Penguin Room, Seattle 1950s
Product Description
Completed in 1930, the Exchange Building is one of Seattle’s landmark buildings and the 23-storey, 288ft L-shaped Art Deco tower – now a modern office block - still has a magnificent, gilded lobby.
The skyscraper was built to house the Seattle Stock Exchange and when traders were finished work for the day, they headed to the ground floor Penguin Room bar.
There, as this 1950s menu suggest, cocktails from martinis to Manhattans, flips, highballs, fizzes, sours and liqueurs were on offer from friendly barmen. A Zombie was one of the most expensive drinks at 98 cents.
One of the latter owners and operators of the Penguin Room was Alex W Patrick, who was born in the Ukraine in 1908. He immigrated to Canada at age 16 and then settled in the US, becoming a US citizen.
He created thirst quenchers like The Penguin Special, made from vodka, lime juice and his own special mix of liqueurs which settled the nerves of stockbrokers who had a bad day on the markets.
This striking menu features a parade of penguins on the front cover and three great fonts.
Courtesy Private Collection.
Each order includes a print of the interior menu.