Queen Axe Hill

Most of 1990 was a scary year on Queen Anne. An intruder was breaking into houses and eating people's fruit. The residents of the hill, who normally slept with their windows open and at least one door unlocked, started battening down the hatches. Their quiet little life in a neighborhood of sprawling Colonial's and huge Craftsman's was being infiltrated by a banana bandit. On March 3rd, someone broke through the basement window of a house with a pickax and fled when the owner turned on the lights. He left the axe, which the owner still has. There had been no fruit in the home. 

Actual Pickax used in break-in

Then, on March 9th, a resident at 361 Newton Street, awoke around 7 am to find his back door open and an axe that had been stored in his carport, lying in his living room. The cops were called, the axe was dusted for prints, and it was placed on the back porch by the owner.

361 Newton Street

Then, just four days later, things took a terrible turn. 63 year-old Geneva MacDonald failed to show up for work that day. After repeated calls to her home went to the machine, a concerned co-worker paid a visit to her home at 1611 Bigelow Avenue, just around the corner from the Newton Street house.

McDonald home at 1611 Bigelow Ave.

Geneva's car was there but knocks on her back door went unanswered. It was unlocked and the co-worker went inside. Upstairs, in her bedroom, was Geneva's mutilated body. She had been repeatedly struck with an axe and stabbed with her own sewing scissors. Her throat had also been slit with a knife. The co-worker ran to a neighbor's and called 911. The axe, which the killer left, still had fingerprint dust on it and was immediately recognized by investigators. 

The killer entered through this back gate in the alley.

While the investigation was taking place and residents of the hill were installing security systems and motion detectors, the fruit fiend managed to strike again. A guest of a house just down the hill from Geneva's, was awakened by an intruder at the foot of his bed, holding a kitchen knife. He fought with the intruder and his hands and lower arms were shredded in the scuffle. The assailant fled the house and the man called 911. Now here's the messed up part. The operator tells him to walk a few blocks down the hill to the 7-11 at 5th and Valley where he would find two paramedics on their lunch break. His friend ended up driving him to the hospital. (You can't make this stuff up)  

7-11 at 5th and Valley on Queen Anne

Dozens of homes were broken into on the hill over the next few months but there was no suspect. On July 15th, an intruder entered a home on Queen Anne while the residents were sleeping and scrawled a series of obscene threats on the dining room wall. Then, in September, someone broke into a house at 3029 49th Avenue SW all the way in West Seattle. There, they ate fruit and wrote "The Killer is Back" and other messages on the walls and left an axe at the foot of the stairs.  

3029 49th Ave West

That same day, a West Seattle apartment was broken into and milk was poured all over the electronics. Messages were also left on a few walls. The intruder had changed neighborhoods, but only for a minute. A week after the West Seattle break-in's, a suspect was chased down the street after breaking into a home back on Queen Anne. Somehow, the homeowner managed to snap a shot of the intruder with an Instamatic camera. The man in the picture was 36 year-old James Cushing. Cops knew him well. Just a month prior, he was taken to Harborview Medical Center for psychiatric evaluation after he was seen screaming, yelling, and waving a knife near Kinnear Park on Queen Anne. He was evaluated and released to the streets. (I'm currently working on a story about a murder in that park)

Kinnear Park at 899 West Olympic Place

The police began searching downtown streets and local mission's for James. They found and arrested him on the corner of 4th and Stewart on Thursday, September 13th. 

Intersection of 4th and Stewart near Westlake Plaza

We learned he had become a recent regular at The Mecca Tavern at 526 Queen Anne Ave. and was dubbed "crazy" by staff and patrons. 

Mecca Cafe and Tavern

He also frequented Tower Records & Video (RIP) at the bottom of the hill, where he spent hours in the horror movie section. (Red flag) 

 Seattle Music Mural that was at Tower Records

A Quality Food Center now sits at 500 Mercer St.

Apparently, James' mother had contracted German measles before his birth, a disease known to cause brain damage in an unborn child. Right after his birth, he became severely ill with spinal meningitis, enduring temperatures of up to 107 degrees that further damaged his brain. His mother said he never cried as a baby. He later became obsessed with slasher films after finding his sister dead in 1989. He was also obsessed with the story of Lizzie Borden, who killed her parents with an axe in 1892. He had been in and out of numerous mental institutions over the years but doctor’s disagreed about how to treat him. Some even doubted his insanity. He once smeared the walls of his apartment with fecal matter and his mom had him picked up and sent to Western State Hospital in Lakewood for evaluation. There, two doctor’s petitioned the courts to have him held for 14 days. They said he required intensive supervised 24-hour restrictive care. One doctor's notes said, "Patient says he may kill someone one of these days.'' For reasons that remain unknown, the court denied the petition. "They let him out that day,'' his mother told the Seattle Times, "Just sent him out on his own. And not only that, to find his own way home from Western State. I picked him up in Tacoma. They just let him out the door.''

Western State Hospital 9601 Steilacoom Blvd. Lakewood, WA

His mental state was front and center at the trial. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity. In the end, prosecutors were able to convince the jury that James knew right from wrong. He was found guilty of aggravated murder, first-degree attempted murder, and numerous breaking and entering charges. He will spend the rest of his life at the the Washington Correctional Facility in Monroe. There is no possibility of parole. RIP Geneva.

 

 

Jimi Hendrix Was Here

On September 18th, 1970 Jimi Hendrix was sleeping at his girlfriend Monika Danneman's apartment in London. She left for cigarettes and when she came back, Jimi was covered in vomit. She tried to wake him. For some reason, she called Jimi's good friend Eric Burdon instead of an ambulance. 

Eric shouted into the phone, "Call the fucking ambulance!" Monika said she wasn't sure she should, because Jimi might get mad about the scandal. (Idiot!) Eric repeated his order. The ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later. From David Henderson's "Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky" "Instead of laying him down in the ambulance, they sat him in a chair and strapped him upright. He tried to bend over so he could vomit, but one of the attendants quickly pushed his head back and strapped him in tighter. Jimi's head rolled back as the ambulance driver took off. The speeding ambulance pressed his body back in the chair and made it even more difficult for him to get his head down. There was bile and vomit near his Adam's apple. Jimi was unable to speak. Even if he could, the ball of vomit in his throat prevented him. The vomit massed in his vocal chords. His lungs became congested. His heart began to pump harder, and the right ventricle dilated. Fluid began to seep into his lungs. He was rushed from the ambulance into St. Mary Abbots Hospital. The doctors worked on him for over an hour, to no avail." He was pronounced dead at 11:25 am. His last meal was a tuna sandwich. Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, the first of five children to James Allen "Al" Hendrix and Lucille Jeter. It's rumored that Al was born with six fingers on each hand.

Hendrix Home in 2001

Jimi's mother was a very neglectful alcoholic and she left him and his siblings alone at night to drink in the bars while Al was away in the Army. Their house was at 2603 S. Washington St. After Al was discharged from the Army, fighting was common in the Hendrix home. Jimi would hide in a closet to escape his life. His parents would finally divorce when Jimi was nine. His mother developed cirrhosis of the liver and died on February 2, 1958. Jimi was 15. Around this time, he acquired his first acoustic guitar.

Temple De Hirsch

He taught himself to play by watching others and listening to records in his room. (He really was a genius) Jimi's stage moves, including playing with his teeth and behind his back, were taken from a fellow Seattle musician, Butch Snipes, guitarist with local band The Sharps. Hendrix's first gig was with an unnamed band in the basement of a Seattle synagogue at 1511 East Pike. He was fired from the band for acting "too wild" onstage. (Big mistake, huge) The first formal band he played in was The Velvetones, who performed regularly at a community house at the Yesler Projects at 825 East Yesler, without pay. This is one rough area.

Yesler Projects Community House

Seattle cops don't even want to respond to calls over there. Jimi later joined the Rocking Kings, who played a few shows at The Birdland at 2203 East Madison. A Safeway with condo's above it sits there now.

Birdland in 1958

This happens to be the Safeway I shop at. (Best China Express in the city)

23rd and Madison Safeway

Around this time, Jimi was expelled from Garfield High School at 400 23rd Ave for poor grades and attendance.

Garfield High School

He was later given an honorary diploma, and in the 1990's a bust of him was placed in the school library. Garfield loves it's famous former students. A new performing arts center is named after Quincy Jones.

Bust in Garfield's library.

Jimi got in trouble for riding in stolen cars and was given the choice between spending two years in jail or joining the Army. He enlisted on May 31, 1961. At the base recreation center, he met fellow soldier and bass player, Billy Cox, who eventually became the bass player for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. He's the only member of the band alive today. Jimi was released from the Army in 1962 and he and Billy moved to Tennessee to work on the band. They played gigs here and there but Jimi decided to try his luck in New York. He moved to Harlem and eventually became the guitar player for The Isley Brothers' back-up band until late 1964. He then began recording and performing with Little Richard. He would play with several performers and bands until early 1966. He then met Keith Richards' girlfriend Linda at the Cheetah Club in New York and she introduced him to producer Chas Chandler. Chandler took Jimi to London and signed him to a contract. The two put together The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Jimi sent for his buddy, Billy Cox. Their first single was "Hey Joe." They would put out three albums before Jimi died. After he died, his girlfriend Monika publicly claimed that she had only discovered that Jimi was sick at 11:00 a.m., but that he was breathing, though unconscious and unresponsive (the ambulance was called at 11:18 and arrived 11:27). She also said Jimi was alive when placed in the back of the ambulance at approximately 11:30, and that she rode with him on the way to the hospital. The ambulance crew later denied she was even there. Additionally, her comments about the timing of some events that morning often differed in places, varying from interview to interview. Police and ambulance statements reveal that there was no one but Hendrix in the apartment when they arrived at 11:27, and not only was he dead when they arrived on the scene, but he had been dead for some time. In 1996, Monika Dannemann committed suicide shortly after being found guilty of contempt of court for repeating a libel against Kathy Etchingham, who had been a girlfriend of Hendrix in the 1960's. (Wow) Jimi's body was returned to Seattle and he was buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton. Concerns began to mount over fans damaging the grave after someone stole the gold guitar impression that was engraved on it.

Jimi's grave

His father decided to create a memorial site for his son, and to move his body to the new memorial. Al Hendrix died two months before it's completion in 2002. He's buried there too. A 2004 probate suit argued that Jimi's sister Janie and a cousin, Robert Hendrix paid themselves exorbitant salaries and covered their own mortgages and personal expenses from Experience Hendrix, LLC while the beneficiaries went without payment and Jimi's memorial went uncompleted. In early 2005, a judge handed down a ruling that left the final will intact, but replaced Janie and Robert's role at the financial helm of Experience Hendrix with an independent trustee.

The site of the Hendrix home today

In 2001, a local developer was asked to help save Jimi's childhood home. The site was going to be developed for condo's. He purchased the house for $30,000 and moved it to a city-owned lot at 2010 S. Jackson.

2010 S. Jackson today

He and Al Hendrix had hopes of renovating the house and turning it into a music center. That never worked out and the city decided they needed the house to be moved again to make room for even more condo's. (Enough with the condos!!) The developer purchased a run down trailer park in Renton, across the street from the cemetery where Jimi is buried. He planned to tear down the trailer park and turn the house into a museum.

The Hendrix home while it was at the trailer park

into a museum. The housing economy tanked and all plans fell through. The city of Renton gave the developer until March 27, 2009 to fix up the house.

The trailer park today

They said it was an eye-sore. It didn't happen. The house was demolished. The trailer park is still there though and boy is it lovely... It's hands down the most dilapidated trailer park I've ever seen. Crack-head city. Good thing they tore Jimi's house down though. 

Photo Courtesy of Nicole Baummer

There is a statue of Jimi at Pine and Broadway and a park is named for him at 24th and Massachusetts. There are plans to add three really cool memorials on the empty field of that park. 

Jimi is by far the biggest star to come from Seattle. Just one more reason why I love this city. RIP

The Tragic Life of Frances Farmer

Frances grew up in West Seattle. Her address was 2636 47th St. SW. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager. Her mild-mannered attorney father proved no match for her bossy, social  activist mother.

Frances in 1938

Frances first became known as “The bad girl of West Seattle” when her atheistic essay won a contest from Scholastic Magazine. 

Farmer Home in West Seattle

Her piece, “God Dies” made headlines (“Seattle Girl Denies God And Wins Prize”) and the 18-year old Frances learned fast that she would have to plan an escape from her provincial surroundings. She got this chance as a UW drama student when she won a 1935 trip to Russia. When her ship returned to New York, she cashed in the return bus ticket to Seattle and sought lodging and stage work in Manhattan. (I've always admired people who follow their dreams no matter what) Within weeks she was discovered by a talent scout and offered a 7-year contract with Paramount Studios. She was 22 years old. California was a nice change from rainy Seattle and she tried her best to follow studio orders.

Leif Erickson

She posed for publicity stills, controlled her weight via prescription amphetamines, and even married a handsome fellow contract player named Leif Erickson. The pretty couple settled into their home in Laurel Canyon and posed for magazine stories. Frances soon found herself co-starring with Hollywood’s biggest star Bing Crosby in Rhythm on the Range and loaned out for the Howard Hawks film Come and Get It in 1936, where she was given the challenging dual roles of mother and daughter. Hawks called her “the greatest actress I have ever worked with.” With two box-office hits under her belt and some newfound leverage, Frances started showing her true nature by defiantly refusing to attend Hollywood parties and play the glamour girl. In 1937, Frances wanted to prove herself as a dedicated stage actress. This led to a role in Broadway’s Golden Boy and a love affair with its lauded playwright-the equally married Clifford Odets.

Clifford Odets

Things didn’t pan out as she'd hoped, and Frances found herself back in Hollywood with a broken heart and an unbroken studio contract. By 1942, Frances was struggling with tepid film roles, impending divorce, and an addiction to Benzedrine's and booze. She was reportedly growing more paranoid and short-tempered. On October 19, 1942, it came to a head when she was pulled over by a motorcycle cop for driving with her headlights on bright in a wartime dim zone. Frances got mouthy and they had a scuffle. She was arrested, fined and given a suspended sentence. She paid half the $500 fine. Three months later, Frances was in no mood for a certain studio hairdresser and slugged her. With an unpaid fine and new assault charge – the police found her at the Knickerbocker Hotel and hauled her to jail kicking and screaming. At the police station, she stated her occupation as “cocksucker”. (A legitimate job for some) 

At Police Station

A judge ordered her to the screen actors Kimball Sanitarium in La Crescenta. Her mother traveled by train to California and was granted guardianship of her daughter. Back in Seattle, she and her mother battled at home and an overwhelmed Lillian had Frances committed to Western State Hospital. (Nice) Western State was the largest psychiatric hospital west of the Mississippi.

The remains of Western State today.

This was Frances Farmer's home for three months in 1944 and much of 1945 thru 1950. In the years that Frances was a patient at the hospital, it was reportedly very understaffed and in disrepair. For nearly 50 years, hydrotherapy was the early treatment of choice. Wet packs, hot tubs and showers were used to calm patients. Harsher treatments included a surgical procedure called the frontal lobotomy. It was used for a period of time in the 1940's.

Doctors performing a lobotomy

Hospital records state that Frances was not one of the 300 patients who received a lobotomy. Her attorney father Ernest also threatened legal action if the facility dare try any “guinea pig” experiments on his daughter. Frances was paroled on March 23, 1950 and returned to her mother’s care. She took a job as a laundress at The Fairmont Hotel in downtown Seattle. The same hotel that had once hosted her world premiere party for Come and Get It. (Can you imagine?)  Her legal rights were restored in 1953 and she moved to a boarding house in Eureka, CA. She drowned herself in vodka and worked as a typist and assistant at a photo shop under the alias Phyllis Anderson. She had two short-lived marriages in the mid 1950s and the second guy tried to get her on the comeback trail. Neither of the marriages or a Hollywood comeback worked out. Frances appeared twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, and in a CBS Playhouse 90 teleplay. She also did the 1958 live episode of This Is Your Life, broadcast from the Pantages Theater. She was presented with a brand new Edsel car for all her televised mortification. On the show, she was harassed by host Ralph Edwards about her rumored “alcoholism” and “nervous breakdown.” (Asshole) From 1958 to 1964, Frances hosted an Indianapolis TV show on WFBM-TV called Frances Farmer Presents.

Hosting Frances Farmer Presents

She did extensive research on the films that she presented and discussed in her live segments. She proved to be an elegant, gracious host and insightful interviewer of visiting celebrities such as Dan Blocker, Vivian Vance, (LOVE Her) and her own ex-husband, Leif Erickson. The show aired 6 days a week and remained #1 in the time slot for its entire run. (Impressive) She was arrested for drunk driving in October 1965 not long after a stressful appearance on The Today Show where she was once again asked about her mental illness on national TV. (Decades later, Lindsay, Britney, and Gary Busey, would receive the same treatment on the same show) Frances spent her final years in Indianapolis. She lost her battle with throat cancer on August 1, 1970. She was only 56 years old, and still beautiful.

Frances in 1968

Contrary to popular belief, Frances Cobain was not named after Frances Farmer. She was named after Frances McKee of the Scottish Alternative band, The Vaselines. Just sayin'.

The Pang Foods Fire

On the evening of January 5, 1995, at 7:03pm the first alarm was dispatched to Mary Pang's Food Products, a one‑story,  block‑long frozen food plant and warehouse at 811 7th Ave. South in Chinatown. Heavy fire was noted at the rear of the building. After firemen had exhausted much of the fire on the main floor, a fire crew entered for final extinguishing.

Firefighters Respond to the call.

What was not realized was that the fire, an arson, was in the basement. The fire they had knocked down was just an extension of fames into the 1st floor. The basement fire, burning through a supporting floor beam, caused a section of the floor to drop into the basement as it rushed up into the main level. Firefighters rushed out of the nearest doors and windows to escape the heat, several of them suffered burns.

Twelve hours after response.

At this point it was known that four of them had not come out. Lieutenants Walter Kilgore and Greg Shoemaker, and Firefighters James Brown and Randall Terlicker were still inside. Because the building now was too unsafe to enter, it wasn't possible to effect a rescue attempt until the flames had been driven back. Firefighter's effected control by 5am and began the search for the men. The last body found, that of Randy Terlicker, was removed shortly before 7:00  on January 8th. The loss of four members at one incident is the most ever suffered by the Seattle Fire Department. An investigation revealed that the fire was set by Martin Pang, Mary Pang's adopted son, in order to collect the insurance and to clear the property for development. Pang fled to Brazil and could not be extradited for murder. After three years of legal and diplomatic wrangling, Pang was returned to Seattle where he pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter.

Martin Pang is brought back to Seattle.

He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Pang's ex-wife and an FBI informant shared a $36,000 reward posted for his arrest and conviction. There's a memorial dedicated to the fallen firefighter's in  Occidental Park in Pioneer Square. RIP

Memorial at Occidental Park

Martin's mom, Mary, died of a heart attack on March 6, 2009. Here is the building today.

7th and Dearborn in Chinatown