![]() Charity groups were given keys for fundraising purposes, but those who wanted to own part of the hotel’s past had plenty of opportunity. More than 5,000 people jammed the street to hear the candidate talk from a speaker’s platform set up in front of the entrance.Īs the 1970s began, The Olympic continued to host royalty and was officially placed on the National Register of Historic Places and preparations soon began for the closure of the hotel for a major restoration project.īefore The Olympic was closed for remodeling, the front desk was inundated with calls from people who wanted old room keys. In 1968, one of the largest campaign crowds gathered in University Plaza to see Presidential nominee Richard Nixon. ![]() Kennedy celebrating the Senator Warren Magnuson’s 25th year in Congress. Only a few weeks after the fair opened, The Olympic Hotel was bursting with celebrities, such as a visit from President John F. The Seattle’s World’s Fair-known as Century 21-opened on April 21, 1962. Businesses throughout the city started getting ready for the millions of visitors expected for the upcoming World’s Fair. Throughout 1961, most people were preoccupied with construction going on just north of downtown, especially the Space Needle towering above it all. The Imperial Highnesses arrived in Seattle on Octoand thousands turned out to witness a rare visit by Japanese royalty. But neither vice president nor the senator from Massachusetts could compare to Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko of Japan, who toured the United States to commemorate the centennial of the first trade and friendship treaty between the two countries. The year 1960 saw another Presidential campaign, along with visits to the hotel by both Richard Nixon and John F. Meeting the next day with civil leaders and delivering a speech to a packed house at the Seattle Civic Center where he outlined his New Deal plan to provide relief and stimulate economic recovery, he would later return in September 1937 as a Presidential tourist with his wife Eleanor, the Olympic Hotel becoming the command central for the President’s staff and headquarters to the number of press reporters that followed the President on his travels. The crowd outside the hotel’s main entrance was so large that the Governor was slipped in through the staff entrance on 5th Avenue, where he surprised soup cooks, busboys and chambermaids coming off the freight elevator before making it to his suite. Roosevelt was driven to the Olympic as thousands cheered in the streets and threw confetti from the windows above. On September 20, 1932, a train pulled into town bearing Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic nominee for president. Still, people on the go always needed places to stay, including politicians hot on the campaign trail. With the stock market crashing in October 1929, The Olympic, like many hotels nationwide, suffered for business. A one night stay with bath would have cost about $3.50. Lights illuminated the exterior walls and two large spotlights on the hotel roof swept the sky. The hotel officially opened its doors on Decemwith a grand opening gala that had all of Seattle talking. They settled on The Olympic, for which 11 entries had been submitted and the first submitted won the prize. 3,906 entries were submitted and one name, submitted in several variations, pleased the committee the most. The Seattle Times held a contest with a $50 prize to whoever submitted the best name for the hotel, chosen by the board of the Community Hotel Corporation. Public response to the proposal was tremendous and Seattleites purchased $100 bonds and raised $2.7 million dollars for the hotel. ![]() In 1922, plans for financing the hotel were formulated by a group of about 400 prominent citizens known as the “Community Hotel Corporation.” A bond drive was organized so that anyone could take part by investing in the venture.
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