A fond farewell to a Classic & Vintage Hotel
 

The time has come, The Downtown Hotel in Port Angeles is closing this Labor Day :(



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For the past 15 years, this place has been my job, my home-away-from-home, my bikeshop, my gathering place for cycling friends, my refuge, my struggle, my comfy place to watch Seahawks and Mariners games with a G n' T in hand, my most consistent source of frustration and worry, my daily destination rain or shine, my prison sentence.

Heh; free at last.

The building was sold this April to the local Elwha Tribe who is planning a very large luxury hotel next door. Their original plan was to leave our building standing and rent it back to us until they needed the space for something else, but their construction company has convinced them that it makes more economic sense to do all the demolition for the project in one fell swoop. They are right, of course. Two shaky 105-year-old buildings built cheek-to-jowl on tidal fill makes for a tricky project if you want to take just one of them down.

It has been a great pleasure to host many of youse guys over various weekends and to meet even more of you who just popped in to say say "Hello" on your way through town. Or to drop off a bike or two. (Or five, like @Wildwood.) Going forward, I'm looking for a job in something other than front-line hospitality. During the 15 years I've worked here, my hearing has been declining, going from mildly inconvenienced to damn near deaf. (It runs in the family.) If anyone has any tips for copy editing or proofing gigs accessible online, I'd be happy to hear about them. It was my line of work in college and for a while afterwards, and it's something a wordy deaf guy can do without too much of a disadvantage. It's one of a few possibilities I'm looking forward to trying. I can always fall back on being a housekeeper, too. God knows I've got enough experience, there. Good news for future employers: I've worked for so little money for so long, I'm used to poverty wages and can be had cheaply. ;)

So, those of you who've visited, feel free to drag out your memories and pictures of the old pile of bricks. She comes down next month.

Forward

May she Rest In Peace. Best of luck in your next endeavor.

Sorry to hear that. Best of luck in the search.

"How they go, how they go, all the ones you thought would never go."

Your hotel was almost as great as the Cherry Bank in Victoria. And they demolished it, too.

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There are only few people I call friend.

Lascauxcaveman is one of them.

I hope we have many rides together in the future Tim. Need a large framed bike?

Always! Fortunately, I have 15 or 20 on hand :)

But if it's anything interesting (like that cheap, chrome Bottecchia you snagged for me last winter) I'm interested in hearing about it, at least.

And many rides is exactly what I have in mind for this fall. I'll even be able to come ride your local trails, now that I'm freshly unencumbered.

Better n that.
We'll chat, my next Olympic Peninsula adventure.


Best o Luck going forward!

that place had great bike rooms, eh, I mean bed rooms

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e5ab2f1d6c.jpg

See, that's looking for (and finding) the silver lining! When one door shuts, another opens. Something good will happen for you, Tim :)

In the meantime, when you come over, don't forget two things: one, a helmet (the trails and most of King County will fine you $130) and two, I'm always up for a ride as long as it doesn't interfere with school. And school doesn't begin for another month :)

I stayed over on at least one occasion (maybe two?); that room photo above by @SurferRosa will always remind me of my stay.

DD

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2968ff28d5.jpg
Thought an actual photo might be better than that rendering above

+1

Sorry to hear it, but best of luck with your new adventures!

The Downtown Hotel
 

Tim, Thank you for hosting us bike nerds. I stayed at the Hotel twice and it is a comfortable place to be. I'm sad to see it go as the world becomes more and more ****genized by corporate everything. Plus, Port Angeles is a neat town and the Olympic Penninsula is simply beautiful. As DD said above, one door closes and another one opens!

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae8704450.jpeg

I've enjoyed the stories and the pictures of the hotel and its inhabitants and guests. I'm sorry the distance between it and me has kept me from actually paying it a visit.

But it did inspire me to do the next best thing last year: visit the Caveman's dwelling in France:

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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4fbff340c4.jpg

Thanks for the stories, Tim. And good luck with whatever it is you're going to end up doing.

Good Luck Tim!!!

What they all said, and Bon Courage from here.

+42 and tho this is gutting I sure hope you rise "phoenix-like" to soar again (and I don't mean necessarily in Arizona).

We have older buildings than that in my downtown and Snowmageddon almost took some out. I was in Seattle and Tacoma in mid-1992 and other than the anarchist ninja old men rioting now and then it was a charming place. A comfortable and friendly home is better than a 'new' home, as long as it's safe.

I'm always hearing that when the 'Cascadia' quake hits, nothing will really matter, it will all be toast. Take two spoons of nihilism and call me in the morning.

Tim, I am sad to see your cool little hotel is closing. Sure have some great memories of being your guest there.
https://live.staticflickr.com/8192/2...5b637d7a_c.jpg
Tim's shop behind the registration desk by NBend, on Flickr

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Post ride refreshments and tall tales by NBend, on Flickr

I wish all the best for you as you go into your next chapter…

I haven't visited your hotel, but you were gracious enough to meet my wife and me on Bainbridge Island for a nice ride. I enjoyed meeting you. I hope you enjoy your newfound freedom. After owning a hotel, it will be a big change.

Well shoot, I was hoping to make one of your hotel rides one year soon. Fair winds and following seas on the new endeavor!

We stayed at the Downtown during our anniversary Olympic Peninsula and Victoria trip years ago, before I joined BF and learned about our guy who was working there at the time of our visit.

I knew this was coming, but it's always too soon. I had hoped the old Downtown Hotel had one more metric century in her. :(

I made some good friends there. The pictures above bring back fond memories. I hope this won't mean the end of regular gatherings of BF C&V people in Port Angeles. We'll just need to find another place to hang our bikes.

I don't seem to have any pictures of the hotel itself, so a memory from one of the three Downtown Hotel Metric Centuries I've ridden will have to do.

https://live.staticflickr.com/825/41...c196554b_b.jpg

I am now upset that I didn't get up to one of the Metric Centuries. Is there a possibility of putting one one without the Hotel next year?