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T. Harry Gowman collection, circa 1920-1946

Overview of the Collection

Cre
Gowman, T. Harry (Thomas Harry), 1888-1960
Title
T. Harry Gowman collection
Dates
circa 1920-1946 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.08 linear feet
Collection Number
2015-003
Summary
The collection includes a variety of materials related to T. Harry Gowman and his Seattle hotel, Hotel Gowman.
Repository
Seattle Public Library, Special Collections
1000 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104-1109
Telephone: 206-386-4636
specialcollections@spl.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open and available for use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Thomas Henry Gowman (1888-1960) was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada to Richard Gowman and Mary Platzer. He came to Seattle in 1918. His nickname was Harry and he appears as T. Harry Gowman in publications and records from his adult life. In 1920, he took over the Washington Annex Hotel and renamed it Hotel Gowman. The hotel was located at 1620 Second Avenue in Seattle. Gowman sold the hotel in 1946 and it was renamed the Stewart Hotel.
Gowman was active in the tourist industry in Seattle and served as an international trustee of the Kiwanis Club and an officer of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He was married twice, first to Bessie Theresa Deacon (on July 19, 1911 in Wellington, Ontario, Canada) whom he divorced in 1928, and secondly to Verna May Powley (on July 3, 1929 in Seattle, Washington). He had four children, Dorothy (b. 1913), Gordon (b. 1917) Mary Louise (b. 1931), and Thomas Henry (b. 1932).

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Content Description

The collection consists of both biographical materials about T. Harry Gowman and materials related to Hotel Gowman in Seattle. One item of note is a scrapbook including advertisements, clippings, photographs and drawings. The collection also includes ephemera related to Gowman's involvement with the Kiwanis Club and Shriners Hospitals.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[ITEM DESCRIPTION], T. Harry Gowman collection. Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection is arranged alphabetically by material type. A folder containing staff research is included at the front of the collection.

Related Materials

Our Seattle Room Menu Collection includes hotel menus filed under Gowman Hotel: https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S30C2303601

Another folder of material is available in our Seattle Room hotel ephemera collection: https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv489157

Digitized items related to the hotel are available in our online collections: https://cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/Gowman%20Hotel%20(Seattle%2C%20Wash.)/field/subjec/mode/exact/conn/and

Acquisition Information

This collection was purchased from a dealer in 2015.

Processing Note

Acknowledgement of Harmful Content
The Seattle Public Library Special Collections Department is committed to creating an inclusive archive that documents the history of our diverse communities in a respectful manner. Our collections include historic materials that may contain images and outdated language which can be harmful due to issues such as racism, colonialism, sexism and homophobia. This content can provide important insight into the creator and context of the historic materials but can also reveal hurtful biases and prejudices.

We may decide to use or retain harmful language in our description when the terms have been used by the creator(s) of the materials to describe themselves or their community; when we have reused description created by the donor; when we have transcribed information directly from the materials; and when using national standards such as Library of Congress Subject Headings, which allow for standardized searching and retrieval of records. When including language from the original material in our finding aids or descriptions, we will indicate that this material comes directly from the original item by putting the language in quotes or prefacing it with a note that says the description is transcribed from the item or provided by the creator.

We will continually review our finding aids to identify harmful language and encourage you to contact us at specialcollections@spl.org if you find language that causes concern.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

  • Description: Staff research
    Dates: 1911-1960
    Container: Box 1, Folder 1
  • Description: Biographical cartoon
    Dates: 1938
    Container: Box 1, Folder 2
  • Description: Brochures
    Dates: 1920-1941
    Container: Box 1, Folder 3
  • Description: Certificates
    Dates: circa 1920s-1930s
    Container: Box 1, Folder 4
  • Description: Photographs
    Dates: circa 1920s; 1941
    Container: Box 1, Folder 5
  • Description: Scrapbook
    Dates: circa 1920-1936
    Container: Box 1, Folder 6
  • Description: Stationary
    Dates: circa 1920-1946
    Container: Box 1, Folder 7

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Hotels--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Gowman, T. Harry (Thomas Harry), 1888-1960

Corporate Names

  • Hotel Gowman (Seattle, Wash.)
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