This is a good and relatively intact example of the small but ornate commercial buildings that distinguished the West Seattle business district in the 1920s. It was an appliance store for many years, first Ware & Hosey and later Malody Appliances. From the beginning of the twentieth century West Seattle flourished as an independent business district with its own department stores and large specialty stores such as appliance dealers. Many of the stores, like this one, featured terra cotta and tile detailing much like larger downtown stores. These lasted until the 1970s, when stores consolidated and malls brought the closure of numerous smaller stores, often leaving many vacancies in neighborhood business districts.
In 1956, Ware & Hosey modernized the façade by covering the tall transom windows with vertical wood cladding. A later owner removed this alteration, restoring the building to closer to its original appearance.
The Junction, West
Seattle's primary commercial district, acquired its name in 1907 when a new
street car line on California Avenue SW was extended south to Fauntleroy Park,
crossing the Admiral streetcar line at SW Alaska Street. West Seattle, incorporated
as a city in 1902, had built the Admiral line--the nation’s first municipally-owned
streetcar line. At first, the Junction was just a swamp with a few real estate
offices, but in 1907 West Seattle voted
to be annexed to Seattle. Enhanced transportation and new amenities,
accompanied by heavy promotion, encouraged a real estate boom, with new
residents rapidly buying lots and building homes. Jefferson School opened in 1912,
and had to be expanded in 1917. The 1920s brought significant growth, with major
stores such as Ernst Hardware, Bartell Drugs, a J. C. Penney department store
and two "five and dimes"--Woolworth's and Kress. Although development
slowed during the Depression, the proximity of defense industries brought many
new residents during World War II. The
Junction thrived into the 1950s with several modern retail buildings and larger
stores. By the 1980s, however, competition from shopping malls made the
Junction's stores less competitive. J.C. Penney left in 1987 and many other retailers
selling common items such as clothing closed, generally replaced by
restaurants, bars and service businesses. In 1985, a large retail/office/residential
project was built on the former site of Jefferson Elementary School. In the
early 1990s, the City of Seattle adopted a comprehensive plan that focused
growth in "urban villages," including the Junction. By 2010, numerous
single-story buildings were being replaced by six-story mixed-use structures with
underground parking, significantly changing the district’s character.
