Luckie
Member Profile
We're dismantling part of our 90-year-old house, and one of the workers found something interesting in the ceiling: an old token from someplace called "The Mecca". On the front, it says
H.F. LAPEER
THE MECCA
WEST SEATTLE
and on the back it says "GOOD FOR 5c IN TRADE"
I've posted a picture of it as my avatar for now, so you can see it. Does anyone remember a place called The Mecca? Where was it? When was it there?
Lindsey
Member Profile
Ooh, what a fun mystery!
What is it made of?
liquor kingpin mention:
http://www.aceatkins.com/Extras/DevilsGarden/ScandalRevealed.html
Luckie
Member Profile
It's about the size of a quarter and made of brass, I think. I looked up H. F. Lapeer on Google, and all I found was a brief reference to him (I am assuming it's a him) as a "liquor kingpin" during Prohibition.
There's the Mecca Cafe in Queen Anne - founded in the 20's. I found a reference to it being the first place in Seattle to serve beer the day prohibition was repealed.
Wouldn't it be neat if it were a token for illicit bathtub gin from back then? If you have the special token you get a drink...
What was considered 'West Seattle' back then?
http://www.georgetownhistory.com/2008/04/brick-store-georgetowns-oldest-brick.html
Article about Georgetown history, near West Seattle. Maybe your token is the same kind of thing, but from a different business. The reference to Lapeer may have indicated a bar token used before, during, or after prohibition?:
Jules Maes, a Belgian immigrant, started out as bartender and co-owner for August Ozar’s South Park saloon in the early 1900s. He returned to Belgium in 1905, married Leonie Verhulst and then came back to Seattle. Sometime between 1906 and 1908 he ran “The Maple Leaf Saloon” at 823 Rainier Avenue South, selling it in 1912 so that he could take over the Rainier Bar at 5953 Duwamish Avenue (now Airport Way South). An October 1912 article makes reference to his latest venture: “Mr. Maes understands that line of business thoroughly and is well liked and should
do a good business at his new place of business.” another article indicates that he had the place “repainted, repapered and put in good condition generally, and it presents a much more inviting appearance.” Initially, Maes’ bar offered wines, liquors, and cigars, but during prohibition it
changed its menu to soft drinks, cigars, and meals. By the early 1920s, the name changed to “Jules Maes” and in 1928, Jules’ youngest brother,
Valentine, started working there. The building was damaged in a fire in 1936 and torn down, forcing Jules and Valentine to move a few blocks
away to its current location. (Another story, told by Val’s daughter Mildred Maes Driscoll, says that Jules was told by the owner that he had to move,
so he went to city hall and had the building condemned.)
The new business contained a restaurant and beer parlor in the first-floor front section and a meeting hall in the rear room. According to one article (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 3, 2000), “There was food and drink. Men used to play cards in the back. They won 5-cent tokens. ‘Good for trade-in,’ Maes had printed on one side of them to make sure winnings stayed in the
saloon.” The Citizens’ Club regularly held meetings and hosted boxing matches called “smokers” in the back room, while the upper floor took on various uses throughout its history - hotel, boarding rooms, pigeon races, and offices of the original Georgetown Gazette.
You must log in to post.
All contents copyright 2012, A Drink of Water and a Story Interactive. Here's how to contact us.
No photo reuse without permission.
Entries and comments feeds. ^Top^
westseattleblog
West Seattle Blog
West Seattle Blog