The Jolly Roger
Prohibition gave rise to an upswing in Lake City commercial activity.
With the rise of cars and freeways, middle-class people could take an easy day-trip outside of Seattle proper. Unincorporated areas of King County, less heavily patrolled, became popular places for speakeasies and roadhouses offering illegal liquor, prostitution and gambling.
The Jolly Roger is a local legend.
It wasn’t located here, exactly. If you were to keep walking South to where Lake City Way meets 88th, you’d find a gas station at the former site of the Jolly Roger.
The Jolly Roger was a pink stucco building with a two-tiered tower that faced Lake City Way. Built in 1934, and once called the “China Castle”- where visitors could dine and dance “in a Chinese Atmosphere”. The building was rumored to be a gambling den offering illegal booze, gambling and prostitution. The iconic tower was supposedly used to spot police cars and in the case of a raid, underground tunnels offered easy escape to neighboring establishments. There are several unresolved blogs and articles investigating the myth of the Jolly Roger, citing architectural plans, rumor and memories of activity before the creation of the building. it’s possible legend was drummed up just to build mystique.
The Jolly Roger was designated a Seattle Historic Landmark in 1979 but the structure burned down and was demolished in 1991. Adding to the lore, accounts of the fire are fishy,
there were no signs of forced entry and the arsonist easily passed the burglar alarm,
the previous owner was seen removing his possessions the day before the fire,
an Asian man directed firefighters straight to the origin of the fire, then disappeared.
In the old days, as one drove from Seattle toward Bothell along Victory Way, one passed a series of roadhouses including the Jolly Roger, the Cotton Club, and the Coon Chicken Inn- a southern-style restaurant whose themes drew heavily on overtly racist stereotypes, including an entrance shaped to resemble a grotesque caricature of a 12 ft grinning Black Porter.
The Coon Chicken Inn not only survived the great Depression, it thrived. While the tunnels of the Jolly Roger are legend, this racist history is very real and an important reminder of racist histories that are still very present today.
With the rise of cars and freeways, middle-class people could take an easy day-trip outside of Seattle proper. Unincorporated areas of King County, less heavily patrolled, became popular places for speakeasies and roadhouses offering illegal liquor, prostitution and gambling.
The Jolly Roger is a local legend.
It wasn’t located here, exactly. If you were to keep walking South to where Lake City Way meets 88th, you’d find a gas station at the former site of the Jolly Roger.
The Jolly Roger was a pink stucco building with a two-tiered tower that faced Lake City Way. Built in 1934, and once called the “China Castle”- where visitors could dine and dance “in a Chinese Atmosphere”. The building was rumored to be a gambling den offering illegal booze, gambling and prostitution. The iconic tower was supposedly used to spot police cars and in the case of a raid, underground tunnels offered easy escape to neighboring establishments. There are several unresolved blogs and articles investigating the myth of the Jolly Roger, citing architectural plans, rumor and memories of activity before the creation of the building. it’s possible legend was drummed up just to build mystique.
The Jolly Roger was designated a Seattle Historic Landmark in 1979 but the structure burned down and was demolished in 1991. Adding to the lore, accounts of the fire are fishy,
there were no signs of forced entry and the arsonist easily passed the burglar alarm,
the previous owner was seen removing his possessions the day before the fire,
an Asian man directed firefighters straight to the origin of the fire, then disappeared.
In the old days, as one drove from Seattle toward Bothell along Victory Way, one passed a series of roadhouses including the Jolly Roger, the Cotton Club, and the Coon Chicken Inn- a southern-style restaurant whose themes drew heavily on overtly racist stereotypes, including an entrance shaped to resemble a grotesque caricature of a 12 ft grinning Black Porter.
The Coon Chicken Inn not only survived the great Depression, it thrived. While the tunnels of the Jolly Roger are legend, this racist history is very real and an important reminder of racist histories that are still very present today.
