Tony Chiado

Westlake Park is one of Downtown Seattle’s better civic spaces. With space for politics, chess games, art, community events, and seating, it has all of the makings of a quality public forum. In result, there is regularly a steady, diverse crowd enjoying the park. As Downtown Seattle becomes more resident focused and rebuilds its retail scene in the wake of COVID-19, the park’s future only looks up. However, Westlake Park is relatively young and hasn’t always been there. What came before?

In 1907, Westlake avenue cut through the street grid from 4th Ave. and Pike St. up north to the Fremont bridge. A number of wedge shaped lots were ready for construction upon its completion. One of those lots, at 4th and Pine, would become the Hotel Plaza that same year.

The Hotel Plaza, it appeared, was a quality place to lay your head. Newspapers from the time make mention of a restaurant, weddings, and the respectability of available rooms. One of the images above also shows a Dancing Cabaret sited on the ground floor in 1925. Sitting opposite Westlake Ave. from the American hotel, it commanded attention. It sat at the base of the later regraded Denny Hill, and a left at the fork would take you up the hill toward Washington Hotel. The later regrade would take you into Belltown’s advertised apartment and retail district. Or, a right at the fork would take you to Lake Union and beyond.

Half a century before Seattle’s World’s Fair that gave us the Space Needle, it also appears that there was a heavy push for a monorail system through Seattle’s core. Seattle instead opted for ground-running trolley system despite the Universal Elevated Railway Company’s push. This conceptual image showcases the Hotel Plaza with elevated monorail lines surrounding it.

Many beautiful buildings in Seattle were lost to earthquake damage over the years. Another many were lost to fires. Why the Hotel Plaza was demolished isn’t immediately available. I’m sure I’ll come across that information someday, though, as a passing mention in a book. By the mid 1930s, with the Great Depression in full swing, newspapers suggest that room rentals were pennies on the dollar relative to the hotel’s first few decades. The loss of revenue must have meant trouble for financial operations. In 1935, the Hotel Plaza was no more. In the 7-story flat iron’s place rose a 2-story Bartell Drugs. The Bartell Drugs would remain until the late 1980s when a vision for Westlake Center and Westlake Park spelled the end for the druggist at that corner.