The Olympic: The Story of Seattle's Landmark Hotel, 1924-2004

Since 1924, The Olympic Hotel has been the place in Seattle to stay, dine, consult, entertain--and to make history. As the new stewards and operators of The Olympic , Fairmont Hotels and Resorts commissioned History Ink/HistoryLink to prepare this book on the occasion of The Olympic Hotel's 80th year of operation. Author Alan J. Stein traces the history of the hotel's site (the original campus of today's University of Washington), the public campaign to build a "community hotel," the numerous events and celebrities it has hosted, and The Olympic 's rebirth in the 1980s to the present. Life in The Olympic reflected events beyond its doors: the Roaring Twenties, the dark days of the Great Depression, patriotic rallies and bond drives during World War II, the promise and exhilaration of the 1962 World's Fair, Seattle's urban renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s, and protests and debates from the Vietnam War to WTO. Giants stride through the pages of this book, as they did through The Olympic 's' corridors: presidents and senators, aviators and astronauts, movie stars and musicians, industrialists and union leaders, kings and queens--and at least one emperor. Thousands upon thousands of humbler citizens from near and far have also trod The Olympic 's carpets, dined in its restaurants, rested in its suites, and celebrated the great milestones of life in its lobbies and ballrooms. It is these memories that make The Olympic unique among all of Seattle's many fine hotels and social venues. And it is these experiences--and those awaiting generations to come--that bring the story of this great hotel to life. Alan J. Stein is a HistoryLink staff historian and the author of Safe Passage: The Birth of Washington State Ferries, 1951-2001, and Bellevue Timeline: The Story of Washington's Leading Edge City from Homesteads to High Rises, 1863-2003.