Tucked into a 1918 building in Queen Anne, the Marqueen Hotel recently completed a renovation that draws on Seattle history: the city's connection to Henry Ford, the Model T, and a cross-country car race tied to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The 59-room boutique hotel brought automotive references into its design, turning a routine remodel into a timeline of early Seattle industry.
The story goes back to 1909, when the Ocean-to-Ocean Race for the Guggenheim Cup ran in conjunction with Seattle's Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, according to autos.yahoo.com.
Two Ford Model Ts entered the race, and the Shawmut was later declared the winner on a technicality, the outlet reports. Seattle also had a Ford plant, per The Seattle Times.
Ownership and a Renovation
Metropolitan Management owns the hotel, according to The Seattle Times. Renee Fisher is a vice president at the ownership company.
For the redesign, interior designer Marisa Weber led the design team. Fisher's mother and her best friend had been the hotel's original interior designers, the outlet notes, giving this renovation a generational thread of its own. The project preserves the property's history for guests and locals.
Ford-Inspired Design
The design details lean into the automotive theme. The renovation's palette draws on Ford colors from 1966.
The Marqueen kept its original hardwood floors, according to the outlet. Guest rooms have rotary phones.
Plumbing and a Tin Lizzie Lounge
Some of the renovation addressed less glamorous but more expensive problems. The project included plumbing work, according to the paper. The hotel stayed open throughout construction, with crews completing the renovation one side of the building at a time.
Downstairs, the hotel's lounge, Tin Lizzie, takes its name from the Model T's old nickname.
