The Seattle PI had a story about Steven Flynn, a Seattle musician who is trying to save a 1908 Craftsman house scheduled for demolition. A developer wants to clear the space for more townhouses and Flynn is in a last-second bid to make arrangements to buy the house and move it to his Fremont property 10 blocks away.
Nickel Brothers House Movers has a list of homes that need to be moved on its website, and it’s not unusual for older homes to be removed and repositioned on other lots around town.
Mack McCoy shared this post from HistoryLink about the 100′s of homes that were either moved or destroyed when I-5 cut a swathe through downtown Seattle.
The unusual thing about the home Steve Flynn wants to move is that it’s a very famous S&M B&B, the Gypsy Arms. The house is a 1908 box Victorian Home in the middle of old Fremont- the hippie area of Seattle during the 60′s and 70′s and local legend says it was the home base of a group of “outlaw bikers” who parked their cycles in the living room and dining room areas by driving them up the steps on some 2″ X 12″s. On the old website, they tell tales of skeleton sketches on the walls, and floor to celing covered with smoked mirrored tiles. As they say on their site
What is today the dungeon was divided into 8′ X 8′ cubicles, made out of whatever boards and cardboard was available, thus creating “personal” space. We will leave the activities there up to your own imaginations! We are sure that some of their energy still resides at the inn.
While the home operated as a regular Bed & Breakfast, what set the Gypsy Arms apart from other B&B’s in the area was the dungeon.
The dungeon was built into the lower level of the house when the inn was remodeled in 1994.
The dungeon was divided into two areas; one for play and the other for relaxation and videos. The subdued red lighting was adjustable by dimmers in three separate areas and guests could independently control the lighting with strategically located spots.
To set the proper mood the owners equipped the dungeon with a stereo system and the atmosphere was also enhanced by a multitude of visuals: From the sling or any other place, one could see hard hats, football pads, sports equipment, firemen’s helmets, motorcycle regalia, boxing gloves, handcuffs, whips and more.
The owners names were Wayne and Gary and they got the idea of Gypsy Arms on vacation in 1994 when they were exasperated that they couldn’t find places to stay where they could play comfortably. Seattle had no such venue, so they created one.
Rumor has it that one of the men passed away and the house was sold, hence the dire position of the house and its imminent destruction if not purchased and moved to its new location very, very soon.
