It's great to see one of our favorite old buildings on Beach Drive coming back to life as a small business again! My wife and I ran into a couple of friendly guys moving stuff into this iconic location as we were taking a stroll north along the Drive. Being nosey bloggers that we are, we had to ask what was up?
A gentleman named Norm told me that he was planning to run his law practice out of the front of the space and use the back as a residence. He also told us he will do everything he can to keep the character of the circa 1928, 1610 sq ft space and was shooting for May 1st to be open for biz.
Norm was gracious enough to let me take a few pics of the inside and around back of the historic building which can be viewed here.
Want to know some history about the place? I knew you did!
An excerpt from Memories of Southwest Seattle Businesses describes the establishment at the northwest corner of Beach Drive SW and Carroll Street from the vantage point of what is now LaRustica Restaurant…
"Diagonally across the street at the northend of Weather Watch park, is another small storefront building. In the 50's it was a beverage store. They sold beer and wine and mixers, but no hard liquor. My friend Claudia Hickerson Moter lived there with her parents, Lyle and Juddy Hickerson. Lyle was seattle fireman stationed in North Admiral, and Juddy ran the store. The big street-side room was the store, with their living quarters at the back and below."
This archive photo from the King County Assessor's Office shows the apartments next door (prior to current brick siding) with another small store-front at street level.
As you can see from this Seattle zoning map from 1923, this particular intersection of Beach Drive was full of small businesses in "the day"…
The checkered section of this 1923 zoning map signifies "Business District" while the stripes stand for "Second Residences".
Hmmm, Law office or Beer & Wine store? Law Office or Beer & Wine store? Oh well, either way…welcome to Beach Drive Norm!
Scupper reporting for Beach Drive Blog
About Scupper
4029 Beach Drive was a beveridge store in the 30s and 40 s, maybe just after prohibition. I think they sold beer and wine. The store was owned by Abe Horowitz. He had owned a shoe store, and when my brother was born in 1940 he gave my mother a pair of little boys button boots,my brother wgave them to me and I often display them.
The building north belonged to Mr.Beck. it was wooden and had apartments. An empty lot just north was where he was building a house boat. Aa cousin lived in the bottom apt for a short time duringthe war, a storm at high tide meant a wet floor.
I was born at 3830 59 th in 1932’and the Carrol St and Andover St beaches were my playgrounds. We shopped at Mr. Fears and the Bungalow Grouceries.
Thanks for sharing Joy! The new occupant, Norm sent me the following note after reading the post and will love to see what you have written…
“Hello Scupper!
That is really a cool picture from the archives. That is neat the former tenant was on the job with Seattle Fire. I am also a professional fire fighter. I work for the Valley Regional Fire Authority (VRFA) that covers the cities of Algona, Auburn, and Pacific in South King County. I went to law school at night and practice law as a “side-job.” I have a business partner that is a full-time attorney that does most of the heavy lifting for the firm.
We are on track to get everything rolling by May 1st. Swing by anytime to check our progress. We can toast the former beverage sales history with a beer this summer!”
Take care,
Norm
I think they marketed alcohol and wine. The shop was possessed by Abe Horowitz. He had possessed a shoes shop.