Trish Festin - Seattles Mayflower Park Hotel

IMAGES
of America

SEATTLES
MAYFLOWER PARK
HOTEL

MAYFLOWER PARK HOTEL DAY. This proclamation by the City of Seattle, issued by Mayor Greg Nickels, proclaimed July 16, 2007, to be Mayflower Park Hotel Day in recognition of the hotels 80th anniversary.

ON THE COVER: THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN 1939. The hotel was part of a vibrant city scene in 1939. Hotel Mayflowers rooftop neon sign and the four-story neon sign on the northwest corner of the building reflected the trend of that era when colorful neon signs dominated the city streets of Seattle. See for this street scene at night. (Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives 38853.)

IMAGES
of America

SEATTLES
MAYFLOWER PARK
HOTEL

Trish Festin, Audrey McCombs,
Craig Packer, and Stevie Festin

Copyright 2014 by Trish Festin, Audrey McCombs, Craig Packer, and Stevie Festin
ISBN 978-1-4671-3134-6
Ebook ISBN 9781439642801

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013947614

For all general information, please contact Arcadia Publishing:
Telephone 843-853-2070
Fax 843-853-0044
E-mail
For customer service and orders:
Toll-Free 1-888-313-2665

Visit us on the Internet at www.arcadiapublishing.com

This book is dedicated to Birney and Marie Dempcy for their steadfast dedication as caretakers of the Mayflower Park Hotel; to the wonderful staff, who exemplify genuine and authentic hospitality; and to our loyal guests, who have returned to us time and time again. Together our story is Quite Simply, One of a Kind.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Mayflower Park Hotel Historical Society members would like to thank the many people who helped make this book possible.

Thank you, Birney and Marie Dempcy, for your blessing on this project. Your hard work as well as dedication to every detail is an inspiration. The story needed to be told and it is an honor you allowed us to tell it.

Thank you, Stacia Williams, director of marketing and communications at the Mayflower Park Hotel, for your editing knowledge and thoughtful feedback, which were integral to this book.

Thank you, Paul Ishii, general manager at the Mayflower Park Hotel, and our colleagues and our families for your support and enthusiasm, which encouraged us along the way.

Thank you, Cheryl Gunselman and Pat Mueller, at Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries. Pat joined in on our excitement in 2006 when we discovered the motherlode of Mayflower historical information in the archives at Washington State University Libraries. Cheryl provided the professional guidance and support we needed to credit information properly.

Thank you, Dr. Lorraine McConaghy, at the Museum of History & Industry. Lorraine has always been our go-to person on anything historical. Lorraine gave our project credibility by endorsing our proposal to Arcadia Publishing and gave us assistance in finding images we needed for this book.

Thank you, University of Washington, Special Collections, and the Seattle Public Library for your collections of periodicals and digital images.

Thank you, Gonzaga University, for providing an internship program for history majors. We were honored to have Stevie Festin, a member of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society, as a valuable partner on this book.

A thank-you goes to all the guests, employees, and people of Seattle for sharing your Mayflower Park Hotel memories. Those stories gave our history life. Keep them coming!

History has always been something that has set the Mayflower Park Hotel apart from most Seattle hotels. We have it, and we embrace it. When the hotel celebrated its 80th anniversary, we decided to dig deep and find out more about our history. The more we uncovered, the more excited we became. So we dug and dug and dug. Five years later, we had filled 12 binders of historical information.

Armed with these binders, we submitted a proposal to Arcadia Publishing. Our proposal was accepted, and thus, the publishing journey began.

We had no idea about the magnitude of this project. The guidelines and deadlines from Arcadia Publishing were challenging. However, looking back, it was those guidelines and deadlines that motivated us to publish our story. Thank you, Rebecca Coffey, for your patience with ordinary hotel people who love the Mayflower Park Hotel. Any errors or omissions are strictly unintentional.

Unless otherwise noted, all images appear courtesy of the Mayflower Park Hotel and all text taken from the Mayflower Park Hotel website is used with the permission of the hotel.

LETTER FROM THE OWNERS

We are very excited to showcase the history of the Mayflower Park Hotel. Built in 1927 by local owners, it was one of Seattles finest hotels, and now 87 years later, it is still locally owned and is still an important part of our community.

When we bought the hotel in 1973, it was not our intention to become as totally involved as we did. The hotel had been neglected and was in bad repair. But as the renovation of the building progressed, we, as so many others, fell in love with its emerging charm and became dedicated to its restoration.

Along the way, we were fortunate to work with wonderful employees, architects, designers, and others who shared our vision and contributed ideas, dedication, and loyalty. They are all part of the Mayflower Park Hotels family, and to them, we offer our profound thanks. Also, much gratitude must be expressed to our partners for their incredible and unwavering support over the years.

Most importantly, a hotel is about people. Over the years, the Mayflower Park Hotel has been privileged to be a participant in the major and minor events of peoples livesmostly happy, occasionally sad, but always important to those involved. To our guests, many of whom have returned to us time and time again, we are deeply indebted.

For us, it has been a privilege to be caretakers of this lovely and very special hotel for the past 40 years. These years have brought us much satisfaction and joy, and we are dedicated to the tradition of making the Mayflower Park Hotel Quite Simply, One of a Kind.

Birney and Marie Dempcy

AN ENTRANCE TO HOSPITALITY. A 1934 brochure described the Hotel Mayflower, One of Seattles newest hotels with twelve stories of modern fireproof construction250 rooms all outside and all with private baths. The lounge and mezzanine were unusually beautiful. The hotel is in the very center of the smart uptown shopping and theater districts. It is within a block of the citys largest department stores, and across the street from the Orpheum and famous Seattle Public Market. The Banquet Rooms accommodate 10250 guests, with rates based on menu desired. (Courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection.)

One

BERGONIAN HOTEL

19271933

The Mayflower Park Hotel started its life as the Bergonian Hotel on July 16, 1927, and has been in continuous operation ever since. Opening festivities included an orchestra concert as well as a swaying throng of dancers who glided over the checkered mosaic ballroom floor until midnight.