uok_2015_0003.xml T. Harry Gowman collection, circa 1920-1946 Gowman (T. Harry) collection, circa 1920-1946 Finding aid prepared by Mahina Oshie Seattle Public Library, Special Collections December 2019
1000 4th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104 Business Number: 206-386-4636 specialcollections@spl.org https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/arts-and-culture/special-collections

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 This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-07-25. Description is written in: English, Latin script. Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. May 2024 Revised by Jade D’Addario Seattle Public Library, Special Collections T. Harry Gowman collection Gowman, T. Harry (Thomas Harry), 1888-1960 2015-003 1.08 linear feet circa 1920-1946 The collection includes a variety of materials related to T. Harry Gowman and his Seattle hotel, Hotel Gowman. English .

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).

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.

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

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

This collection was purchased from a dealer in 2015.

Collection is open and available for use.

Copyright restrictions apply.

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

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.

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 Gowman, T. Harry (Thomas Harry), 1888-1960 Hotel Gowman (Seattle, Wash.) Hotels--Washington (State)--Seattle Advertising and Marketing Seattle Staff research 1911-1960 1 1 Biographical cartoon 1938 1 2 Brochures 1920-1941 1 3 Certificates circa 1920s-1930s 1 4 Photographs circa 1920s 1941 1 5 Scrapbook circa 1920-1936 1 6 Stationary circa 1920-1946 1 7