Trade Winds, Seattle, WA (restaurant)

Name:Trade Winds
Type:restaurant
Street:First Avenue and Wall Street
City:Seattle
State:WA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:defunct

Description:

Here is yet another entry from the pre-Tiki Trade Winds genre. This Trade Winds was located at First Avenue and Wall Street. It operated from the early 1960's until it was closed due to an electrical fire in 1986.

I picked up a matchbook that also advertised the Palm Room, which was the basement lounge. Nice little rendering and font on the front.

I also found a photo on flickr of the building exterior and neon sign.

Here is a story I found about the Palm Room and Louis Bianchi:

The Trade Winds' Palm Room in the basement of an old Belltown building was an integral part of Seattle's nightclub past. So was "Summer of '62," a simple tune that was an ode to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

Lou Bianchi, a Northwest entertainer for more than a quarter-century, left his mark on both.

From the early 1960s until the Trade Winds restaurant and its piano lounge were closed by an electrical fire in 1986, he was the mainstay at the piano in the Palm Room, a popular watering hole that boasted a kitschy 1950s Polynesian decor.

Would like to see a photo of that "kitschy 1950's Polynesian decor"!

DC

I went to friend's wedding there back in the 80's.
The place was a genuine, sincere Tiki Bar. I've missed it for many years.
I'll see if I can locate some interior pix from the wedding to post.

Manakoora,

Thanks for chiming in, would love to see some photos of the interior of the Palm Room. For as long as it was around, I'm surprised there aren't more historical photos of the place.

DC

In 1985 a movie called Trouble In Mind was released, set in Rain City (Seattle). It wasn't available on region 1 dvd until late 2010 and guess what, a scene was shot in the Trade Winds! So until I can find the dvd here are some captures from the www.

Also found this ad from an Images of America Seattle's Belltown book,

"The Trade Winds was the down stairs bar/restaurant in the Sailors Union of the Pacific building. It was a beautiful, dark tiki joint with a back bar decorated with exotic coins from around the world collected from sailor patrons. It later became My Suzie's Oriental Pacific, one of the last Belltown bars to offer a workman's happy hour at 6:00 a.m. (Author's collection.)"

I lost track track of the source, but I read of the popularity of it's happy hour due to the no limit Zombies!

aloha, tikicoma

[ Edited by: tikicoma 2013-10-14 00:05 ]

Thanks for posting about Trouble in Mind, Tikicoma. It sounds great - going to have to order it. I love Alan Rudolph films. What a cast - I had no idea Divine was in it.

Just found this Photo on flickr. It was taken in 1976, the entrance is downhill to the left and surrounded with rock. So little has been found from this place so I thought I'd include it. I wish I had gone here before it closed it sounds like a cool place and it was still open when I moved to the Puget Sound.

Here's the Google street view, even the rock wall is gone.

My grandmother, Everine Opsand Bianchi, and her (third) husband, Lou Bianchi, had a regular gig in the Palm Room in the 1960s and 70s. Here's a picture of them playing. (She died in 1983, before the Trade Winds fire happened.)

I still have that Gibson guitar that's leaning on the back wall to the left of my grandmother in this picture.

TradeWindsGrandbaby, it's a little late now but thanks for posting the wonderful photo! Looks like there was a fourth carved mask. I wonder who the carver may have been? They made good use of their sailboat/palm graphic... this time found on a cocktail napkin.