Made internationally famous from Jamie Ford's novel "Hotel on the
Corner of Bitter and Sweet" , the Panama Hotel has a funky
charm--nondescript on the outside but full of history and intrigue.
Jan Johnson, a fashion designer
who grew up in West Seattle purchased the hotel in 1985 and has
renovated it and opened the tea house on the first floor. The shop is
fringed with memorabilia and historic photos. They've even cut a window
in the floor that provides a view of the basement where artifacts left
behind by Japanese as they were forced to leave during the internment.
There
were five of us there Sunday drawing in the tea room, escaping from the
rain and cold. Disappointingly I only got one drawing done. And just as
we were about to leave a woman came out and started straightening
things. It was the owner, Jan Johnson. She was delighted to see our
sketches and told us stories of some of the artwork in the glass cases.
It was really a perfect sketching spot for a wet March Sunday morning. I
definitely want to go back.
