West Seattle history: Triangle burger joint ‘Mr. B’s’

(See a larger version here)
That May 1954 photo of Mr. B’s Double-Decker Hamburger, from the Seattle Municipal Archives, came to our attention on Friday, when the Seattle City Council Twitter account flagged it as “Photo of the Week.” It’s one of the archive photos also featured on Flickr, and its main page there includes comments from Flickr member “Severinus” with more information, including a link to an exterior view “Severinus” pinpointed Mr. B’s address as 38th and Fauntleroy – now home to the dry cleaners immediately north of Link Apartments.

JimClark September 23, 2012 (3:13 pm)

Boy thats one I don’t remember for sure always remember that spot as being a cleaner

Km September 23, 2012 (3:15 pm)

What a great time in history! Check out those prices.

Me September 23, 2012 (3:19 pm)

Man. I live in the Link Apartments, and that would be a cool place to have right there instead of a cleaners.

TDe September 23, 2012 (3:45 pm)

Wow… That’s cool! I think someone should bring it back!

shed22 September 23, 2012 (4:38 pm)

I wonder if that’s Mrs. B in the photo. What a little slice of 50’s Americana. I would wager that remnants and artifacts and memories of the joint could still be found in West Seattle.

susan September 23, 2012 (5:13 pm)

I wonder if Westside’s “Mr. B” is related.

kg September 23, 2012 (6:47 pm)

I’ve always felt that Prof Elemental was better than Mr B.

Look4wrd September 23, 2012 (6:49 pm)

Km, those prices aren’t quite the bargain they seem with minimum wage being $0.75/hour and average wage under $4,000 per year.

That sure is a cool photo and I’d love to have a joint like that here.

wsdad September 23, 2012 (7:57 pm)

Look4wrd do you have to be the wet towel?

Stu September 23, 2012 (8:58 pm)

This is so cool. I have been in that cleaners and would never have imagined it would have looked like this diner. Anyone notice the three Malt machines on the counter and the old cigarette machine in the photo. Also the hat on the Hat rack. Thanks for posting this.

boy September 23, 2012 (9:22 pm)

Me, It would be nice to see places like this. But they are being torn down to make room for more apartments like yours.

WSB September 23, 2012 (9:36 pm)

Link did not replace anything that seemed at the time to be of particular sentimental value: A one-story building that had been part of West Seattle Montessori, and a Huling Automotive garage:
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https://westseattleblog.com/2009/11/triangle-project-in-progress-link-demolition-day-3-today
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Among other semi-recent projects: Mural went up in a parking lot.
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https://westseattleblog.com/2007/12/parking-lot-behind-petco-now-officially-closed
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Capco Plaza/Altamira replaced a strip-mall-type building that included a Hollywood Video and a day care.
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https://westseattleblog.com/2007/06/41st42ndalaska-megaproject-update-blame-it-on-the-monorail
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I thought the vein of anti-apartment sentiment lay with the density, not with an affinity for the buildings that are being taken down – so far. But I hope everyone concerned is following the stirrings of a possible movement to make sure the ones that do hold history are carefully regarded – see our coverage of the most recent Southwest District Council meeting, for example.
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P.S. And then there’s the tale of the building once slated for demolition, then saved:
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https://westseattleblog.com/2012/06/followup-alkis-shoremont-apartments-saved-and-up-for-rent-with-a-twist

Diane September 23, 2012 (11:13 pm)

that statement from the owner/architects in the June 15, 2007 Capco Plaza story is hilarious/ridiculous, when you see the tons of gaudy signs covering nearly every inch of the walls of the building now; empty promises
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“The retail signs will be tasteful, promised the development team, including the architects and owner Leon Capelouto, a longtime WS businessman. He said this is supposed to be one of QFC’s more “upscale” stores; the signage will not be the gaudy yellow of many QFCs, but rather something more urban, like their Mercer project. It was also promised that the Office Depot signage too will be “metropolitan” in nature.”
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every time I ride west on Alaska to the junction, it seems like there’s more and more ugly signs covering the entirety of this so-called “upscale building”; tacky tacky tacky

Triangle Neighbor September 24, 2012 (9:12 am)

Capco and Link need to take down the “Now Leasing” signs. Seriously overdue.

cj September 24, 2012 (9:55 am)

I wasn’t here to remember that place but it sure brings back memories of my childhood in the 60s. I remember when a hamburger used to taste like healthy beef, those were the days.

Kravitz September 24, 2012 (4:41 pm)

Oh man, what a beautiful old diner. I would love to bring something like that back to life in old West Seattle. Traveling all across the US and stopping at these types of places makes me long for the good ol’ days here at home.

West Seattle Since 1979 September 24, 2012 (8:14 pm)

Boy, the building that housed that diner is still there–it’s a cleaner’s now. Diners probably fell out of favor in the 1960’s and 1970’s with all the fast food chains, NOT because of apartments.

Sorry, comment time is over.