Seattle's Bush Hotel, ca. 1922

IN THE MIX of storefront and walk-up businesses in this first half-block on the south side of Jackson Street at Sixth Avenue you could buy a dress or a watch, rent a Packard, get a bath and/or a haircut, have your clothes washed and suit pressed, rent a room with a bed, play pool at the alley and, no doubt, much more. A likely date for this Webster and Stevens Studio print is 1922 or '23.

Beyond the alley, the Busch Hotel and its services (including a Chop Suey Noodles cafe) fill the half-block to Maynard Avenue. The big hotel was built by William Chappell and lovingly dedicated in 1915 to his wife, Margaret, and signed with her maiden name, Busch. Like most other hotels in the neighborhood, the Busch hoped to thrive on passengers arriving at the two nearby railroad depots, also facing Jackson Street.

After William Chappell's death in 1921, his estate endured a good deal of legal squabbling among his heirs. One result was that the hotel's name was changed from Busch to Bush, a moniker it still holds. Purchased in 1978 by the Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, the hotel was made over into retail space and affordable housing units. Badly shaken by the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, it was tightened and polished, then reopened in the fall of 2006.

Among the more than 40,000 Webster and Stevens negatives preserved at Seattle's Museum of History & Industry, this one is, understandably, often used. It is part of our "Now and Then" repeat-photography exhibit at the museum; the exhibit will remain up until the museum's planned move to South Lake Union in June.

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