Post #373512 by DJ Terence Gunn on Sun, Apr 13, 2008 5:37 PM

The Tradewinds was before my time in Seattle, and it later became My Suzie's Lounge, and now the Pampas (Pompous) Room. Apparently there had been a fire in the place and most of The Tradewinds decor had been destroyed. I'm not sure how large The Tradewinds had been, as I know My Suzie's Lounge was fairly small, but The Pampas Room (Club), which is very large and has a stage, by-passes and goes below what was once My Suzie's Lounge, just below El Gaucho. Judging by the current structure and layout it's difficult to imagine what the space The Tradewinds occupied looked like, and if it went underground as The Pampas Room does. And to add confusion, there's a place, or used to be, called The Big Picture, which is accessible via the El Gaucho entrance, continuing underground round the North side of The Pampas Room and filling out directly underneath what was once My Suzie's Lounge.

The second time I met Otto Von Stroheim was here in Seattle in the mid-1990s and myself and a few friends, all of us dressed in vintage suits, took Otto round to a few places of potential interest to him, one of them being My Suzie's Lounge. Otto had his camera and was hoping to shoot a few shots of any remaining decor that had survived and been leftover from The Tradewinds, no doubt to include in Tiki News. I recall us walking into My Suzie's and seeing 3 or 4 motley, stereo-typically white-trash-looking patrons at the bar, who excitedly pleaded 'Hey, Guys! Come on in and have a drink!' We were all a bit uncomfortable and perhaps a little scared (believe me, if you saw these folks, you'd have been a bit scared, too!), and the place was dark and a total shambles, so we replied, almost in unison, 'No thanks. We're not stopping.' We did, however, inquire whether there was any decor left over from The Tradewinds, and to the left of the entrance (we noticed just as we were told) there was a large pile of Polynesian/Tiki items, bamboo, and decor. I believe there was some kind of waterfall and bridge or a pond or something. Otto took a snapshot or two. Perhaps he still has the shots? If so, now's an apt time to post 'em. 'Course, that was a while ago.

Has anyone on TC ever been to The Tradewinds in Seattle? It would certainly be interesting to hear about it, what it looked like, the drinks and food it served, etc. It would be even more interesting to see photos of the place.

[ Edited by: DJ Terence Gunn 2008-04-14 05:21 ]