One-of-a-kind structures reflect Seattle's past and define its character

By Erik Lacitis
Seattle Times staff reporter

	JIMI LOTT / THE SEATTLE TIMES The Hat 'n' Boots Built in 1955 at the corner of East Marginal Way South and South Corson Street in Georgetown, the 44-foot-wide hat was a gas station and the 22-foot-tall boots were the restrooms.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

As cities become more and more homogenized, and that freeway exit ramp takes us to yet another look-alike shopping mall, we are drawn to the objects that distinguish Seattle from Portland, Omaha or Newark.

Steve Rodrigues of Tumwater has attracted wide public attention with his recent efforts to rescue and restore one such relic — the state-of-the-art ferry Kalakala that fell into grave disrepair after its heyday in the 1930s and '40s. "The Kalakala was an art-deco ship built to please," Rodrigues has said. "It was truly something of value and represented hope on the horizon."

More photos of Seattle icons View our icon photo gallery.

Such icons are "touchstones ... tangible reminders of what Seattle was like," said Feliks Banel, deputy director of the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). "There are things that set a city apart. I've never washed my car there, but when you're driving on Denny Way and see that Elephant Car Wash (sign), there is no doubt you're in Seattle."

	SURVEY
	Seattle's cultural icons What's your favorite? 'The Blob' Bobo the Gorilla Stan Boreson Brakeman Bill Chubby & Tubby Elephant Car Wash sign Fremont Troll Grandma's Cookies sign Hat 'n' Boots Kalakala Kingdome Lincoln Toe Truck J.P. Patches The P-I globe Pike Place Market Pike Place Market clock Rainier Brewery "R" sign Rachel the pig Sicks Stadium Slo-mo-shun IV hydroplane Space Needle Twin Teepees Restaurant View Results

Baneland other local history experts can instantly list a dozen cultural icons past and present — from the big "R" sign atop the old Rainier Brewery, to the 30 acres that encompass Pioneer Square, to the now-taxidermied Bobo the Gorilla, dead since 1968 and described as "Seattle's first celebrity" as he stared from his cage at the Woodland Park Zoo in the 1950s and '60s.

Whether we are natives or among the 25 percent of the population that has moved here since 1995, many of us develop personal attachments to our icons.

When Rodrigues on March 9 towed the 276-foot Kalakala from Lake Union to Neah Bay to begin restoration, several hundred people showed up to wave goodbye. Penny Eachus, a loan processor at a Lake Union mortgage company, said that while some co-workers didn't get the fuss, "a few people in our office understood."

"Ever since she came into our lives, I have been trying to explain her validity as an art-deco marvel. She looks like a big, old floating Airstream trailer ... I will miss her so."

Icons give "some kind of continuity for the life of the community," said Seattle photographer and historian Paul Dorpat. "They are our community's imagination."

The Slo-mo-shun IV hydroplane

On display at MOHAI, Slo-mo IV was designed and built in Seattle. In 1950, it captured the Gold Cup in Detroit, bringing that race to Seattle for 1951 and inspiring legions of kids to pull tiny plywood replicas behind their bikes. "Slo-mo invented summer in Seattle and gave the young Seafair festival a palpable boost," said Banel. "She literally flew above the water and formed the design of all subsequent hydros."

Pike Place Market

Founded in 1907 as a place for truck farmers to sell directly to the public, the market was to be torn down until preservationists put the issue on a 1971 ballot, and Seattleites overwhelmingly voted to save it.

At the market's entrance are two icons in their own right — the market clock, installed in 1927, and Rachel the Pig, an oversized bronze piggy bank installed in 1986, into which passers-by drop $6,000 to $9,000 a year for social services.

J. P. Patches, Brakeman Bill and Stan Boreson

	KALAKALA FOUNDATION The Kalakala The former art-deco beauty fell into disrepair after its heyday in the 1930s and '40s. On March 9 the ferry was towed from Lake Union to Neah Bay to begin restoration.

If cultural icons can include humans, these former children's television show hosts whose programs started in the 1950s remain unparalleled. When the three return for guest appearances at MOHAI, the gift shop makes 10 percent of its annual business on that one day, selling everything from J. P. T-shirts to Stan Boreson CDs.

The Twin Teepees restaurant

Opened in 1937 on Aurora Avenue North near Green Lake, it offered standard fare inside a structure that resembled ... twin tepees. After earlier fire damage, and with virtually no fanfare or public notice, it was demolished almost overnight in 2001, its owner saying it would have cost too much to rebuild it.

Sicks' Stadium

Tell us about your favorite cultural icon in Seattle Whether it's a little-known structure or something more famous, we'd like to hear about it. If you have a snapshot to share, all the better. Please send your suggestions, along with any pictures, to talktous@seattletimes.com. We'll follow up with another story.

It stood at what is now a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse on Rainier Avenue South, the stadium's home plate memorialized by a marker at the entrance to the store. The old Seattle Rainiers played there, and in 1969 it was home to Seattle's first major-league team, the Pilots. But when attendance for Pilots' games exceeded 10,000, the toilets stopped flushing. It was torn down in 1979.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com.

News researchers Gene Balk and Sandy Freeman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company