Jane has made me proud...again!

I am pleased to tell you that Jane has been elected to the Rainier Club Board of Trustees. The Rainier Club is a true Seattle institution. It’s an historic landmark and an integral part of Seattle’s history. Jane has recently served as Chair of the Arts Committee and will now become Vice Chair of the Program Council, which organizes all of the club's cultural activities. I am very proud of her. She not only works very hard in all her endeavors for this community but she also deeply cares about her commitments. That’s something quite special.

Here she is in front of a small portion of the club's magnificent collection of Edward Curtis photographs. My friend Tim Egan’s latest book, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, chronicles Curtis’s life, much of which was spent living at the Rainier Club and paying for his board with his photographs.

By the way, I will continue to serve in my current capacity as Jane’s Spousal Unit. Now, here are few excerpts from the Rainier Club history to give you an idea of its importance to Seattle:

“Inhabited by only a few thousand settlers in the 1880s, Seattle was a rough and tumble frontier town lined with mud streets and wood-framed buildings. Three ambitious city-builders: Thomas Burke, William A. Peters and John Leary endeavored to create an exclusive meeting place where they could enjoy the company of like-minded individuals, play cards and sip brandy at the end of the day’s business and political struggles.

“On July 25th, 1888, aspiring Club members convened to formally incorporate The Rainier Club, named in honor of British admiral Peter Rainier, as a “boarding, lodging house, and restaurant,” in spite of the fact that the laws of Washington did not recognize private social clubs at that time.

“The Rainier Club was first housed in a 22-room Victorian mansion owned by James McNaught. The “Dudes of The Rainier Club,” as the press dubbed the original members, rented the house for $100 per month.

After the City’s great fire of 1889 and a couple of other moves, ...“club leaders retained Spokane-based architects Kirtland K. Cutter and Karl G. Malmgren to build a Jacobean-style building modeled on England’s Aston Hall at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Marion Street. No expense was spared on “modern” luxuries, including telephones in every room. Construction was completed by September 30, 1904 for “a trifle over $100,000” and the members then moved into the current home of The Rainier Club. 

“The Club survived the Depression and both World Wars thanks, in large part, to the leadership of its first true manager, Eddie Carlson, who served from 1937 to 1941 and later went on to lead Westin Hotels and United Airlines. In 1962, The Rainier Club became an integral part of the Seattle World’s Fair.  Many plans were first drawn, deals made, and key participants entertained and recruited in the Clubhouse as Carlson was a leading force behind the event that put Seattle on the world map.

I am happy to say on Jane’s behalf that ...“women were officially allowed membership on June 14th, 1977 and Judge Betty Fletcher became the first female member on August 22nd of that year. Luther Carr was nominated for membership on June 27th, 1977 and became the first African-American member. 

“On December 28th, 1986, The Rainier Club was officially recognized as an historical landmark by the City of Seattle.  Starting out as a boarding house for ambitious bachelors, the Club has become a bridge between Seattle’s past and future. It has hosted some of the most important meetings in the region’s history, including the planning of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, the reform of local government through the creation of Metro and the current City of Seattle and King County Charters, the financing of public works such as Forward Thrust, countless campaigns for school levies and bond issues, and fundraising efforts for United Way and other non-profit organizations.”