What was once a Ford Motor training facility is now a freshly renovated 59-room hotel in a charming neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle.
The MarQueen Hotel's recent renovation updated the century-old building in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood, bringing it into a new era while still keeping its history alive through its thoughtful design.
Renee Fisher, vice president at Metropolitan Management, The MarQueen's ownership company, said that ahead of a big year of events and opportunities in Seattle, she's ready to re-introduce The MarQueen.
"I'm just excited to spread the word and have not only out-of-town guests, but people that are local and our neighbors, and people that love Seattle," she said. "I think the more everyone learns about it, I just see it only going up, because it is such a special property."
The making of The MarQueen
Originally built as Seattle Engineering School in 1918, the MarQueen's building housed and trained engineers working at the Ford Motor Company's Seattle plant. Each of the upper floors had apartments for the students, while the first floor and basement became the classrooms and Kuay Garage for car repairs.
However, the building didn't stay a school and garage for long, converting into an apartment building in 1926. The garage, renamed the MarQueen Garage, moved down the street in 1976.
Current ownership acquired the property in 1998. Fisher said owning the property and turning it into a hotel fulfilled a lifelong goal of her father, Tom Russo. Metropolitan Management primarily operates multifamily properties in the Seattle area and previously owned two hotels, but Fisher said the company offloaded its smaller hotel amid the pandemic to focus on The MarQueen.
"My dad's from New York. His family was in real estate in New York and then he moved out to Seattle," Fisher said. "As soon as he graduated from Seattle, he got into multifamily. His dream was always to open up a hotel."
Fisher said her mom took on the role of interior designer with her best friend, and the family-run team worked to convert the property into a hotel. Her parents also previously had restaurants and their food-and-beverage background has been helpful in establishing Tin Lizzie, The MarQueen's onsite prohibition-style eatery.
"They've always been a team, and they've always worked together, which is really special," Fisher said, explaining that the family business continues on with her and her sister working for the company too.
After years of running the hotel and its parent company, Fisher said her family realized it was time for a fresh design to bring The MarQueen into a new era.
A new reign
After planning out the renovation in 2023, construction started in earnest in 2024, said Roger Keeton, general manager of the hotel, and the team was strategic about the process. Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality manages the property.
"The unique thing about the building is that the entrance is in the middle of the building, and so the hotel can sort of be divided into two different wings, as far as guest rooms go," Keeton said. "It's pretty much even on both sides of the lobby. So, at no point was the hotel fully closed during the renovation. We were always half open."
While half of The MarQueen was open for guests, the other half was being completely updated, including the building's plumbing.
"Literally everything in the room was renovated, so everything was taken out. The only thing that we did not change was the original hardwood floors," Keeton said.
Fisher said the renovation was "a beautiful facelift" for the century-old building. Even with the updated design, guests can still see the original beauty of the hotel.
"It's just such a cool history, and we didn't want to change that, and we didn't want to hide it," she said. "I think we get a lot of great feedback."
Credit for preserving the history of the hotel goes to Marisa Weber of Cusack and Co., who led the design of the renovation. Weber's designs include nods to the building's history of engineering and ties to the Ford Motor Company in each room. She took inspiration from a 1966 color palette that Ford used for its cars during that time. Not only did it inspire what colors are incorporated in the design of the hotel, but each room has a framed version of the color palette. Weber also painted artwork for each room.
"One of my favorite things, in addition to the Ford Motor Company palette, there is a Ford Motor Company car key and a frame [in every room]," Keeton said.
The rooms are equipped with all the modern creature comforts — electric tea kettles, glassware, mini fridges — with one exception. The phones in the rooms are rotary style, and Keeton said that sometimes requires a quick tutorial for younger guests.
So far, Keeton said, the most frequent compliment he hears is about the rooms' beds, which are a custom design from Columbia Hospitality.
"You can't do anything without a good night's sleep," Keeton said.
Revving up for the future
Hoteliers in Seattle have faced challenges this year much like the rest of the country, Keeton said, particularly in regard to Canadian travelers. The slowdown in Canadians visiting Seattle began in April, but things have improved over the year.
Keeton said, with the city's proximity to Canada, Seattle usually receives an influx of Canadians when the Toronto Blue Jays play the Seattle Mariners. When that happened in the beginning of the season, Keeton said the absence of Canadian baseball fans was felt. However, when the two teams faced off in the postseason, it was a different story, indicating Canadian travelers could be coming back.
"We are offering a special Canadian family rate to incentivize travelers from up north to come visit us," he said.
Sports tourism is reliable for The MarQueen, and Keeton says next year will be a big year for it, as Seattle is a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Vancouver is also a host city and is only a three-hour drive away.
"MarQueen is two blocks from the fan zone events for FIFA, which is at the base of the Space Needle at Seattle Center," Keeton said. "You really couldn't stay closer without staying here."
Cruise traffic continues to grow in Seattle, and Keeton said he's seen that business evolve from nothing, and because the hotel is near the cruise terminals, The MarQueen has a huge opportunity to attract travelers.
"So this summer, ... we've had folks from nearly every state in the country stay with us — they'll stay with us before and after the cruise," he said. "It's just really brought a whole new sense of the city to a lot of areas of the country with that."
With its sports fans and cruisegoers, The MarQueen's guests are as eclectic as the hotel itself, and Keeton and Fisher said they are excited to be stewards of the historic hotel that means so much to the Queen Anne neighborhood and Seattle.
"The building itself is such an icon to the city," Keeton said.