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Overview

Immigrant clothiers Ferdinand Toklas (1845-1924) and Paul Singerman (1847-1915) operated one of the most successful retail businesses in Seattle during the last quarter of the ninetheenth century. Although it is difficult to pinpoint the store's changing locations with absolute accuracy, there appear to have been approximately a half-dozen locations during its existence. This second location was in business by about 1878; the Seattle City Directory, 1879, indicated that Paul Singerman lived in the city and that his business was located on Commercial Street (later 1st Avenue South) between Washington and Jackson Streets. Another source, UW Libraries Digital Collections, placed it as being on the west side of Commercial between Washington and Main Streets in 1877 or 1878. To add to the confusion, the caption written on the Prosch photo of the store indicated that it was located on the west side of Commercial, north of Washington.

Building History

According to historian Clarence B. Bagley, Paul Singerman, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, entered the US in 1869, settling first in Santa Cruz, CA. The date of Singerman's birth has created some confusion. Bagley, in his 1916 History of Seattle (p. 317-318), recorded it as 02/09/1849-08/28/1915. Singerman's date of birth has been listed variously as 1845 (Washington Death Index), 1848 (Ancestry.com, Treigonoff Family Tree), and 1847. The last date was taken from a 1912 US Passport Application, written presumably by him, which stated he had been born on 02/09/1847. He came north from the Bay Area, founding a clothing store in Seattle, WA, with fellow German immigrant, Toklas, what was known as the "San Francisco Store," begun in 1874 or 1875. According to Bagley, Singerman located this store at Jackson Street and Commercial Street, although the Seattle City Directory, 1876, located it on Front Street (later renamed 1st Avenue) near Cherry Street. In Bagley's words, "He [Singerman] afterward moved from time to time to various locations but finally established his business at First and Columbia Streets, where he erected a four-story building, at that time the highest building in the city. Business was conducted under the firm style of Toklas & Singerman until 1889, when their stock was destroyed in the great Seattle fire which swept away most of the business section of the city." (See Clarence B. Bagley, History of Seattle, [Chicago, IL: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1916], p. 318.) Although this second store's exact location remains unclear, it did operate somewhere on Commercial Street's west side, probably near Washington, and may have stayed here for two to four years. The Seattle City Directory, 1882, indicated that the store occupied space in the Marshall Block, a new building by architect William E. Boone (1830-1921) on the southwest corner of Commercial and Washington.

Building Notes

The store was contained within a wood-frame building, two stories in height, that had a false front topped by a simple cornice. Paired brackets "supported" the cornice. Thin clapboard siding clad the exterior. Large shop windows lit the store's interior on the first floor, while a single double-hung window illuminated second story rooms.

Demolished

PCAD id: 16344