An Interview with Ann, Author of Images of America: Frederick & Nelson

What was your inspiration for writing the book?

My editor, Julie Pheasant-Albright, called me up one day and told me that I needed to write a book on Frederick & Nelson. She knew that my dad had worked there for 35 years and in 1992 we both skipped out on work to attend the store’s closing auction. Standing in the store’s abandoned Kindergarten, surrounded by childhood memories, we sobbed like the children we had been when we played there long ago. Recently I realized that even though Frederick & Nelson had been closed for over 15 years it was still an active topic of conversation – not just among my friends but among all those who lived in or visited Seattle during the 102 years it was in business.

How did you research the information for the book?

I’m a librarian and informational researcher by training and performing the background research on this book was a labor of love. I was fortunate enough to have access to my late father’s collection of F&N memorabilia, as well as the 47 boxes of materials in the Museum of History and Industry’s Frederick & Nelson collection. Included in MOHAI’s collection were the 3,500 letters of customer’s memories of the store solicited during a marketing campaign in 1981. Numerous online resources were treasure troves as well. But probably the richest source of information, and the most engaging, was talking with Pacific North Westerners who had worked, shopped, or simply pressed their noses up to the Christmas display windows at F&N.

What will readers find interesting about the book?

It’s chockablock with photographs that most F&N fans won’t have seen before and yet will evoke their personal reminisces. All the essentials are covered; Christmas, Santa Photos, Frango mints, the Tearoom, fashion shows, the Paul Bunyan Room, Clark the Doorman, the elevator girls, and so much more. There are also stories of the inner workings of the store and numerous tales of amazing customer service.

What writing advice would you give to aspiring authors and historians?

My editor is given to frequently quoting Mary Heaton Vorse - "The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair." I think authors and historians have to be led by an innate insatiable curiosity and a desire to engage with the world and understand our place within it. I think if you have that, then as Woody Allen said, all you really need to do to succeed is show up.

What lasting impact do you hope your book will leave?

All over the Pacific Northwest there are thousands of people who, on any given day, wish they could walk into the building on 5th Avenue and Pine Street in Seattle, step into the way back machine, and be transported to the time of their favorite experience at Frederick & Nelson. It’s my hope that this book will accomplish that for them.

Pictured Above Left: Clark Pounds, Frederick & Nelson’s original doorman, was the friendly face of the store for more than four decades. In this c. 1940 photograph, he greets a customer at the main entrance to the store. Dressed to the nines in her stylish hat and white gloves, she might very well be on her way to a fashion show in the Tea Room.

Above Right: Frederick & Nelson’s second move in 1897 took the store to the Rialto Building on Second Avenue and Madison Street, where they leased two floors. They installed an elevator, which was one of the first in the city and became an attraction for both locals and out-of-towners. With their expanded line ofmerchandise, the store was rapidly becoming a department store.