Suzanne Hittman Collection of the Pike Place Market
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Explore the early history of the Pike Place Market through letters, receipts, plans, rental agreements and other documents related to the market’s business.
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Construction on Pike Place in front of Leland Hotel
Photograph depicting the construction underway on Pike Place in front of the Leland Hotel.
Identifier: spl_sh_00013
Date: 1939-08-17
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Angelo Pellegrini Interview, February 27, 1986
Angelo Pellegrini (1903-1991) was a food and wine expert, author, and a professor of English Literature at the University of Washington. He was born in Casabianca, Italy and was one of six children. His father, Piacento, was a sharecropper and left Italy for the United States in 1912 to seek a better life for his family. He found work first with the Northern Pacific Railway (which sent him to Washington) and then with the Henry McCleary Timber Company in Grays Harbor. The rest of the Pellegrini family followed in 1913. Angelo Pellegrini excelled in school, learning English and completing eight years of grade school in five years. He completed high school in three years and enrolled in the University of Washington where he studied history. Following his graduation from the University of Washington, he began became an English professor at Whitman College for a brief time before returning to teach at the University of Washington. Pellegrini published his first book, The Unprejudiced Palate, in 1948. Over the course of his career he earned several awards and honors including being named an "an Outstanding Citizen of Washington State" by the Washington State House of Representatives. He retired from teaching in 1973 but continued to write, authoring ten books in total over the course of his lifetime. His books were noted for their appreciation of food and culture and representation of the Italian immigrant experience.
Identifier: spl_ds_apellegrini_01_01
Date: 1986-02-27
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Letter from I.A. Caraco to Mr. Jack Shelton regarding his recent visit to Seattle,
Letter briefly discussing Jack Shelton's recent trip to Seattle written on letterhead for Pike Place Public Markets Incorporated. The letterhead lists the company officials and address information.
Identifier: spl_sh_00061
Date: 1935-10-29
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Letter from Arthur Goodwin to John Clifford regarding an empty market stall and the Bonnie Brae Ball Room, July 18, 1927
Letter from Arthur Goodwin instructing John Clifford, the assistant manager of Pike Place Public Markets, Inc. regarding the rent for an empty stall next to Murray's Meat Market. He also asks Clifford to check on the structural integrity of the Bonnie Brae Ball Room. He explains 'some of the modern dances put a special strain upon the building as a large majority of the dancers jump from three to six inches in the air, all landing at the same time. This is what wrecked a building in Boston and is worth taking into consideration.'
Identifier: spl_sh_00037
Date: 1927-07-18
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Letter from Arthur Goodwin to P.B. Murray regarding an overdue rent payment, September 28, 1927
Letter from Arthur Goodwin to P.B. Murray of Murray Meat Market, stating that it has come to his attention that Murray believes he does not have to pay rent for the month of September. Goodwin states that Murray's rent is in fact due but they are allowing a 75 dollar discount for the month to account for the market stalls currently undergoing changes.
Identifier: spl_sh_00109
Date: 1927-09-26
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I.A. Caraco receipt for the Desimon Bros. & Co., October 19, 1935
I.A. Caraco's receipt for the purchase of grapes from the Desimone Brothers & Company Vegetable Growers. The back of the receipt promises 'We believe everything you bought of us today will give you entire satisfaction. If there is anything wrong about this transaction we stand in readiness at any and all times to cheerfully rectify the same.'
Identifier: spl_sh_00051
Date: 1935-10-18
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Letter from Arthur Goodwin to the Gillespie Auto Laundry asking about their car wash system, July 16, 1927
Letter from Arthur Goodwin to Gillespie Auto Laundry asking about the particulars of their car wash system. Goodwin expresses interest in installing such a system in the Pike Place Market auto park.
Identifier: spl_sh_00086
Date: 1927-07-16
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Pearls
Frank Asakichi Kunishige was born in Japan on June 5, 1878. He came to the United States via San Francisco in 1895. After graduating from the Illinois College of Photography, he opened a small photography studio in San Francisco. Kunishige moved to Seattle in 1917. In the same year, he married Gin Kunishige and began working in the studio of Edward S. Curtis where he became acquainted with Ella McBride who he worked for in later years. Kunishige was well known for his use of Pictorialism, a popular painterly style of photography. He developed his photographs on "textura tissue," a paper of his own creation, which allowed him to produce almost dreamlike prints. His work was featured nationally and internationally in exhibitions and publications such as Photo-Era and Seattle's Town Crier. In 1924, Kunishige became one of the founding members of the Seattle Camera Club, a group of local photographers including Kyo Koike, Yukio Morinaga, Iwao Matsushita and Fred Y. Ogasawara who gathered to share techniques and ideas, as well as their deep love of the medium. Although the group was initially solely Japanese, they soon welcomed more members including Ella McBride, their first female member. When World War II struck and the country's Japanese internment policy was put in place, Kunishige and his wife were forced to leave Seattle for Idaho where they were interned at the Minidoka camp. After their release, Kunishige spent two years working at a photography studio in Twin Falls, Idaho but eventually returned to Seattle due to his poor health. Frank Kunishige passed away on April 9, 1960.
Identifier: spl_art_367924_18
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Letter to Mrs. Tanable regarding her high light bill, December 11, 1928
Letter informing Mrs. Tanabe, a flower farmer, that her electricity usage is much higher than other vendors and the cost will have to be added to her rent if she continues to use such a disproportionately large amount.
Identifier: spl_sh_00059
Date: 1928-12-11
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Letter from Frank Stier Goodwin to Arthur Goodwin regarding an article on foreign markets, July 31, 1927
Letter from Frank Goodwin describing an article he is writing on foreign markets in the Levant to Arthur Goodwin.
Identifier: spl_sh_00088
Date: 1927-07-31
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