On Sundays, we feature a great shot of our park or neighborhood from the MyGreenLake Flickr Pool.
This week’s photo, by Grundlepuck, is historical in nature. Shot in May 10, 2008, it features the roadside sign from the now-closed Green Lake Motel, which once operated out of 8900 Aurora Ave N.
The Green Lake Motel was one of many roadside inns built when state Route 99 (a.k.a. Aurora Ave) was the main north-south arterial through Seattle. “The motel-ificication” of Route 99 took off in 1962, according Leonard Garfield of the Museum of History and Industry, who was quoted in this 2009 seattlepi.com Big Blog post.
1962 brought the World’s Fair to Seattle. “With Mom, Dad and the kids packed into the station wagon, and dog-tired from crossing the plains on the nation’s primitive interstate system,” says Garfield, “the motels on Aurora with their kitschy neon signs and ample parking seemed like a home-away-from home.”
“In later years,” he says, “the same motels have welcomed prostitutes and the temporarily homeless along with other travelers, and Aurora Avenue continues to be a well-traveled route and a well-worn place to rest for the night.”
In May 2008, the Washington State Department of Health suspended the Green Lake Motel’s licence for several health and safety violations, including mold, exposed wiring, and broken smoke detectors.
While the front part of the complex operated as motel, the back part held apartment units, and tenants were given just 48 hours by the establishment’s landlord to vacate. According to Aurora|Seattle, this incident helped push forward House Bill 1663, which now gives nontransient motel residents relocation assistance rights in the event that the motel is shut down by government action.
The building was later reopened as the Oaktree Motel, and the legendary “Green Lake Motel” sign was removed. You can read about the site’s transition to the Oaktree Motel in this May 2009 Aurora|Seattle story.
(As a footnote, two years ago this photograph provided inspiration for My Green Lake’s logo. Thank you, Tim!)
