RonM
I remember when the 7-11 on Charleston and California was a Texaco gas station. There was a Shell station across the street where the Charleston is today, but the property was divided between the Shell which was on the corner and a Dairy Queen just to the south that was the first commercial business at the location. It opened in the late 40’s with search lights and fanfare and was my first encounter with soft ice-cream. The burned out Shucks was a Safeway when I was a child and subsequently a number of businesses passed through the building.
Bartell’s was on the NE corner of California and Alaska and it had a soda fountain, as did Morton’s. Woolworth and Kress’s nickle and dime stores were just north of Bartell’s along with a sporting goods store and the Classic Barbershop where I was given my first haircut. The barbershop had been there since 1929. Penny’s was also on that side of the block and when they moved out I was angry enough never to shop in a Penny’s again! I also remember when that Penny’s had a cable system from the main floor to the balcony where change would be made and sent back down to the floor in a little cable car.
My Dad worked for a couple of years as a steam engineer at the Alki Natatorium. It was a beautiful indoor pool facility with four separate pools, one Olympic size, that was built on a pier. A poor design because the pier wasn’t strong enough to carry the weight of the pool and it was closed and torn down in the late 40’s. The Spud was a favorite in those days, the best Fish n’ Chips in the country! The founder died and the business seemed to degrade over several managements. We go to the Sunfish today for good fish n’ chips.