Physical places like restaurants, cafes, parks, and niche corners in a city are often memory keepers that remind us of bygone moments from past times in our lives. These might be places we visited with friends and family, and places we frequented as part of the rituals from past parts of our lives. This type of nostalgia is especially true in Seattle, where the city's growth is squeezing out many iconic places close to the city's culture that future generations and locals will never get to experience.
To give us further perspective on this type of nostalgia, historian Feliks Banel reminisced with us on New Day NW and talked about past iconic places of Seattle.
- Doghouse Restaurant: This was on 7th Avenue, near Denny at Bell Street. It was there from the '50s through the '90s. It was open 24 hours a day. The Doghouse served classic Old American food. A man named Dick Dickerson played the Wurlitzer organ in the lounge. Feliks said it felt like you were stepping into another time, maybe even another planet when you were there.
- Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor: Feliks described it as the pre-Chuck E. Cheese. It was a chain based in California with a couple of locations in Western Washington including one in Bellevue and Northgate. It was a 1890s - 1900s-style ice cream parlor. The clerks wore striped shirts and straw hats. Customers enjoyed a free ice cream sundae on their birthday and the staff would also come out and sing an obnoxiously loud birthday song. They had bulk candy for sale. There was even a self-playing piano, a siren that would go off when it was someone's birthday in addition to drums, and a pig trough with one hundred scoops of ice cream and if a group ate the whole thing, it was free. It was in the Seattle area until the '90s.
- Fun Forest at Seattle Center: The amusement park at the World's Fair in 1962. It was originally called the 'Gayway' before it was changed to the 'Fun Forest' in 1963. It went away in 2010. It had skeeball and amusement rides and was open year-round.
- Frederick & Nelson: Considered by many to be Seattle's greatest department store ever. It was in business from 1890 to around 1990. Its location is now the Nordstrom flagship store. They had beloved restaurants and departments, including Frango milkshakes in the Paul Bunyon room, a cafe in the basement. At Christmastime, they had well-decorated windows that were considered by many to be the best in the region. Historians even agree that this is where Santa photos were first invented in 1944. A Seattle PI photographer by the name of Art French who saw kids lining up to see Santa from the PI office across the street. He came up with the idea to take pictures of the kids sitting on Santa's lap. A man named Dave Harris played Santa for Frederick's for at least 30 years.
Those nostalgic places we all hold dear are disappearing, especially in Seattle. If we want to preserve them, we all need to get involved and take action. Feliks recommends paying attention and engaging with what is going on in your neighborhood. The places that will get saved the most are public places such as public artworks and parks, like the Troll under the Fremont bridge. For everyone who loves Gasworks Park, Magnusson Park, and other parks around the city, get involved in your community and take ownership of your area. Be vocal to your leaders and let them you love those places and you want them preserved for everyone to use.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.