Hello,
I am a long-time resident of the Seattle area with links to Capitol Hill. We lived on Boren near the Seattle Times in the mid-50’s. My sister and I attended school at Summit School, just off Pike. As a young boy, I used to spend a lot of after school hours at Seattle Sports Cars, just below the school, as well as many other car stores in the area. I also worked for Downtown Datsun/Alfa Romeo at 12th and Pike (now the art supplies store) and at Grand Prix Motors on 12th at Madison (now Ferrari Maserati of Seattle).
Over the years, some friends and I have tried to recall all the old stores that once made the hill probably Seattle’s early “Auto Row”. Many of them I remember pretty well and can remember where they were located. For example,
Central Pontiac at Broadway and Pine.
Smith-Gandy Ford
Riach Oldsmobile
L.E. Belcourt Studebaker at 12th and Pine (?) where the WSLCB is today.
Lee Moran Mercury (current site of the Ferrari Maserati store)
Metro Imports at 12th and Melrose (the triangular building)
Exotic Motors at 12th and Pike
Contemporary Classics on E Pike.
We’ve also determined, tentatively, that the building that was once occurpied by Downtown Datsun/Alfa Romeo was once a Packard deaelrship and, we believe, also was at one time a Kaiser Fraser dealer.
In addition to Seattle Sports Cars on Summit, one block east were the showrooms of Rowland Motors and – I’ve been told – British Motor Cars. Tad Davies Chevrolet was further east, I think about where the BMW store is today.
I know there are others, but can’t quite confirm them. I believe Stan Sayres had at least one dealership, probably on Broadway. There is also a “Packard” painted sign on one of the old buldings, east of Broadway, which may have been a Packard store before the one at 12th and Pike.
I can also remember, I think, a Hudson store on Pine somewhere in the vicinity of the El Capitan Apts and the Funeral Home.
I know there must have been others, but can’t find much, if anything about them. I thought perhaps by participating in this forum, we might get some help in this search. It’s become an interesting hobby for several of us and we eventually plan to use an old Cadillac limo and tour the hill to look at the buildings now and see what they”be become.
We’d sure appreciate some help in this effort. Photos if you have them (we have some) and other recollections and memories if you’d care to offer them.
Thanks
Phil
The Seattle Architecture Foundation does an interesting walking tour of Pike/Pine that covers its history as Seattle’s former auto row, including pointing out which buildings some of the former dealerships were in. Might be worth contacting them, since they’ve likely got some research on this. ( http://seattlearchitecture.org/tour_details.cfm?tId=81 )
You could also try checking out the Seattle Room of the public library downtown (top floor), they’ve got some old phone books and city maps (including ones that have the old streetcar lines on them!) that might have clues as to where former businesses were.
And don’t overlook the Museum of History & Industry. Also check out history.org. I bet Paul Dorpat has some old pictures.
Where the SCCC bookstore is was, at one time a Reo dealer. Up until the last remodel you could still see the Reo logo in concrete up above the building. Also Town and Country Jeep used to be at 11th and Pine on the SE corner.
at Bwy. and Pine – where the music store is, on NE the corner, used to be a Pontiac/Oldsmobile ??? dealer, into the early 1980ies, I think.
I think they moved from downtown on Eastlake ….
Reo dealer – that is old, old old …. I think they were busted in the last great depression … Reo trucks continued into the 1950ies …. I think
This is fun.
You people are wonderful. This is just the sort of info I was hoping to find. Some excellent ideas as well re the MOHI and the Architecture Tour.
Thank you very much.
Phil
Yep, here’s a post right here on CHS with details about the auto row history of the neighborhood, from the architecture tour.
http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2008/08/20/pike-pine-was-s
Hi
I have a studio in the 10th Avenue building between E. Pike and E. Union
From some markings on the floor it seems it must have been used in auto repair or painting or something and though it seems like many of the doors on 10th lead to the same building they are many different addresses to the building. I was wondering if anyone might now about the history of the building.
thanks
Vanessa DeWolf
Hello,
I am trying to find information on the old car show room at 1520 10th ave, right next to rancho bravo tacos and across the street from Oddfellows Cafe. I am wondering what the past uses were. the building was built in 1926 and there is no historical records/pictures of it. There is an A-1 clutch/brake/transmission sign on it and if you google it, it says that it was BMW of Seattle. I’m using this building for a school project and would love to get some background information on it. Let me know if you remember this building. Thanks!
Phil,
I think you’re on to something regarding historic Seattle auto dealerships. There were a ton of dealers and auto-related businesses on Capitol Hill over the last few decades as well as a huge concentration around Westlake and Olive, among them Metropolitan Packard, S.L. Savidge (now a library for the blind), Westlake Chevrolet, Anderson Buick Co., etc., etc. And at the corner of Westlake and Denny, the old Hansen Buick Co., long since replaced by a modern building signaling the redevelopment of South Lake Union.
On Capitol Hill, Moe’s was once Ryan Cadillac, and the Packard Seattle Co. was at 12th and Pike. There was also a luxury car dealer where Havana’s was. The showroom was very elegant.
It certainly would be fun for us auto buffs to have a website of photos and such of Seattle’s many auto dealers. Some of the showrooms (such as William O. McKay) were quite elegant.
Thanks, Gene
Vanessa, regarding your question about the space you are renting on 10th? Would that be the former location of Havana’s nightclub? A great source for information on old businesses is the Seattle City Directory. I believe the central library has them back to the 1920s. You could go to a Polks/City Directory for 1927, for example, and look up the address (if it hasn’t changed) to see what was there. Auto dealers also placed display ads in the city directories, which are different from the standard Seattle photo directories. Cheers, Gene
Continental Volvo was there until they sold to Frank Kenney Toyota
I have a 1928 Model A Ford Sport Coupe I have now owned for just over fifty years, my very first car. I purchased it November 5th, 1962 in Orangevale, California for $130.00. It was assembled at the Ford Seattle Assembly Plant on September 21, 1928. The plant had been shut down after the Model T ceased production in May 1927. The plant was again up and running by late August of 1928. My car is #SA 164, which would appear to be a very low number for late fall of 1928 but really is not considering production for the Model A did not begin until the unknown date other than late August. In those days most Dealers within driving distance of the Plant would send drivers to pick up and drive the cars back to the dealership. I’ve always wondered if my car might have been first sold at Wm O McKay Dealership.
The question is: would you happen to know if there is anywhere in the Seattle libraries or historical societies that might have info on cars that were sold by any local dealers? I have the original serial # and most records if existing would use them in the old sales records