I think I was born too late. I so enjoy the antics of folks in the early 20th century! I stopped for an early dinner today at a place here in West Seattle (my 'hood) for an early dinner, called Luna Park Cafe. Their sign reads "best happy hour in West Seattle." Okay, I'm in. At first I was skeptical, but once inside, I was transformed. OMG! It's like stepping into a time machine! Booths with Naugahyde covered seats, AND, honest-to-G0d, juke-boxes at each table. Yep, drop in a quarter, and you can hear the likes of Dusty Springfield singing "Son of a Preacher Man," to Marvin Gaye's "I Heard it Through the Grapevine," to "Dancing in the Streets" by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas (all songs I punched in along with "Tell Her No" by The Zombies!) I was in heaven. Two glasses of decent cheap wine and a really, really good taco salad for $20 included tip.
But, the history part just blew my mind. This little cafe is the last vestige of Luna Park, a thriving waterfront amusement park Ala Coney Island, which thrived from 1907 to 1913. It was a 12-acre amusement park on piers over Puget Sound at the Duwamish head. There were fabulous rides, food, bars, and even salt-water swimming pools - a separate one for the ladies with dressing rooms! It was indeed considered the Coney Island of the West. Folks in downtown Seattle could see it all lit up at night, and would travel there by either water taxi or a rail shuttle that sounded absolutely terrifying! Anyway, there was trouble with underage youths drinking at Luna Park and it was closed down except for the swimming pools. But then, a horrible fire took all that out.....they don't know to this day if it was arson or not.
Now, beachcombers at low tide can still find the remaining piers of the great park, or an occasional treasure. And - for my friends in the Spokane area - you know that wonderful carousel in Riverfront Park? Yep, it came from Luna Park.
Anyway, the restaurant has many wonderful historical photos, memorabilia and even a "Batmobile" ride for the kids. It was so wonderful. I love West Seattle.
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I was remodeling a home in West Seattle in the early ninties. Driving to the job, I would go by an old drug store every day, but it was always closed. One day it was open, so I stopped. It was like a time capsule. The merchandise dated back to the twenties! The guy was very old and grumpy, but he warmed up after a while and I spent hours there over the course of the job. He told me many stories of his life and of Seattle. He said that he did not sell the old stuff in the store. When I asked why, he simply said that he could not get it any more. He lived in an apartment attached to the store. It was in disrepair and I fixed several things for him. Like many people who went through the Depression, he was extremely frugal. He died a few years later and an auctioneer parceled out his life. That was a sad day for me. I will never forget that place. West Seattle had a kind of sleepiness that was isolated from the busy life across the bridge.
ReplyDeleteDoug Carlton