Very interesting to read about the origin of the rooftop space on the Central Building. I had no idea that it began as an observatory. But I do know something about who used that former observatory space in subsequent years -- one of them being me. From at least sometime in the 1980s (possibly earlier) until 2013, the eighth floor of the Central Building was occupied by The Defender Association, a public-defense law firm. When I worked there between 1988 and 1994, the room on the roof was used as an office, and I was lucky enough to share it for a while. I always liked the Central Building and it's great to learn more of its history.
"Hoce" in the latter should be "Hoge" and of course "Cathedril" is misspelled. Otto did know how to spell the latter, but wasn't always careful when writing backwards on the glass negatives.
All three of these images date to 1908 or so. One print of Image 937 is postmarked 1914 but the active regrade and absence of cars suggests an earlier vintage.
Your article on "the code of the west" was particularly interesting to my husband because of his passion for Morse telegraphy. Western Union and others published code books, which contained a lengthy list of English words that corresponded to a given word, number, or phrase. When composing a telegram, a sender would use entries in the code book as substitutes for the desired text.
This was done for two reasons. First of all, telegrams were charged by the word, and reducing the number of words would cut down on the cost of sending the telegram. Secondly, the code words could minimize the possibility of errors introduced by telegraph operators in transmitting the telegram. For business transactions in particular, it was important to transmit numbers correctly. And some words in English can be ambiguous when sent in Morse (especially true in the case of the original Morse code used in landline telegraphy, but that's another story), adding to the possibility of erroneous transmission.
These code books were often public and not intended to keep the telegrams secret. Sometimes they were tailored to a particular company's needs, and sometimes they were in fact secret codes that were kept confidential.
Very cool & fun stories! I love investigating and exploring old places. It would be interesting to find out how the observatory space has been used over the years.
Wow!! Thanks for both of you for the update on the little observatory. Any exciting moments while being in that location?
Very interesting to read about the origin of the rooftop space on the Central Building. I had no idea that it began as an observatory. But I do know something about who used that former observatory space in subsequent years -- one of them being me. From at least sometime in the 1980s (possibly earlier) until 2013, the eighth floor of the Central Building was occupied by The Defender Association, a public-defense law firm. When I worked there between 1988 and 1994, the room on the roof was used as an office, and I was lucky enough to share it for a while. I always liked the Central Building and it's great to learn more of its history.
My great-grandfather O.T. Frasch took three photos (that I know of) showing the observatory:
Image 42 - American Bank Bldg. Seattle https://www.otfrasch.com/by-number/00-99/40-49/42-american-bank-bldg-seattle
Image 66 - 3rd Ave. Seattle Showing New Street Lights https://www.otfrasch.com/by-number/00-99/60-69/66-3rd-ave-seattle-showing-new-street-lights
Image 937 - First Hill from Hoce Building (Showing Cathedril) https://www.otfrasch.com/by-number/900-999/930-939/937-first-hill-from-hoce-bldg-showing-cathedril
"Hoce" in the latter should be "Hoge" and of course "Cathedril" is misspelled. Otto did know how to spell the latter, but wasn't always careful when writing backwards on the glass negatives.
All three of these images date to 1908 or so. One print of Image 937 is postmarked 1914 but the active regrade and absence of cars suggests an earlier vintage.
Your article on "the code of the west" was particularly interesting to my husband because of his passion for Morse telegraphy. Western Union and others published code books, which contained a lengthy list of English words that corresponded to a given word, number, or phrase. When composing a telegram, a sender would use entries in the code book as substitutes for the desired text.
This was done for two reasons. First of all, telegrams were charged by the word, and reducing the number of words would cut down on the cost of sending the telegram. Secondly, the code words could minimize the possibility of errors introduced by telegraph operators in transmitting the telegram. For business transactions in particular, it was important to transmit numbers correctly. And some words in English can be ambiguous when sent in Morse (especially true in the case of the original Morse code used in landline telegraphy, but that's another story), adding to the possibility of erroneous transmission.
These code books were often public and not intended to keep the telegrams secret. Sometimes they were tailored to a particular company's needs, and sometimes they were in fact secret codes that were kept confidential.
Most enjoyable. You can see the Observatory in Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6033848,-122.3329701,97a,35y,12.47h,60.6t/data=!3m1!1e3
And then you start noticing all kinds of interesting structures on top of other buildings in the area. I think you should check those out!
Very cool & fun stories! I love investigating and exploring old places. It would be interesting to find out how the observatory space has been used over the years.