Famed Seattle spots: What they once were and what's there today

Seattle is a city that has changed a lot, and it doesn't take a market analyst or real estate expert to notice that.

Seattle's change is everywhere you look: The once iconic gay bars that are giving way to ritzy, high-end condos; longtime bakeries and delis in Seattle's Italian immigrant enclave nicknamed the "Garlic Gulch" have closed up shop forever; and that famed Pink Elephant car wash sign even moved to a new home on Amazon's South Lake Union campus.

In many ways that's always been the city's M.O., even if it feels more rushed than ever by new development and a job market so strong it's driving local real estate prices up far past what most people can afford.

As the city develops into something almost unfamiliar to its longest residents, keep scrolling for a look back at some of Seattle's most famous, infamous, and historic spots and what they've become.

Then: The Denny Hotel

The Denny Hotel or Hotel Washington, depending on when in its short life you were naming it. The Denny Hotel began development by Arthur Denny and several other investors in 1889, but only a shell went up initially. The panic of 1893 stalled construction for nearly a decade, until James Moore bought the property and in short order turned it into the grand "scenic hotel in the West" that it was planned to be.

But it's location at the peak of Denny Hill (along Third Avenue between Stewart and Virginia streets) proved its life short. In 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt stayed in the grand hotel and boosted its reputation for the last three years of its life.

Now: Denny Triangle

Moore's hotel was razed during the Denny Regrade, which lowered the ground beneath the hotel by about 100 feet between 1906 and 1907. Plenty has been built in its place, but perhaps with less pomp and circumstance. Moore got to build a theater bearing his name not far from the Denny Hotel, which still stands today.

Sadly, the Bergman Luggage store pictured here closed in 2020.

Then: Ballard City Hall

Ballard was a city in its own right, growing in the late nineteenth century with a population of Scandinavian immigrants and fishermen. Built in 1899, the city hall building contained a jail, the fire department, city offices, community meeting rooms, and a ballroom.

Ballard was annexed by the city of Seattle in 1907 following a water supply dispute, and the building was demolished in 1965 after damage from earthquakes.

Now: Marvin's Garden

Part of the historic building still stands now as a park, and the tower holds the bell that was part of Ballard's City Hall. Seattle Parks and Recreation noted that the park has no relation to Marvin Gardens on the board game Monopoly, and was actually named after Ballard's honorary mayor Marvin Sjoberg.

Then: Queen Anne Counterbalance

Trolley cars started there in the 1890s and electric cars were introduced in 1901. The earliest trolleys that climbed the hill were aided by a counterweight that traveled in a tunnel under the street. The tunnels are still there and are roughly three-feet tall in most places.

Now: Queen Anne Avenue

Buses replaced trolleys in 1940. Now, getting from Uptown to Queen Anne requires a walk, drive or bus ride. There is also a small urban park with tables and benches named Counterbalance Park at the base of the hill meant to memorialize the days of trolley riding.

Then: Pioneer Square as central business district

Following the construction of large brick buildings after the Great Fire of 1889, Pioneer Square was once Seattle's thriving business hub. It was the start of many of the city's street car lines which ran across the brick streets.

However, by the 1910s, businesses started moving north to what we now consider the downtown business district.

Now: Pioneer Square as historic neighborhood

Here's about the same view of Pioneer Square taken more recently. The Smith Tower, which opened in 1914 and was once the tallest building in the city, wasn't even there in the previous photo. But Pioneer Square looks, in many regards, much the same as it has since things were rebuilt after the Great Seattle fire in 1889.

Then: Sick's Stadium

Businessman Emil Sick bought the Seattle Indians baseball team in 1937 and renamed it the Seattle Rainiers. He also started work on a new steel and concrete baseball stadium in Rainier Valley, south of downtown. Sick's Seattle Stadium opened in June 1938. For years, fans crowded the stadium or watched from the slopes overlooking the outfield.

By the 1960s, fewer people were going to the games. The stadium was home to the Seattle Pilots briefly when Major League Baseball granted an expansion team for the city. But part of the deal required that a new domed stadium be built to replace it as Sicks' Stadium didn't measure up for a real major league team.

Now: Lowes Home Improvement store

After the Pilots were sold and moved to Milwaukee, the stadium slowly fell into disrepair until, finally, it was torn down in 1979. Now, the site at 2700 Rainier Ave. S. serves as an outpost for a Lowe's hardware store.

However, there is a small wooden plaque outside as a reminder of the many ball games once played there.

Then: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer offices

The building on Sixth and Wall was originally commissioned by the Hearst Corporation as home for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

However, the newspaper's iconic neon globe wasn't even part of the original design for the P-I headquarters. Once the building was done being constructed in 1947, people noted that the prominent circular entry pavilion's flat roof made it perfect for some sort of emblem. A contest was held, and a curved map of the world — with glowing lines of light connecting Seattle to wherever important news was happening along the map — beat out 350 other contestants.

The Post-Intelligencer printed the paper from the large facility until reaching a joint-operating agreement with The Seattle Times in 1981. The paper moved to a smaller office on Elliott Avenue.

Now: City University of Seattle

Today, the building that once housed Seattle's oldest newspaper belongs to the City University of Seattle, which moved into the building in 2013.

And where is the globe that was once atop the building? It moved to the P-I's new office on Elliott Avenue in 1985 where it still stands today recognized as a city landmark, making it a part of the waterfront that will hopefully never change.

Then: Twin Teepees

Clark's Twin T-Ps restaurant, later renamed the Twin Teepees, came into existence during the golden age of the roadside establishment. It opened in 1937 and managed to remain until 2000, when a fire caused its closure. It was razed in 2001.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the Twin Teepees is that Harland Sanders is storied to have perfected his fried chicken recipe there before going off to open Kentucky Fried Chicken — one of the city's many urban legends.

Now: Apartment complex

In a sign that the city's population is growing, the site of the restaurant is now the Clarke Apartments with 24 units.

Then: The Fun Forest

The Fun Forest, which opened with the World's Fair in 1962 was originally called the Gayway and eventually included a roller coaster, games and more. It had its ups and downs and eventually turned out to be not fun enough and closed down in 2011.

Now: Chihuly Garden and Glass

Today, the space where the Fun Forest once thrilled Seattleites young and old is filled with the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass museum.