You mean it’s not named for the band?
Some are plain. Some are clever. Some leave you scratching your head. Regardless of the category, the names of some of the new apartments on Capitol Hill and First Hill also say quite a bit about the history and culture of the neighborhood.
Take Coppins Well, the name of the apartments at 1000 Minor Ave.
At first glance, the name doesn’t bring to the surface any clear tie to the area and the marketing team didn’t much care for it either.
“To be quite honest, when it was first presented to us, we paused and collectively said, ‘Absolutely not’,” recalled Josh McDonald of Holland Residential.
But if you go into the well of local history, you find that in 1875, Charles Coppin dug the first well on First Hill, which was said to have produced 900,000 gallons of water every day. Tapping into a reliable water source was not a trivial matter in 19th century Seattle. The well served as an essential ingredient in the development of First Hill, attracting families that would turn the hill into a bona fide residential neighborhood.
Other names aren’t as deep, but nevertheless give a nod to the area.
The developer of the new apartments at 215 10th Ave E. chose the name ‘Lyric’ “as a homage to the musical heritage of Capitol Hill as well as iconic local musicians, such as Jimmy Hendrix and Pearl Jam, that have made Seattle, one of the influential musical neighborhoods in the country,” according to Billy Pettit, vice president of Pillar Properties.
“The lyric in itself is a symbolic representation of art, which also helps pay tribute to the artistic, vibrant culture of Capitol Hill,” Pettit added.
The arts also inspired the name of the Vox Apartments at 1527 15th Ave, which was previously a theater. The developer used the theater as a starting point for the name and came up with Vox, the Latin word for voice or sound.
“We think it’s a concise and edgy name with a fun nod to the previous theater,” said Therese Bushnell, the property manager. “We think it fits the no frills, straight forward aspect of Capitol Hill while offering a bit of creativity in its essence.”
Not all of the new apartment names have a broad historical or cultural tie.
The developer behind the Chloe Apartments at 1408 E Union St and the Pearl Apartments at 1530 15th Ave would only say that the two were named after family members of their respective owners.
14th Ave’s under-construction REO Flats
Meanwhile, two new apartments under construction will feature names that pay tribute to businesses that once thrived on Capitol Hill.
First, the building going up on 1222 E. Pine will be named Collins on Pine, which the marketing material references the speakeasy era of secrecy and celebration. It’s not a tribute necessarily to the present day bars that try to replicate the speakeasy experience but to the time when Capitol Hill was the center of the speakeasy culture in Seattle.
Finally, the name of the soon-to-be apartments at 1515 14th Ave takes us on a drive down memory lane, when auto-row ran right through Capitol Hill. Among the auto dealers on the hill back then was the REO Motor Company, which sold cars at what is now the Seattle Central Community College book store. REO also had a truck dealership at the current home of Area 51.
Developer Brad Augustine said he wanted to celebrate the industry that fueled some of the neighborhood’s growth so he named their new project REO Flats. But he wants the tribute to be more than just a name.
Inside REO Flats, Augustine said the architectural team worked hard to keep the 20-foot high store front (even though zoning only required 13-foot high ceilings) since that is what existed in old auto row buildings. Once the project is complete, photographs of old REO cars will adorn the lobby, while a large mural of a REO speed wagon (not the band, but a delivery truck) will be painted on the building’s façade.
“We’re not doing a billboard to promote our business but to promote the concept that this was once a local company,” said Augustine, founder of Madrona Real Estate Services. “We reside our businesses on Capitol Hill so we’re trying really hard to make sure we pay some homage to the history that was on that hill.”
Did they think about “REO” also meaning “real estate owned”, a term banks use for foreclosed properties? Not a good association.
Yes, we most certainly considered REO as in “Real Estate Owned” an acronym that Banks use for reposessed real estate.
We thought long and hard about this but in the end the history of REO (pronounced “RIO”) Motor Car Company on Capitol Hill in the 20’s was a a better fit for what we are trying to accomplish in Pike/Pine!
Once upon a time lived at “The Beers” in an alternate Capitol Hill (Denver – the one with the Capitol on the hill), named after the sisters Beers who were the original building owners.
The sound of the Lyric is NOT musical –it’s the sound of smoke and heat detectors going off daily at all hours of the day and night.If you live on the courtyard side, the annoying noise is amplified. Something to do with the fact that they are placed 10 feet from the oven. Residents and restaurant owners have been sent out to the street three times in two weeks due to a similarly dumb placement of a heat detector in the electrical room. Luxury living…the building itself is the nuisance.
Nice puff piece. REO, lol as if anyone areound here today gives a dman about the history or auto old car dealers, hahaha…. Bunch of these names are just like suburban developments named after the wooded areas they obliterate – Pleasant Oaks apartments, Fir Grove flats, apartments for chumps
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, Paul. We have some interesting stuff regarding rents coming… soon.
Many apartment building names are easily forgotten, never displayed on the building, and downright confusing (or dishonest). The apartment building over the Safeway at 23rd & Madison is named “The Summit at Madison Park”, a curious name, given that it’s pretty much half way between the summit of the hill and, well, Madison Park.
The owners were, perhaps. desperate to draw peoples’ attention away from the nightly (and daily) activities in and around nearlby Club Chocolate City (formerly Deano’s) where an ever-changing cast of characters (up to 25 of them lining the streets at a time) were engaged in small business activities involving assorted substances and/or themselves.
The advertising for Chloe and Pearl have both cracked me up. My friends and I call Chloe “The porn puppy place” for that weird dog sign saying “Hi. I’m Chloe.”
And then the “I found my Pearl” sign? HAAAAAAA.
Both places have this going for them: I’ll never forget their names!
““The lyric in itself is a symbolic representation of art, which also helps pay tribute to the artistic, vibrant culture of Capitol Hill,” Pettit added.”
An artistic, vibrant culture that yet another overpriced yuppie-box with ground level retail is working diligently to destroy.
[…] secured for the retail section of the 13th and Pine mixed-use apartment building named to honor the Hill’s “speakeasy era.” A liquor license permit for a full bar is also in the […]
[…] new apartment projects under construction across the Hill, CHS has noted the increasingly creative names used to market the projects. A new one we’ve gotten wind of seems to be more over the top […]
[…] new apartment projects under construction across the Hill, CHS has noted the increasingly creative names used to market the projects. A new one we’ve gotten wind of seems to be more over the top than […]