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The Chorale Corralled

Information in this article, originally published July 8, 2007, was corrected July 9, 2007. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Ron Phillips, Seattle's venerable clarinetist, died in 1994 at the age of 98. He died in 2004 at the age of 98.

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COURTESY OF RON PHILLIPS AND AL ELLIOTT THEN: This photograph of the Musicians' Club clubhouse on Fourth Avenue comes from the sizable collection of ephemera related to Seattle musical culture left by Ron Phillips, Seattle's venerable clarinetist. A member of the Seattle Symphony for 56 years, Phillips was ever active in the club. He died in 1994 at the age of 98. PAUL DORPAT NOW: In 1937 the Musicians' Club replaced its clubhouse with a garage, which it still rents to an automotive service.

Roughly 100 male members of the Musicians' Club of Seattle pose in front of their Belltown clubhouse at 2425 Fourth Ave. sometime after their move into the pleasing Victorian in 1919. These posers are wearing all manner of collars, though the starched neckband was then still a requirement for any businessman who wanted business.

Among the posing membership are two women huddled by the post at the top of the stairs. According to Warren Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the contemporary Musicians' Club, today the ratio would be closer to 50-50. Johnson describes the club as still "joined at the hip" to the Musicians Association of Seattle, Local 76-493, AFM. And the president of both, harpist Motter Snell, is a woman.

The Musicians' Club was created to help its members "promote the general development of musical culture," which also meant helping each other find work — often together. In 1920, for instance, many of the city's better restaurants had small orchestras performing for their customers, and films were then still accompanied by live music. The club also ran a restaurant for its members and helped members in distress with "acts of benevolence."

This charming clubhouse on the west side of Fourth Avenue and two lots south of Lenora was one of the few homes that were saved during the Denny Regrade. It was lowered about 60 feet in 1909-10. The druggist John Morris and his wife, Ella, are listed as living there in 1892. In 1937 the Musicians' Club moved to new quarters, razed its landmark clubhouse and built a garage in its place, which it still owns and rents.

"Washington Then and Now" the new book by Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard, can be purchased through www.washingtonthenandnow.com ($45.) The authors can be reached through Tartu Publications at P.O. Box 85208, Seattle, WA 98145.