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Building History

The Thunderbird was one of many motels built just north of downtown to serve auto traffic on the Aurora Avenue/Highway 99 corridor. This was before US Interstate 5 was built in the early-to-mid-1960s, and Highway 99 was a well-traveled high-speed corridor. Many visitors used this street to access the 1962 World's Fair in the Seattle Center and stayed at these convenient motels.

By c. 2010, the Seattle Police Department cracked down on prostitution that occurred in these now seedy motels built for the Fair. The Thunderbird closed at this time.

Building Notes

tel: 206-634-1213 (2006).

The Thunderbird Motel had a plan very common for the 1950s and 1960s. It was an L-shaped form, two-stories high, with exterior corridors (to save on costs) and an office placed in the small segment of the L. Most of the site was given over to automobile parking. In this case, maneuvering onto the high-speed Aurora Avenue/Highway 99, necessitated space enough for cars to completely turn around.

Demolition

The Thunderbird Motel was razed sometime between 07/2011 and 10/2012. A 71-unit, affordable housing apartment building, Patrick Place, replaced the Thunderbird Motel by 2014.

PCAD id: 6216