A glimpse into the past

Our posting last week on the death of Governor Albert D. Rosellini elicited an email from Madison Park photographer Bob Peterson, with this photo attached.  Peterson describes the shot, taken in downtown Seattle during the 1960 U.S. Presidential campaign, as his very favorite picture of Governor Rosellini.  The photo shows an open convertible carrying Senator John F. Kennedy in a cavalcade along Fourth Avenue, near University Street (that's the Olympic Hotel in the background).

The Governor, seated next to the future President, is looking mighty pleased (perhaps anticipating his own re-election that fall).  While Rosellini carried the state, Kennedy didn't do so, as Washington went Republican in the presidential contest that year. Seated in the backseat on the other side of Kennedy is probably the First Lady of the State, Ethel Rosellini.  In the front passenger seat is Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson.

Though the car of choice for this ride down Fourth Avenue was a Buick, Governor Rosellini was a Cadillac man himself, in later years tooling around the neighborhood in a big white car of that make, license plate reading "GOV ADR".

[Photo by Bob Peterson.  Click to enlarge.]

Governor Rosellini dead at 101

Albert D. Rosellini, 15th Governor of the State of Washington and longtime Madison Park resident, died today, according to the Associated Press.  The Seattle Times reported the cause as complications of pneumonia.

Son of Italian immigrants, Rosellini, a Democrat, was elected Governor in 1956, re-elected in 1960, and defeated in 1964 by Republican Daniel Evans.  He made further tries for elective office, as King County Executive in 1969 and for Governor again in 1972, before retiring from politics.  He then worked as a lawyer, consultant, and beer distributor.  The Governor lived, until just a few years ago, in a house on 43rd Avenue E., north of E. Madison Street.  His wife, Ethel, died in 2002.

An excellent review of his life can be found at historylink.org.  With Rosellini's death, there are six current and former Governors of the State living, the oldest of which is Daniel Evans, born in 1925.

[Photo courtesy of the University of Washington.]

Happy 100th Birthday, Governor Rosellini

Congratulations and best wishes to former Washington Governor and longtime Madison Park resident Albert D. Rosellini, who turns 100 years old on Thursday. Rosellini, the State's 15th governor, left office on January 11, 1965--over 45 years ago. He is the nation's oldest living former governor, according to Wikipedia.

In case you missed it, Erik Lacitis wrote a nice piece in The Seattle Times on the Governor's birthday party last week with all of the other living former (and current) Washington governors in attendance. Rosellini, who served two terms in office before being defeated by Daniel Evans in 1964, remains active in both politics and business. He still gets around fairly well, though he apparently is no longer driving his white Cadillac (license plate: "GOVADR").


HistoryLink.org has an interesting retrospective on the Governor's life, available here. I dug up this photo of Gov. Rosellini with Elvis (and a ham) from the digital archives of the Museum of History and Industry. It's 1962, and Elvis was in town filming "Take Me to the Fair" at the Century 21 fairgrounds (now the Seattle Center). Supposedly the the ham was a gift to the Governor from Elvis, the source being Presley's Tennessee farm.

There's another picture in the archives showing Gov. Rosellini cutting the ribbon opening the Evergreen Point floating bridge (later renamed the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge). I wonder what he thinks of the State's plans for building a new 520 bridge. More on the subject of 520 tomorrow.