Post navigation

Prev: (09/19/17) | Next: (09/20/17)

Big, smoky fire scorches old Capitol Hill ‘dog lounge’ building

(Image courtesy Jesse Rope)

(Image courtesy Ella Li)

The building formerly home to a Capitol Hill’s “dog lounge” burned Wednesday morning in a smoke-spewing fire that sent one woman to the hospital.

Seattle Fire was called to the intersection of E Denny and E Olive Way just before 8:30 AM and began to battle a blaze from inside and on the roof of the building. The fire was upgraded to a “two alarm” response to bring in additional crews.

Seattle Fire crews reported the fire was nearly under control by 9 AM but it continued to burn and create significant amounts of smoke.

Seattle Fire says one woman was taken to Harborview from the scene. According to radio dispatches, the woman was outside the building and suffered smoke inhalation. SFD reported the woman to be in stable condition.

The building was home to the Downtown Dog Lounge until it left this summer due to what the owner said were crime and landlord issues.

The large, single-story 1924-built auto row building and surrounding property is also home to In The Bowl, the Holy Smoke head shop, and an outlet of the Beyond Vape chain. The long-shuttered Apocalypse Tattoo and Bus Stop bar spaces have also been vacant in the building for years.

UPDATE 12:40 PM: SFD says investigators have been unable to determine the cause of the fire. Damage is estimated at $500,000.

(Image courtesy Jesse Rope)

(Image courtesy Jesse Rope)

Subscribe and support CHS Contributors -- $1/$5/$10 per month

22 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Cc
Cc
6 years ago

Fast thorough reporting. Thank you!

123A_D123
123A_D123
6 years ago

Whoever the landlord of these spaces is needs to sell this property. It is a blight on the area and they seem to have no intention of actually renting out the spaces. Those spaces have A LOT of potential. Look at all the good things happening on the 1500 block of E Olive way a block away. All this while the block to the north falls into more and more disrepair. So much great retail, food and bar on E Olive, this block sticks out like a sore thumb.

Bob Knudson
Bob Knudson
6 years ago
Reply to  123A_D123

Agree completely! It should be razed and re-developed, although that process will result in traffic nightmares at that intersection.

Adam
Adam
6 years ago

This block is a disgrace. The city should condemn it so someone actually tries to do something with it. Hopefully this fire speeds up the process.

Seth
Seth
6 years ago

A few weeks ago there were several police cars at the same building. The front door of Apocalypse Tattoo was missing and there were several cops inside as well as someone laying on the floor. Squatters?

dogwalker
dogwalker
6 years ago

Glad to hear people coming forward and complaining about this property. it needs someone who will develope it’s potential and ge rid of an eyesore.

Se68
Se68
6 years ago

My understanding is the buildings are foreign owned and the owners could care less about the neighborhood. It’s an embarrassing blight.

Wheedle
Wheedle
6 years ago
Reply to  Se68

You think they care about the neighborhood?

Aimee
Aimee
6 years ago

I could smell burnt plastic & who knows what on route to work this morning and its still lingering in my nose. Awful smell.

zeebleoop
6 years ago

i agree with all of the above regarding the condition of this building. i filed a complaint here – http://web6.seattle.gov/dpd/complaintform/. not sure if that’s the right form but since the building is partially vacant and the vacant storefronts aren’t secure then this seems like a violation. hopefully this will get some attention as the building is an eyesore that’s now become a fire hazard.

Neil
Neil
6 years ago

I’ve sent many, many complaints to the city about this building, including directly to the office of Kshama Sawant who is supposed to represent our neighborhood. I’ve either gotten no response or a lame “I’ll send an intern to check it out, oh well nothing we can do”. It’s really a shame since this used to be one of the nicer, more charming buildings in a super visible, high traffic area. All that’s left now is to tear it down and build something boring and soulless in it’s place. >:-(

Maus
Maus
6 years ago

Hey now, in the bowl is worth keeping!

amy
amy
6 years ago

Thinking about the sweet folks at In the Bowl today. It’s hard to tell from the pictures to what extent they’re impacted. The neighborhood wouldn’t be the same without them. They’re always so kind, and they make such tasty food. Much love to Holy Smoke too.

Gary Zinter
Gary Zinter
6 years ago

The building itself is great. The local owner doesn’t do upkeep, though. He also owes people a lot of money.

Se68
Se68
6 years ago
Reply to  Gary Zinter

So it’s locally owned? Thank for that info I had thought it was foreign owned.

Gary Zinter
Gary Zinter
6 years ago
Reply to  Gary Zinter

I don’t know what the owner’s citizenship is, but he’s definitely local. Technically, it’s owned by a trust of his.

Betty C.
Betty C.
6 years ago
Reply to  Gary Zinter

According to the King County Tax Parcel website, Walter Lu has owned these buildings since 1987. I don’t consider that foreign-owned. http://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/Detail.aspx?ParcelNbr=7449500045

Gary Zinter
Gary Zinter
6 years ago
Reply to  Gary Zinter

Yeah. He lives in Issaquah.

popper90
popper90
6 years ago

It appears that it’s been owned by the same person since 1987.

http://blue.kingcounty.com/Assessor/eRealProperty/Detail.aspx?ParcelNbr=7449500045

My understanding is that he has children and they’ll eventually sell the property.

Any chance they’re trying to let it fall into neglect so they don’t have any issues when trying to sell? Someone trying to register it as a historical property?

Gary Zinter
Gary Zinter
6 years ago
Reply to  popper90

Yeah. The owner, who apparently made an appearance yesterday, lives in King County. I’m surprised they haven’t already developed it. (It’s also owned by a trust he’s in charge of.)

Goredon2
Goredon2
6 years ago

What no love for the Metro phone shop or the 24 hour mail box location business? The guy who works at the phone shop is always friendly and helpful, especially to some of the older neighbors (at least when I’ve been in there). Sure the building seems a bit run down, but I have to admit I enjoy checking out some of the street art that that crazy artist dude often puts up on it.

Gary Zinter
Gary Zinter
6 years ago
Reply to  Goredon2

Totally!