Talk:Camlin Hotel

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Introduction

It is impossible to tell the story of the Camlin hotel, without telling the story of Seattle. These two stories are intertwined.

Early history of Seattle

The founding of Seattle is usually dated from the arrival of the Denny Party in 1851. The next April, Arthur A. Denny abandoned the original site at Alki in favor of the better protected site on Elliott Bay that is now part of downtown Seattle. Around the same time, David Swinson "Doc" Maynard began settling the land immediately south of Denny's.

When Henry Yesler brought the first steam sawmill to the region, he chose a location on the waterfront where Maynard and Denny's plats met. Thereafter Seattle would dominate the lumber industry.

The logging town developed rapidly into a small city. Despite being officially founded by the Methodists of the Denny Party, Seattle quickly developed a reputation as a wide-open town, a haven for prostitution, liquor, and gambling. Some attribute this, at least in part, to Maynard.

Real estate records show that nearly all of the city's first 60 businesses were on, or immediately adjacent to, Maynard's plat.

Seattle was incorporated as a city on December 2, 1869. At this time, the population was approximately 1,000.

Railroad Rivalry with Tacoma

On July 14, 1873 the Northern Pacific Railway announced that they had chosen the then-hamlet of Tacoma over Seattle as the Western terminus of their trans-continental railroad. The railroad barons appear to have been gambling on the advantage they could gain from being able to buy up the land around their terminus cheaply instead of bringing the railroad into a more established Pacific port town.

Seattle made several attempts to build a railroad of its own or to get one to come. The Great Northern Railway finally came to Seattle in 1884, but it would be 1906 before Seattle finally acquired a major rail passenger terminal.

Seattle in this era was an "open" and often relatively lawless town. Although it boasted newspapers and telephones, lynch law often prevailed (there were at least four lynching in 1882), schools barely operated, and indoor plumbing was a rare novelty. Potholes in the street were so bad as to cause at least one fatal drowning.

The history of labor in this period is inseparable from the issue of anti-Chinese vigilantism. In 1883 Chinese laborers played a key role in the first effort at digging the Mountlake Cut to connect Lake Union's Portage Bay to Lake Washington's Union Bay. In 1885-1886, whites and Indians, complaining of overly cheap labor competition, drove the Chinese settlers from Seattle, Tacoma, and other Northwest cities.

In an era during which the Washington Territory was one of the first parts of the U.S. to (briefly) allow women's suffrage, women played a significant part in "civilizing" Seattle. In the 1880s, Seattle got its first streetcar and cable car, ferry service, a YMCA gymnasium, and the exclusive Rainier Club, and passed an ordinance requiring attached sewer lines for all new residences. It also began to develop a road system.

The relative fortunes of Seattle and Tacoma clearly show the nature of Seattle's growth. Though both Seattle and Tacoma grew at a rapid rate from 1880 to 1890, based on the strength of their timber industries, Seattle's growth as an exporter of services and manufactured goods continued for another two decades, while Tacoma's growth dropped almost to zero. The reason for this lies in Tacoma's nature as a company town and Seattle's successful avoidance of that condition. The fire

The early Seattle era came to a stunning halt with the Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889. The fire burned 29 city blocks (almost entirely wooden buildings; about 10 brick buildings also burned). It destroyed nearly the entire business district, all of the railroad terminals, and all but four of the wharves.

The city rebuilt from the ashes with astounding rapidity. A new zoning code resulted in a downtown of brick and stone buildings, rather than wood. In the single year after the fire, the city grew from 25,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, largely because of the enormous number of construction jobs suddenly created.

Still, south of Yesler Way, the open city atmosphere remained.

Leader of the Northwest: 1900 -- 1915

The gold rush led to massive immigration. Many of Seattle's neighborhoods got their start around this time. Downtown Seattle was bustling with activity; as quickly as previous inhabitants moved out to newly created neighborhoods, new immigrants came in to take their place in the city core.

Once the obvious extensions of downtown had been made along the flatlands to the north and south, streetcars began providing transportation to new outlying neighborhoods. A massive effort was made to level the extreme hills that rose south and north of the bustling city. A seawall containing dirt from the Denny Regrade created the current waterfront. More dirt from the Denny Regrade went to build the industrial Harbor Island at the mouth of the Duwamish River, south of Downtown.

At the same time as the city was expanding dramatically, the city planners began to put in parks and boulevards under a plan designed by the Olmsted Firm, providing numerous parks and about twenty miles of boulevard which link most of the parks and greenbelts within the city limits. Much of the ambience of Seattle today derives from this project.

World War I and after

In 1910, Seattle voters approved a referendum to create a development plan for the whole city. However, the result, known as the Bogue plan, was never to be implemented. The unused plan had at its heart a grand civic center in Belltown and the Denny Regrade connected to the rest of the city by a rapid transit rail system, with a huge expansion of the park system, crowned by a total conversion of 4000 acre (16 km²) Mercer Island into parkland. However, the plan was defeated by an alliance of fiscal conservatives who opposed such a grandiose plan on general principles and populists who argued that the plan would mainly benefit the rich. Growth during this period was almost all in wartime shipbuilding and lumber, and there was very little growth in new industries. When the war ended, economic output crashed as the government stopped buying boats, and there were no new industries to pick up the slack. Seattle stopped being a place of explosive growth and opportunity.

Seattle first began to be an arts center in the 1920s. Australian painter Ambrose Patterson arrived in 1919; over the next few decades Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Irving Anderson, and Paul Horiuchi would establish themselves as nationally and internationally known artists.

By mid-century the thriving jazz scene in the city's Skid Road district would produce such luminaries as Ray Charles and Quincy Jones.

The Camlin Hotel

The Swedish Connection

In the year of Seattle’s Great Fire, in Des Moines, Iowa, Adolph Linden was born. His father, Frederick, a Baptist Minister, and his mother, Christina had come to the United States from Sweden just a few years before. Soon moved from Des Moines, Iowa, to the parsonage of the First Swedish Baptist Church, at 820 Pine Street, now the parking lot next to the Camlin. By age 16, Adolph had already finished High School, had already worked in the lumber industry, and was working as a banker. One Sunday, while attending services at his family’s church, he met a young woman from Michigan. Ester Anderson, the daughter of a traveling shoe salesman from Michigan was on a four month trip with her father when she met Adolph at Sunday Services. “I really don’t know what she saw in Adolph.” Says Jim Linden, the couples Grandson “She was beautiful, and he was, well, kind of homely.” Love prevailed, and the two were wed in September of 1910. The two settled on Boylston Ave, and Esters family moved out the following year.

Aaron Anderson, Ester’s Father, had done well in shoes, but he did better in timber. He soon owned one of the largest timber companies in the state, was Director of the National City Bank of Seattle, and President of the Puget Sound Savings and Loan, the bank that Adolph worked for.

In 1923, Aaron Anderson died, leaving his Vice President to take over, one Adolph Linden. Adolph’s new Vice President was a gentleman by the name of Edmund Campbell. Campbell, Linden’s senior by 19 years, had started doing business in Los Angles in the 1880’s, with a delivery service, but a disease that spread through his horses had caused him to move to Seattle, and go into banking.

A year after his father-in-laws death, Adolph was doing well for himself. He purchased a Georgian-style mansion in Lake Forest Park, and sank over $100,000 into improvements. In 1922, Campbell and Linden had gone into business together outside of the bank. They had formed an investment group, and in 1925 they began the “Camlin” Investment Group. “Camlin” being a contraction of their surnames.

The first order of business, open a ritzy hotel in downtown Seattle. On October 31st, 1926, the Camlin Apartment Hotel had its official opening. The Seattle Times at the time stated “the exterior effect of the Camlin is such as to make it stand out from all parts of the city. Instinctively, the though is born of the magnificent view of the Sound and Olympics which is to be had from the lofty windows in the rear of this edifice. Nothing has been spared in the way of expense in its construction. The Camlin stands as a monument to seat’s development, a mark which equals anything to be found anywhere on the Pacific Coast” On the day of the opening, other events of note happened around the world. Illusionist Harry Houdini died in Detroit. A young man was beaten to death by a mob for attempted assassination of Benito Mussolini. Reports from Kelso, WA, there was steam raising from the peak of Mt. St. Helens, but most people scoffed at the notion of an eruption in the modern age of the twentieth Century. At the Bon Marche, silk neckties… 65, and Girdles …. $1.25. The Architect for the Camlin was Carl Linde of Portland, a one time brewery builder, had built the edifice to resemble an Italian Castle. The 93 apartments had all of the latest conveniences, such as “shower baths” and dinettes and kitchenettes. The penthouse comprised the entire 11th floor.

But, the Camlin did not open to happy faces. Earlier in the month, a bank employee had noticed some questionable withdrawals, and had brought them to the attention of the banks board. The withdrawals, totaling about $1 million dollars, were made in loans to KJR radio, Seattle’s first radio station, and about $866,000 to finish the Camlin Hotel, and about $27,000 for oil concerns in Oklahoma. The State Supervisor of Savings and Loans, Mr. W.L. Nicely, after meeting with the board and looking at the evidence stated “This resulted in the meeting of the officers and directors with the supervisor October 2, when it was decided, with my advice and concurrence, that instead of closing the institution, the interests of the shareholder would be better served by securing an agreement with Linden and Campbell to make restitution as far as possible by turning over to the association all of their personal and other holdings, including the Camlin Apartment Hotel, under a trust agreement, and that, under the direction of the supervisor an endeavor would be made to restore the impairment o the capital of the association, the same officers and directors to continue in office, and the completion of the Camlin Apartment Hotel, which is under construction, to be carried out” It took at year for this trust to be finalized, and put on record, it was valued at 1.75 million dollars, and included everything that Campbell and Linden owned. The agreement was not made public at the time.

Linden then moved into Radio, buying KJR, and expanding its operation ten fold. He continued to “Tap” the bank for loan’s to pay for this new venture. In March of 1928, Linden resigned as bank President, and Campbell took over his job. Campbell moved from his eastside home to the penthouse of the Camlin.

Linden made a big success of Radio, he had stations through out the west coast, and as far east as Chicago. But it wasn’t enough, Linden’s radio network “The American Broadcast Company” was overextended, and on the verge of bankruptcy, he had lost everything, except the clothes that they wore, his wife, Ester’s jewelry, and a Lincoln sedan. When The Twentieth Century Fox Company of New York contacted him wanting to buy the network, Linden jumped at the chance. He pilled Ester and their son James, into the sedan and headed for New York on October 15th, 1929. By the time they arrived, the stock market had crashed, and the officer from Fox was no longer valid.

Linden decided to stay in New York, since he couldn’t even make it back to Seattle, and opened a restaurant there. It failed almost immediately. By 1931, they were living in a rented apartment, when two men arrived, policemen with a warrant for Linden’s arrest from Seattle. Adolph looked them up and down, and said “All right, where do we go?” Within a week, Linden was put aboard a westbound train, headed back to Seattle. Ester, and James, now 16, were two cars behind them. Once back, and standing trail, friends of the family raised bail. No one could believe that this all stemmed from the Savings and Loan Trust that was set up surrounding the Camlin Apartment Hotel, since none of the information had been made public.

Within a few months, indictments had been handed down for Linden, Campbell, Nicely and a handful of others on the now defunct board of the Puget Sound Savings and Loan. It is said that they defrauded the Puget Sound Area out of $2 million. After two hung juries, a third trial was begun. Campbell was accused of stealing rugs and towels from the Camlin Penthouse, in addition to the other embezzlement. Campbell and Linden were sentenced to 15 years in Walla Walla State Penitence. Campbell, rather than spend the next 15 years in prison, attempted suicide out of second story window of his home. He fell into bushes and broke his leg. Campbell and Linden served seven and eight years respectively. When Campbell was released from prison, he worked as a credit manager. With the death of his wife in 1940, he moved in with his daughter and her family. His grandson has many fond memories of his grandfather, who died 1954. Long after, Campbell’s grandchildren took their mother to the Cloud Room for dinner, did they learn of this story, and why their grandfather always walked with a limp. After his release, Linden went into pressing records. After the death of his wife in 1960, he spent most of his time with his son and grandchildren. On Christmas Eve, 1969, he was found dead in his low income home. Before the Puget Sound Savings and Loan went under in 1931, the Camlin had been sold to the Vance Lumber Company, which already owned the Vance Hotel. In 1942, Vance proposed the addition of a cocktail lounge to the top floor of the Camlin. The penthouse, which had never been as successful as hoped, would be converted into the Cloud Room. At the same time, fifty new rooms were added, by cutting down the size of the original rooms.

In the insuring years, the Cloud Room hosted numerous famous faces. Frank Sinatra and Elvis, just to name a few. The Cloud Room had the smoky atmosphere of a speakeasy, with the comforts of a four star restaurant. Live entertainment was the main idea, and several acts got their start right there.

In 1960, in preparation for the 1962 World’s fair, 52 Cabana Units were added, along with a pool and a sun deck for a total cost of $2 million dollars. After 1960, the Camlin was home to the Italian Consulate, among other things. One in particular, a 40-foot yacht floating in the pool, as a promotional gimmick. When the boat’s bilge pump malfunctioned, and it started taking on water, it was even more of an advertisement. “Boat sinks in Downtown Seattle”. In the late 1980’s and 1990’s, the Camlin went through many owners. One owner, in 1990, was going to sell off all of the antique furniture, but was stopped only when the state Attorney General’s office slapped a lien on it for tax evasion. Finally, in 2003, the Camlin was bought by Trendwest Resorts, to become the jewel in their crown of properties world wide. After more than a year, and 21 million dollars in remodeling, the Camlin is ready to open. Also, after 78 years, and 3 months, Adolph Linden and Edmund Campbell’s dream of a Ritzy Hotel in downtown Seattle, named the Camlin has been realized.

Enjoy!

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Linden then moved into radio, buying KJR, and expanding its operation ten fold. He continued to “Tap” the bank for loans to pay for this new venture. In March of 1928, Linden resigned as bank president, and Campbell took over his job. Campbell moved from his eastside home to the penthouse of the Camlin.

Linden made a big success of radio. He had stations throughout the west coast, and as far east as Chicago. But it wasn’t enough. Linden’s radio network “The American Broadcast Company” was overextended, and on the verge of bankruptcy, he had lost everything, except the clothes that they wore, his wife, Ester’s jewelry, and a Lincoln sedan. When the Twentieth Century Fox Company of New York contacted him wanting to buy the network, Linden jumped at the chance. He pilled Ester and their son James into the sedan and headed for New York on October 15th, 1929. By the time they arrived, the stock market had crashed, and the officer from Fox was no longer valid.

Linden decided to stay in New York, since he couldn’t even make it back to Seattle, and opened a restaurant there. It failed almost immediately. By 1931, they were living in a rented apartment, when two men arrived, policemen with a warrant for Linden’s arrest from Seattle. Adolph looked them up and down, and said “All right, where do we go?”

Within a week, Linden was put aboard a westbound train, headed back to Seattle. Ester and James, now 16, were two cars behind them. Once back, and standing trial, friends of the family raised bail. No one could believe that this all stemmed from the Savings and Loan Trust that was set up surrounding the Camlin Apartment Hotel, since none of the information had been made public.

Within a few months, indictments had been handed down for Linden, Campbell, Nicely and a handful of others on the now defunct board of the Puget Sound Savings and Loan. It is said that they defrauded the Puget Sound Area out of $2 million.

After two hung juries, a third trial was begun. Campbell was accused of stealing rugs and towels from the Camlin Penthouse, in addition to the other embezzlement. Campbell and Linden were sentenced to 15 years in Walla Walla State Penitentiary.

Campbell, rather than spend the next 15 years in prison, attempted suicide out of a second story window of his home. He fell into bushes and broke his leg. Campbell and Linden served seven and eight years respectively.

When Campbell was released from prison, he worked as a credit manager. With the death of his wife in 1940, he moved in with his daughter and her family. His grandson has many fond memories of his grandfather, who died in 1954. Long after, Campbell’s grandchildren took their mother to the Cloud Room for dinner. They learned of this story, and why their grandfather always walked with a limp.

After his release, Linden went into pressing records. After the death of his wife in 1960, he spent most of his time with his son and grandchildren. On Christmas Eve, 1969, he was found dead in his low income home.

Odd citation

"Stranger Magazine - Sept 14th, 1986 - pg 1." Seattle newspaper The Stranger was not yet founded in 1986. - Jmabel | Talk 07:15, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Over a year, and no explanation forthcoming. - Jmabel | Talk 22:10, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

That's the citation that the original anonymous author provided at Wikipedia:Articles for creation when I created this article, way back in August 2006. I didn't have any way to check out that citation, so I just accepted it. If there's no way to check it out, then perhaps the information needs to be re-verified, or removed if there's no other good source for it. --Elkman ^(Elkspeak) 22:57, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

So, any idea what the magazine in question would be? Because, as I say, Seattle's Stranger did not exist on the cited date. - Jmabel | Talk 04:21, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

I'd suggest we just drop the dubious citation and consider this virtually all uncited. - Jmabel | Talk 04:22, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Trouble in Mind

Not sure where to work this in, but the hotel also figured rather prominently in the film Trouble in Mind, where it was known as the "Cambridge"; they shot it at angles where only part of the sign was visible, so that it looked like the first part of that name. Reel Life In Seattle, a city-published guide to film locations in Seattle, mentions it appearing in the film, but does not mention the thing about it going by a different name. - Jmabel | Talk 22:27, 1 February 2009 (UTC)