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Seattle’s 1st Starbucks, 1971–1976

Above/featured: Exhibition “Edible City: A Delicious Journey” at MOHAI – Seattle, 8 Jan 2017 (6D1).

What: 1st Starbucks, in the Rhode Island building at the corner of Virginia & Western.
Where: A restaurant now, but no historical plaque or sign.
Why: 1st location between 1971 to 1976, as historical exercise.

Many write about and refer to the “original Starbucks” location in downtown Seattle. If they’re referring to the present location in Pike Place, that Starbucks outlet while the world’s oldest is not the first or original location.

So, what happened to Starbucks’ very first shop from 1971 to 1976?

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Seattle: living black history in the C.D.

Oh Seattle: how is your black history defined?

With the city’s proximity to Vancouver, my time in or any understanding of Seattle was incomplete without an examination of the city’s non-white communities. I had questions about the black community and in particular why the city remains racially segregated. People of color, including black people, were once forbidden from buying houses in specific neighbourhoods because of their skin colour. The Central District (CD) thrived as a black community in the 2nd-half of the 20th-century, but now, citizens struggle with gentrification, displacement, and economic racism. There’s much more I need to ask and learn, but for now, I describe below a selection of landmarks highlighting contributions by and the historical impact of the black community to city and nation.

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seaplane, Harbour Air, Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet, Salish Sea, North Shore, West Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Seasons: winter

Above/featured: Harbour Air seaplane landing in Burrard Inlet: Vancouver, BC – 6 Dec 2016.

In winter, low-lying areas in the Canadian southwest don’t get snow, but when there’s a dump of at least an inch or two, that’s enough to paralyze the cities’ streets. Drivers are spoiled by the lack of snow, unaccustomed to dealing with the slip and slide. But after a snow event, the day after brings out the sun, almost like clockwork. To that end, I’ve always been fascinated by winter views on snow-capped summits; it’s about the view after all.

In the languages with which I’m familiar, the word “winter” appears as:

Chinese: 冬季
French: l’hiver
German: der Winter
Spanish: el invierno

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Autumn fog, Salish Sea, First Narrows, Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet, Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Seasons: autumn

Above/featured: Annual autumn marine fog: Vancouver, BC – 7 Oct 2014 (6D1).

For me, autumn or fall represents a change for deciduous trees, bringing about deep reds, oranges, and yellows for a brief period before the leaves fall, and signifying the ultimate transition to winter. In languages with which I’m most familiar, the word “autumn” (or fall) appears as:

Chinese: 秋季
French: l’automne
German: der Herbst
Spanish: el otoño

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NHL Black Hockey History Tour, black hockey, black hockey history, Jimi Hendrix Park, Northwest African American Museum, Seattle, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Black hockey history, NHL mobile museum in Seattle (2018)

When a city receives an expansion team, that immediately drives anticipation for a new pro sports presence and interest for an expected intraregional rivalry. It’s a perfect time for the professional sports league to come into town and speak to the city’s audience.

The new NHL Seattle Kraken ice hockey team will begin play in the 2021-2022 season, and regional bragging rights will begin immediately with an immediate regional rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks, not unlike the decades-old soccer rivalry between the Seattle Sounders and the Vancouver Whitecaps (which I first witnessed in the 1970s in the old original NASL).

But the following questions remain timely: For whom is ice hockey? What is the relationship between the sport and people of colour? What is the history of black people in professional hockey? I hope the following sheds a little bit of light on black hockey history.

NHL Black Hockey History Mobile Museum

In early 2020, a travelling museum exhibition highlighted how black Canadians, black Americans, and their respective communities have made important contributions to the winter sport of ice hockey at both amateur and professional levels.⁣ Presented in conjunction with the American Legacy Network, the NHL Black Hockey History mobile museum made its way throughout North America, stopping in 14 cities: Washington, DC; Detroit, MI; St. Louis, MO; Pittsburgh, PA; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Newark, NJ; Nashville, TN; Anaheim, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Jose, CA; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Tempe, AZ.

In a continuation of activities associated with Black History Month, Kim Davis, NHL executive vice president, wrote about what Black History Month meant to her, and what players of colour past and present have meant to the game of hockey (28 Feb 2020).

The mobile museum dropped anchor for its 4-day visit in Seattle in early March, with the first stop at Jimi Hendrix Park next to the city’s Northwest African American Museum.

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