Bon: The Bon Marche. It's still there, but renamed as Macy's. For awhile, it went by Bon Macy's, but head honchos back east finally decided to drop Bon from the store's moniker. Locals will just continue to call it The Bon, however.
The Buckaroo: The Buckaroo Tavern, in Fremont. One of the last of Seattle's classic old taverns, it had been serving suds to a down-home clientele since 1938, when it shut down in 2010, after its lease was not renewed. See Buckaroo Tavern to pour its last drink after 72 years.
Chubby & Tubby: A hardware store with all the things you couldn't find anywhere else, including cheap Christmas trees. There were two location, on Rainier Avenue in the Southend and on Aurora Avenue in the Northend. Closed in 2003.
The Copper Kitchen: A restaurant that was located on the west side of Westlake, located where the Westlake Center is now. This was a comfortable and reasonbly-priced establishment, which catered largely to the local retail workers (being in the retail core) -- my favorite place to go eat when I was downtown, back when. One of those cases where you don't know what you're missing until it's gone.
Dag's: A local drive-in chain that still had one or two locations until fairly recently. The one that was down on Fourth Ave. S. is no longer there now and the Aurora Aveneu location is now a parking lot. The Renton location may still be operating. Home of the Dagilac burger.
A Different Drummer: A Different Drummer Bookstore, which was located on Broadway up on Capitol Hill for several years. It sold both new and used books and was a great place to just browse around.
The Ditto: The Ditto Tavern, a Belltown watering hole that hosted bands such as Soundgarden, Green River, and other proto-Grunge groups before Seattle, and Belltown in particular, was recognized as the center of the music world, albeit only temporarily. The half-block on which it resided fell to the wrecking ball, or whatever they use these days to tear down old digs, sometime around the turn of the millenium, just one more domino to fall to the unrelenting march of progress, with artists and cheap walkups (relatively speaking) are replaced by corporate types living in mid- to high-rise condos (or at least the only type who can afford to pay several thousand in rent).
The Dog House: Bob Murray's Dog House, a greasy spoon, renowned for its surly waitresses, but regretfully now gone. You went there expecting to get mistreated, and loved it. Founded in 1934, supposedly inspired by Hollywood's Brown Derby. Its fame is to be traced back to when the P-I building was only a block away and it was a favorite haunt of the P-I's reporters and columnists, who were routinely abused, berated, and mistreated there (as I suppose all newspaper folks should be), wrote about it, and then went back for more. The "abusive waitresses" were to some degree myth made real, so to speak -- the "abuse" was mostly trumped up and exaggerated to fill column inches on slow news days, but once you get a rep, of course, the tendency is to try to live up to it. Heads the list of Seattle's dead diners. It and Andy's Cafe. Note, however, that a restaurant is still operating there, but under different ownership and a different name: The Hurricane Cafe. For a story and some pics, see Last Call at the Dog House: A Reminiscence by Floyd Waterson, from HistoyLink.org.
The Dome: The Kingdome, Seattle's unsightly concrete mushroom. Alas, it is no more, having been imploded into a pile of concrete ruins on 8:30 a.m. on March 26th. The main problem with the Dome was simply money -- while highly functional, it just couldn't produce the level of revenues necessary these days to be competitive in big-time sports. Today, you need a designer stadium, with no limit on the luxury boxes and other revenue opportunities.
Eagle Hardware: A chain of hardware/home improvement stores, founded in 1989 as Eagle Home & Garden by David Heerensperger, after he had been pushed out as Chairman and CEO at Pay 'N Pak. Known for its "light bat" commercials with Edgar Martinez. After bruising competition with Home Depot, it was bought by Lowes in 1998.
The Elite: The Elite Tavern, although still open up on Broadway on Capitol Hill, is now a gay bar, I believe. It was once, however, part of the Capitol Hill circuit of non-geezer bars (if you will) that included the Comet (still open), the Gaslight, the Broadway, the Belmont, Snooky's, and other places of varying repute.
Ernie Steele's: In its day, the quintessential dark, smoke-filled geezer lounge, up on Broadway. Was originally founded by Ernie Steele, a football star from the old leather helmut era. I thought he must have died, but apparently ol' Ernie is still alive and kicking. Ernie Steele's later became Ilene's (which may be dead now too). See Ernie had city's first, and finest, sports joint by Steve Kelly.
Ernst: Ernst Home Centers, founded in Seattle in 1893 as Ernst Hardware by the brothers Charles and Fred Ernst. In 1960, Ernst was purchased by Pay 'n Save Corp., but after a junk-bond funded hostile takeover of Pay 'n Save by Julius and Charles Trump (no relation to Donald) in 1984, Ernst was sold off and went public in 1994. Ernst filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and was liquidated in 1997. At its height, Ernst had 95 stores in 12 western states.
Farrell's: Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, a purveyor of gourmet ice cream back before gourmet ice cream became all the rage. One was located at Southcenter back in the early 70s. There is only one Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in existence now--in San Diego.
The Food Circus: The original name of The Center House at the Seattle Center going back to the World's Fair (before which it was the National Guard Armory), but still a term often used by long-time Seattle residents. Housed the Bubbleator, which alas is now gone.
Food Giant: A supermarket on 45th whose huge neon sign ("FOOD GIANT") was for years a quintessential Wallingford landmark (along with the Grandma's Cookies sign, also now gone). QFC bought the place several years ago and replaced the old sign with a new one ("WALLINGFORD") that, although just as large, is nowhere near as delightfully kitchy.
F&N: Frederick & Nelson. See Frederick's below.
Frederick's: Frederick & Nelson, downtown's classiest department store, which was founded by Donald E. Frederick and Nels B. Nelson in 1890, selling used furniture following the Great Fire of 1889, later expanding to selling new furniture and other fine goods. The six-story department store, initially scoffed at as "Frederick's Folly", at 5th and Pine opened in 1918, offering elegance and service as its hallmarks. Following WWII, F&N was slow to adjust to the shifting of shopping to suburban malls (Northgate and Southcenter). After a long slow slide, it closed its doors in 1992. Nordstrom's has since relocated into the renovated Frederick & Nelson building. To learn more about the history of Frederick & Nelson, see HistoryLink.org's Frederick & Nelson page. See also Frederick & Nelson from the The Department Store Museum site.
G.O. Guy: G.O. Guy Drugs, which was located for years on Third, just kitty-corner from the post office.
The Gaslight: The Gaslight Tavern, a tavern up on 15th up on Capitol Hill back in the 70's that was a great melting-pot and mixing bowl. Bill the Beerman (Bill Scott) tended bar there before becoming Bill the Beerman. Later became the expanded Canterbury.
The Gibson House: A grill and saloon at the St. Regis Saloon, at Second & Stewart, which opened in the early 1980s. In its early days, it was frequented by prostitutes, who would then lead their customers to rooms upstairs. It later became a rock club, but closed in 2001. The hotel was later rehabbed for low-income housing.
Grandma's Cookies: I spent my junior high and senior high days a half block north of the old Grandma's Cookies bakery, which was most noted for its huge neon sign that could be seen from the Aurora Bridge, the Space Needle, well just about from everywhere. Both the sign and Grandma's Cookies are now long gone. (The building is still there, however.) To this day, quite honestly, I have a very hard time resisting cookies, probably due to having been conditioned as thoroughly as one of Pavlov's dogs by waking up every morning to the thick, cloying smell of baking cookies in the ai r. For a pic of the Grandma's Cookies sign, see the Seattle Times' article To market, to market.
The Hasty Tasty: A greasy spoon that was one of the mainstays on the Ave back in the 70's. I once split without getting change for a $20 when I paid my bill, and then got all the way up on Capitol Hill (to the Gaslight Tavern) before I realized I was short some cash. Well, I called up the Hasty Tasty, talked to the cook explaining what had happened, not really expecting it to be much help. Well, he said just come back on over and he'd give me my change! And I did. Mind you, back then, $20 was a bit more money than it is now.
Herfy's: A chain of burger drive-ins that populated the Puget Sound area from the mid-60's on. They were known for their "Herfy Burger," with secret sauce, of course. There are a number still located in the Seattle area, but the only one that might be said to be in Seattle proper is located in Georgetown (if you want to call Georgetown either Seattle or proper). Others are located in Auburn and Burien. There may be others elsewhere in the state. The one that was in the U-District, at the corner of 50th and the Ave, is long gone, however.
The Hideout: The Hideout Tavern, which was located in the entrance to Post Alley at the Market. There were actually three places there, the Hideout and the Victrola, with the Rice Bowl Cafe, a Chinese restaurant, in between them. We used to order a bunch of Chinese food and have it delivered to us in the Hideout. A table full of hot steaming Chinese food and a couple pitchers of ice-cold beer, now that was living! And the Rice Bowl served up some of the best (and cheapest) Chinese food I've ever tasted, period.
The House of Entertainment: A music club downtown back in the 60's that primarily featured black R&B groups. I went there a few times with some black friends of mine -- super cool place.
The Id: The Id Bookstore, a used bookstore that was located just off the Ave in the early 70s. Later, it became the Magus Bookstore.
The Igloo: A restaurant at Denny Way just off Aurora Avenue from 1940 to 1954. Shaped in the form of an igloo, it was one of the many kitsch icons, including the Java Jive, the Hat 'N Boots, and the Twin Teepees, that sprouted up along old Highway 99 back when that was the prime north-south route around here. For an article on and pics of the Igloo, see Igloo, The -- Lost Landmark of Seattle's Auto-Tecture from the HistoryLink web site.
Jake's: Jake O'Shaughnessey's, a restaurant/lounge in Lower Queen Anne. It claimed to have the world's largest assortment of single-malt Scotches. It was located at the NE corner of Mercer and 1st Avenue N., as part of a "mini-mall" development, The Hansen Baking Company, at the site of a baking company of the same name (which had produced the local Sunbeam Bread brand). It was displaced by a Larry's Market in 1993, which, after Larry's went bankrupt, was replaced by a Metropolitan Market.
The Jell-O Mold Building: A one-story building down on Western that was covered in varying-shaped Jell-O molds, by an artist, obviously. The Cyclops Cafe was located in the same building. The building was torn down some years back and replaced with a yuppy-condo tower, I believe.
The Jolly Roger: An art-deco "roadhouse" that was founded as "The Chinese Castle" in 1934, shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, at 8720 Bothell Way (now Lake City Way), at that time just north of Seattle's limits. Shortly afterwards, closing after the operator losing his liquor license, it reopened as the Jolly Roger. It was torched by an arsonist in 1989. A gas station now is located there.
Joy's 21: Was located on 1st Avenue N., just opposite the Coliseum (now KeyArena). Been told, and seem to remember myself, on the outside wall were large painted caricature faces of old Hollywood stars (Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and so on). Probably meant to mimic the 21 Club. Was later Chicago's, now is Niko's Place.
Warning: Non-Nortwesterners should use these terms (in the vain hope of fitting in) only at the risk of being greeted by frequent blank stares. While some terms are known by virtually all Northwesterners, and actually spoken by many, others are known only to some or a few, while spoken by even fewer. However, if you hear one said, armed with this lexicon, you'll know what is meant.
Lamonts: A lower-end local chain of department stores founded in Seattle in 1970. The initial stores were created, when its parent company, Pay 'n Save, renamed suburban Rhodes stores (in University Village, Crossroads Mall, and Lake Forest Center Mall), acquired in 1967, and the Bell's of Burien store, acquired in 1968. Lamonts was named for and by M. Lamont Bean, head of Pay 'n Save. focused primarily on apparel, in the 1970s and 1980s. Pay 'n Save Corp. (and Lamonts) was bought by Jules and Eddie Trump (no relation to Donald) with the proceeds of $250 million in junk bonds. In 1989, Lamonts was sold to Aris Corp., owned by the Thompson family that started 7-Eleven. Due to debt, a failed expansion plan, Lamonts was out-competed by Mervyns and JCPenny in the 1990s, leading to a restructure in 1992 and bankruptcy in 1995 and 2000, after which it was acquired out of bankruptcy court by Gottschalks, which then, itself, went bankrupt in 2009, liquidating all of its assets.
MacDougall's: MacDougall and Southwick department store, which was affiliated with the Mercantile Stores, a national chain of outlets. This was located downtown, on the southeast corner of Second & Pike, taking up the main floor and the floor below. It began as The San Francisco Store in 1874, on the west side of First Avenue, between Yesler and Jackson, before moving to the Second & Pike building when it was built in 1908. MacDougall's closed in Feb., 1966, and the building was demolished in 1971. A parking lot has graced the location since then (owned by Joe Diamond, Seattle's parking lot czar?), although Sellen Construction is now staging construction of a new downtown tower there.
Manning's: A buffet-style restaurant that was located for many year's on the Ave. Later it opened satellite locations downtown and in Ballard, which may have been what ultimately led to its demise. The former Manning's in Ballard is now a Denny's (a sad fate, indeed).
Morningtown: Morningtown Pizza, a counter-culture pizza joint that was located for many years in the U District, between Roosevelt and 12th, just north of the University Bridge.
Motzah Momma: A delicatessan and restaurant at 509 15th Avenue E. on Capitol Hill that from 1975 served motzah soup, blintzes, latkes, and other traditional Jewish fare. The restaurant closed in 1995, but continued as a catering service.
Pig Alley: The Place Pigalle Tavern, once located in the Market. Another notorious, although now gone, dive. Someone actually wrote a letter to the Seattle Weekly a couple years ago objecting to the use of the term "Pig Alley" for the Place Pigalle Tavern as somehow being an insult. All I can say is that everyone I knew back in the mid-70s or so always called it "Pig Alley," and always meant it as a term of affection. Now a trendy eating spot, it is now the Place Pigalle Restaurant, and is no longer called "Pig Alley," as far as I know. Or is it?
Pizza & Pipes: The name of number of restaurants, in Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma, all with different ownerships, which featured theatre pipe organs providing musical accompaniment to the repast. The one in Seattle was located up on 85th in Greenwood. The Greenwood restaurant closed in the late 1980s and the Bellevue restaurant was closed in 1992. The Tacoma Pizza & Pipes, sadly, burned down in 1999, with the pipe organ going up in smoke, as well. For info on these and other installations of theatre pipe organs in restaurants, clubs, and varied other establishments, see PSTOS's Restaurants, Taverns, and Social Clubs page.
Pizza Pete's: A chain of pizza joints that used to be located hereabouts. Sponsored a hydroplane, the U-88 Pizza Pete, for the 1972 racing season.
Rhodes: Rhodes Department Store, which was located downtown on Second Avenue. Back in the 50's and early 60's, there were three major department stores downtown: The Bon Marche, Frederick & Nelson, and Rhodes.
Schuck's: Schuck's Auto Supply, founded in Seattle in 1917. In 1987, Schuck's, Kragen, and Checker auto supply chains were merged into CSK Auto, which was in turn bought in 2008 by O'Reilly Auto Parts, which renamed all of Schuck's stores under its own moniker. At its height, Schuck's had 226 stores in the Pacific Northwest.
Ship's Restaurant: Was located under the Magnolia Bridge. Not sure when it closed, but it was a while back. Supposedly had a pretty good seafood buffet.
Smokey Joe's: A cafe, lounge, and pool hall that was located on Pike Street, I believe, up on Capitol Hill back in the 60's and 70's. It was primarily frequented by blacks at the time that I recall it. There were always at least a couple high-stakes pool games going on (hundreds of dollars at stake).
Sorry Charlies: A classic Seattle "greasy spoon" eatery that operated from 1975 to 2003, on Queen Anne Avenue in Lower Queen Anne, across the street from the Mecca Cafe (still open). I lived a block away for eight years and probably ate there a couple hundred times. For years, it hosted a piano bar featuring the pianist, Howard Bulson, on weekend nights. It was replaced by the more snazzy Mirabeau Room, then by a sports bar. (The old neighborhood hasn't been the same.)
The Speakeasy: The Speakeasy Cafe, one of the original Internet cafes. Located in Belltown on 2nd, it burned down May 18, 2001. For the story, see Neighborhood hub lost in fire: Speakeasy much more than a cafe.
Toppings Drive-In: Was a local hangout up in Lake City for high school students and the fringe crowd, I've been told.
The Twin Teepees: A classic "roadside attraction" restaurant that opened in 1938 on Aurora Avenue (Highway 99) as the Twin T-P's, but later renamed as the Twin Teepees. Victim of a late-night sneak demolition. May the owner burn in...well, deep-fry grease. For the details, see Teepees' end: sad but legal. A restaurant in the shape of two teepees, the Twin Teepees for years and years was a kitch icon located on Aurora at the north end of Green Lake. One story is that Colonel Sanders once worked at the Twin Teepees as a cook, before hitting it big selling buckets of fried chicken -- see The colonel was cookin' at Teepees. You can see a picture of it at The offbeat (a.k.a. weird) Tour of Seattle (created by Arthur Hu). See Twin T-P's for another pic.
Trader Vic's: A tiki-themed group of restaurants, which was started in Oakland in 1937 by "Trader" Vic Bergeson (who claimed to be the inventor of the "Mai Tai" cocktail). In 1948, he expanded to Seattle, starting The Outrigger restaurant in the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, which he later renamed as Trader Vic's. When the Washington Plaza Hotel (now the Westin) was built next door in 1969, he relocated there.. It closed in 1999. An attempt was made to reopen Trader Vic's in Bellevue in 2006, but it closed in 2008.
The Turf: The Turf Grill and Smoke Shop, at 1407 3rd Avenue, beginning in the 1920s. The closing of Third Avenue for the building of the Bus Tunnel (now the Transit Tunnel) ultimately forced it to relocate, first to 107 Pike St. in 1988, then to 200 Pike St. in the early 2000s. It later became Ludi's.
Von's: Von's Cafe, at 1423 4th Avenue. It began life in 1910 as Rippe's Cafe, but was bought by John G. von Herberg, a local theatre empresario and exhibitor (he built the Coliseum Theatre, for instancde), who renamed it as Von's Cafe. It featured mahogany and brass booths with upscale 24-hour service, and provided a venue where theatre and movie people could rub noses (and perhaps more than just noses) with Seattle's political and business elites. For recollections by his daughter, see Susan Edgerly remembers her father, Seattle motion picture exhibitor John G. von Herberg, and her Seattle childhood. For a pic, see To market, to Market. Von's was open as late as 2000, although it was no longer owned by the von Herberg family and had descended to being a greasy spoon. The building has since been torn down. Not to be confused with the Von's Restaurant at 619 Pine St, next door to the Roosevelt Hotel, which is a relatively recent creation.
WaMu: Washington Mutual Bank. Founded in 1889 in Seattle as the Washington National Building Loan and Investment Association, it became the Washington Savings and Loan Association in 1908, and then Washington Mutual Savings Bank in 1917. In 1983 it demutualized, becoming a public company, Washington Mutual Bsnk. It grew to become the nation's largest chain of saving & loans. It collapsed in 2008, in the largest bank failure in U.S. history, at the height of the housing crisis. The FDIC sold it off to JPMorgan Chase, for pennies on the dollar, with all WaMu branches rebranded as Chase branches in 2009.
Woerne's: A European pastry shop and cafe that was located on the Ave. I'm not sure when they closed, but it had to be in the late 80's or early 90's. I used to drop by there to buy Viennese pretzels, which were a delicious treat. Now that Woerne's is long gone, so are Viennese pretzels, it would seem (if anybody knows of any bakery or pastry shop that sells Viennese pretzels, PLEASE let me know).
The XXX's: The XXX Drive-Ins. Used to be some of these in Greenwood, Lake City, and Renton. There was also one down by Tacoma somewhere, I believe. The only XXX Drive-In still running around here is in Issaquah -- they host an antique car show there a couple times a year. "XXX" was a root beer brand -- the drive-ins were shaped in the form of a large root beer barrel.
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