Let it snow funds on 3 charities

Some 25 years ago, Denny Fitzpatrick saw this part of First Avenue as the place where people landed when they took a wrong turn.

The West Edge neighborhood had no edge at all. It was a low-slung stretch of shops and bus stops just beyond the buzz of Pike Place Market; the place you passed through on your way to someplace else.

Now, the neighborhood is a growing grid of boutiques bookmarked by the Seattle Art Museum and, for the last two years, the Hotel 1000.

So when Fitzpatrick — a Spokane native and former Husky quarterback — returned to the Northwest last May as the Hotel 1000's new general manager, he was humbled.

He didn't want the hotel to be the high-tech snob on the corner of First and Madison.

So he decided to throw its doors open to the neighbors by hosting a series of free and ticketed holiday events that will benefit three charities: Food Lifeline, Treehouse for Kids, and Plymouth Housing Group.

Fitzpatrick, 55, hopes to give the neighborhood, the city and the economy a seasonal shot in the arm.

"We started these plans in August," Fitzpatrick said. "But now, unfortunately, Seattle really needs this."

Starting Wednesday, the hotel will host "12 Days of Comfort, Joy and Cheer" — a series of free music and movie events open to the public. There will be an "In the Studio" program where SAM curators will discuss current and upcoming exhibitions. The Seahawks "Sea Gals" will pose for pictures. The Olympic Ballet Theater will perform a "mini-Nutcracker."

There will be screenings of "Miracle on 34th Street," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story," sponsored by KuKuRuZa Gourmet Popcorn.

The hotel also is partnering with neighborhood merchants, who have agreed to give 12 percent of sales to the charities.

John Richards, owner of the Jack Straw men's clothing store and a Seattle native, hopes the events will draw people away from the retail core along Pine Street.

"I don't understand why so many people think that coming down to this neck of the woods is a pain in the butt," he said. "They are missing out on a whole new world that is blooming in Seattle.

"This neighborhood is a jewel in the rough."

Ted Watson, owner of the Watson Kennedy home stores, said both the Hotel 1000 and the Alexis Hotel have helped "fill in" the walk between Pike Place and Pioneer Square.

"There's a ton of stuff to do now," Watson said. "And that wasn't always the case."

But now every day between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and again from 4 to 8 p.m., snow will fall outside the hotel's front doors. That's what happens when you bring your new GM up from the Beverly Hills Hilton, where Fitzpatrick rolled out many a red carpet.

Some dish from those days.

Merv Griffin: "Brilliant."

Sidney Poitier: "He stood up to shake my hand when he had no idea who I was."

Elton John: "Didn't care for him." (That's all. I pressed.)

The stars here? Fitzpatrick's daughters, his own history.

"It was time to come back home," he said. "And people need this."

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

She's staying within her budget.