The Beatles in Seattle, 1964
P-I coverage from Aug. 22, 1964, of The Beatles in Seattle. (seattlepi.com file)
Paul McCartney arrives at the Edgewater Hotel. The photo is kept in a scrapbook made by Ann Wright, wife of former Edgewater Hotel manager Don Wright. (Photo courtesy Ann Wright)
The Beatles fish from room 272 of the Edgewater Hotel on Aug. 21, 1964. (Courtesy of The Edgewater)
Guests are no longer allowed to fish out of the window where the Beatles fished in Aug. 1964. This picture of Room 272 is from 2009. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com file)
From left, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon in room 272 of the Edgewater Hotel. The photo is kept in a scrapbook made by Ann Wright, wife of former Edgewater Hotel manager Don Wright. (Photo courtesy Ann Wright)
The Beatles Suite at the Edgewater, shown here in 2009, now has their pictures from The White Album on the wall. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com file)
From left, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have a meal at the Edgewater Hotel. The dishes The Beatles used during their last breakfast at the hotel were given to daughters of hotel manager Don Wright. (Photo courtesy Ann Wright)
Ann Wright, wife of former Edgewater Hotel manager Don Wright, still has a piece of the carpet from the suite The Beatles stayed in. The carpet was removed after the band left and sold at MacDougall’s department store at Second Avenue and Pike Street. Proceeds went to what’s now Children’s Hospital Medical Center. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Hundreds of teen girls wait for The Beatles outside The Coliseum, Aug. 21, 1964. (seattlepi.com file)
Aug. 22, 1964, Seattle P-I coverage of the Beatles in Seattle. (seattlepi.com file)
Paul McCartney at the Edgewater Hotel, Aug. 21, 1964. (Courtesy Ann Wright)
It was 48 years ago Tuesday that The Beatles made their first appearance in Seattle – and in a way they’re back again.
They came to the Edgewater hotel Aug. 21, 1964, and when their limo drove down Wall Street, the crowd of more than 300 girls were so loud they could be heard blocks away. The live show that night at what’s now KeyArena wasn’t much different – the song lyrics are barely audible on the only recording of it from deep in the crowd.
Late last month, the Beatles completely arrived in Seattle again – this time through the completion of the Abbey Road mural on the west wall of Golden Oldies, the Wallingford record store that’s celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The mural was started in January but the finishing touches were done last month by artist David Heck.
He also painted the famous cover of “Whipped Cream and Other Delights,” on the store, which model Dolores Erickson visited last week. More on that here.
Golden Oldies owner Dean Silverstone said the mural has been especially popular, with people commenting almost daily. One young woman who is a huge Paul McCartney fan even came from Texas for a picture with it.
The Beatles’ stay at the Edgewater – their room still draws guests from around the globe today – was thanks to Don Wright, the young manager at the time. His widow, Ann, recalled that story for seattlepi.com in 2009.
To see The Beatles’ Seattle set list from 1964 and to see brief concert footage from KOMO/4, click here. Follow this link for P-I coverage from Aug. 21 and this link for P-I stories from Aug. 22, 1964.
A gallery of The Beatles visit in 1964 is above and photos of their new home in Wallingford is below.
The Beatles in Wallingford
Artist David Heck finishes the Abbey Road mural on Golden Oldies in Wallingford, July 2012. The painting was done after a driver crashed through the store’s west wall in 2010, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Artist David Heck finishes the Abbey Road mural on Golden Oldies in Wallingford, July 2012. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Just before the finishing touches were put on the Abbey Road painting at Golden Oldies music store in Wallingford, Tamsin Stirling traveled to pose next to Paul McCartney. Stirling is a Texas A&M student and huge McCartney fan. (Photo courtesy Dean Silverstone)
Artist David Heck finishes the Abbey Road mural on Golden Oldies in Wallingford, July 2012. Heck, who started the mural in January, has painted dozens of sites around Seattle. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Artist David Heck finishes the Abbey Road mural on Golden Oldies in Wallingford, July 2012. Store owner Dean Silverstone said he gets comments almost daily on the Beatles’ record cover, which he said is recognized by several generations. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Artist David Heck finishes the Abbey Road mural on Golden Oldies in Wallingford, July 2012. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com)
Dean Silverstone, left, owner of Golden Oldies records, and locally reknown mural artist David Heck, hold The Beatles’ album Abbey Road in front of the record store on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)
This 2010 picture shows the plywood that patched the hole in Golden Oldies Records and Tapes after an SUV drove through the west wall of the Wallingford store the morning of August 8, 2010. (Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com file)
