by Kirby Lindsay, posted 8 January 2014
In the 1980s and 1990s, after Fremont’s business district resurrected itself and reasserted its prominence as a fun area to shop and explore, the one-block area of North 34th Street between Fremont Avenue and Aurora Avenue North has as much to offer as any other portion of the – then – tiny retail district.
It only made sense. In 1978, Rich Beyer installed his iconic sculpture, ‘People Waiting for the Interurban’, facing the strip of retail on N 34th, which drew attention – and shoppers.
So, what happened? Since 2005, the businesses along this block have struggled, most having relocated or closed. Some storefronts along this strip have sat vacant for years. Fremonsters have joked about a curse. A curse we hope may be ending!
A Cursory History
In the 80s and 90s, the one block area contained a marvelous mix of retail, restaurant, office and industrial businesses. Along the north side of N 34th, starting at Fremont Ave, pedestrians would pass from Costas Opa restaurant, to a series of small storefront retailers that contained, at any given time, Cherry Records, a candy shop, a used book store, Dandelion apothecary, Pontevecchio, Tribes Native American art gallery, and finally, starting in 1994, the Fremont PCC Natural Market. Continue east to find Fremont Electric – first its retail store, and then its warehouse and workshop buildings.
Fremont Electric eventually transformed into Carquest, and sold off some of its buildings, in the late 90s, which were converted into more office space and storefronts, with the local museum, History House of Greater Seattle at the eastern corner. In 2002, PCC relocated one block west – to Evanston – and the second location of Capers, a furniture store and coffee shop, opened in its prime space.
For nearly 100 years, this block had only one side, as a low, concrete wall ran along the southern sidewalk. The wall protected pedestrians – and runaway vehicles – from falling into the industrial park which sat roughly thirty-feet below. In the 1990s, Quadrant Corporation proposed and constructed an office park on this southern side, with a new building installed along the Fremont Bridge putting a restaurant and café behind the Beyer’s sculpture. The development also included a huge (by Fremont standards,) public open space (Solstice Plaza) that lured people to this area.
Upheaval And Traffic Problems
Then, in 2005, the City of Seattle began an extensive, and overdue, rebuild of the roadways that approach the Fremont Bridge – and problems began. The construction severely limited, and blocked, traffic access, sending potential customers anywhere but along N 34th, and this even included pedestrians.
Between 2005 and 2011, the one block area further underwent extensive repaving, and heavy construction due to the Lakeview Building. As the final, long-anticipated structure in the Quadrant Lake Union Center development, the Lakeview was constructed by Mike Mastro, just before his newsworthy bankruptcy. This further slowed down leasing of Lakeview, which had long been seen as the key to restoring the area.
Of course, it was Mastro who welcomed the installation at Lakeview of the ‘Late for the Interurban’ sculpture by Kevin Pettelle, honoring J.P. Patches and Gertrude.
Through this six year period, the retail portion of Carquest nearly survived, as did Istanbul Imports (after transforming into Café Turko) and History House. Otherwise, every business located along this one block stretch either closed or relocated, with the final departure being Portage Bay Goods in 2011.
Sweet Expectations
In 2013, markers of hope began to appear along this block – particularly noticeable when the City of Seattle gave it the honorary name of J.P. Patches Place.
Another possible marker is Old School, a frozen custard shop that faces the ‘People Waiting’ sculpture, although co-owner Rick Drouet is cautious about his future here – but not his product. “We have the best ice cream that there is,” he bragged, “it is a very high quality,” and when customers do find the shop, and sample its delicious wares, they often make a point of saying so too.
“We love our product,” Drouet explained, and hope that soon many others will be able to as well. The company opened its flagship store on Capitol Hill in June of 2009, and has now brought to Fremont, since November of 2012, a combination retail and wholesale manufacturing facility. Old School recently signed with a distributor to get its locally sourced frozen custard into area groceries.
“I love the look of our store,” Drouet said of the Fremont space, which required much more remodeling than expected, but has vastly improved the inside, and outside, of the building. Drouet also enjoys the customers that have found him. “The people that come in are so friendly!,” he praised.
Still, he does have some concerns about the Fremont location. “All the success we are having at Capitol Hill is being put into here,” he explained, “We’d like to have it hold its own.” The shop attracts tourists, but he needs to see more locals stop in – particularly ones who understand that ice cream, while an impulse buy, doesn’t have to be a warm weather treat.
Drouet also has hopes for the still vacant storefront next door (the only one remaining on the block,) and the leasing agent’s efforts to get it filled. The whole neighborhood will breathe a sigh of relief to know that the largest of the storefronts in this building, long referred to as either ‘the old Capers space’ or ‘the old PCC’, will soon become ‘the Impinj space.’ According to signs on the windows, the technology firm that has been officed across the street behind Blue Moon Burgers has leased this space.
In addition, between Carquest and Salsa Con Todo dance studio, a former warehouse space is being converted into the new location for Bikram Yoga Seattle. The hot yoga studio had to relocate so that Fremont Brewing Company, located down the street at Albion, can continue to grow.
The neighborhood already heaved a collective sigh when Yellow Dot Café opened in the long empty corner café space by the Fremont Bridge. Still, as with Old School, it remains up to Fremonsters to vote – with their dollars – if Yellow Dot stays and flourishes here.
According to Drouet, “we’re not doing a good enough job letting the people who live around here know that we’re a neighborhood store.” Yet all the businesses along Patches Place depend upon those who shop and play in Fremont to decide that the curse is ended, and that we want to see these enterprises thrive – and survive!
Related Articles
- Portage Bay Goods Brings Irreverence Closer To The Center
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 13, 2011
- A Closer Look: Mayor Visits A Noisy Yet Sweet Fremont
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 14, 2006 in the North Seattle Herald-Outlook
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.