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A Madkin Mystery & Bonus History
The Private Club
Imagine you’re a Seattleite 70 years in the future doing research on the art & music scenes of today. Maybe you want to find out more about The Josephine or The Black Lodge, but there’s a problem. No record of these venues exist on the Internet, nor can you find any mention of them in newspaper archives. Obtaining an oral history is equally difficult as anyone who would’ve frequented those venues are likely to be dead.
That’s what it’s been like trying to research one of the longest running rumors about The Madkin: that it once housed a speakeasy/private club in the basement. At best all I’ve been able to gather are a handful of rumors and a smattering of facts. Here’s what I know:
The Tax Assessor’s report from 1937 lists The Madkin (then named the Alta Vista Apartments), as having a café in the basement.
The space operated as an unpermitted business until then owner William H. Hawkins filed a permit for a private club/restaurant in 1950. Unfortunately, no name is listed for the club, and oddly the address that’s listed on the permit is 1621 E. Madison, which as far as I can tell, has never existed (aside from one unremarkable 2-line wedding announcement I found in the newspaper archives). It’s possible this address could be attributed to the side door of the building.
I could not find the above address in the City Directories from that time period (not even the unit number it would’ve been associated with), nor any clubs, bars, taverns, or beer houses associated with the address of the building.
As mentioned on the main History page, it’s rumored that the club was shut down due to a fire code violation, but all I could find in the Seattle Municipal Archives, was an unrelated violation for not having fire extinguishers in the building. How do I know it’s unrelated? Because there was an update to the club permit later in the year regarding the club’s kitchen, so it doesn’t look like the club was shut down (at least not for a fire code violation).
I’m not sure, but one of the owners of the Mardi Gras Tavern (which used to be in The Twlight’s old East Madison location, and is now an ugly condo), Ruby Beasley might have also run the café/club. According to the Seattle Daily Times archive, in 1951 she had a trial date set due to the operation of an unpermitted cigarette vending machine, and her address is the same as the building, but I’m not sure if newspapers of the time would be referencing her residential address or business address. If it’s the latter, why would the article refer to her as a “café operator” when she ran a bar?
I’ve also been in contact with Historic Seattle, the Black Heritage Society of Washington State, and even posted on Reddit (you never know what gems the hivemind might have), but unfortunately I haven’t been able to find any new information on the club.
What part did this club play in the nightlife and arts history of the Central District? We may never know. If you think you might have some information on this piece of local history please e-mail us at: savethemadkin (at) gmail.com.
Pioneering Residents
One thing I came across in my research was that The Madkin was home to two literal pioneer women whose life accomplishments, especially for the time, were amazing.
Edith C. Stone was a pioneer teacher who came to Seattle from San Francisco in 1886 (Washington wouldn’t even be a state for 3 more years), she was the second woman to climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier, and has a creek on the mountain named after her. She lived here when she died at the age of 76 in 1946.
Dr. Harriett Clark was a pioneer surgeon. She started practicing medicine in Seattle in 1891 and was in charge of two American Red Cross hospitals in Greece during World War I. She lived in the building when she died at age 80 in 1941.