Art & Artifacts at Hotel Theodore

Hotel Theodore's art collection tells the story of Seattle's makers, builders, and doers. Throughout the atrium and the Roosevelt Suite, a curated collection of regional art sets the tone, anchored by a three-panel mural hand-painted by local artist Olivia Knapp that reimagines the tools of makers and inventors as living, growing things. And on select guest floors, museum-quality artifacts, on loan through our partnership with Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), let guests see the actual objects of Seattle innovation up close, from Eddie Bauer's original Skyliner jacket to an early Amazon Kindle.

A hallway features a colorful artwork display with framed portraits, ambient lighting, a bench on one side, and chairs with a small table on another.
A hallway features a colorful artwork display with framed portraits, ambient lighting, a bench on one side, and chairs with a small table on another.

Hotel Theodore's art collection includes work by celebrated Pacific Northwest artists, among them Seattle's own Jim Riswold. His piece Kim Jong-Un is a Big Fat Sucker! (2014), a series of color digital prints reimagining the North Korean leader as an oversized, candy-colored lollipop, is part of the rotating collection on view in the hotel's atrium. Riswold, known for a satirical practice he calls "playing with dictators," uses humor to strip authoritarian figures of their menace rather than confront them with fear. The piece reflects the wit and irreverence that runs through Hotel Theodore's art collection, alongside the same maker's spirit found in its craft and design.

That spirit comes into full focus with the atrium's centerpiece: a three-panel mural hand-drawn and painted by Seattle-based artist Olivia Knapp. Spanning the walls of the Atrium, the mural reimagines the everyday tools of Seattle's makers, gears, blueprints, hand tools, as living things woven through with roots, vines, and blooming flowers. It's the visual anchor of Hotel Theodore's curated art collection, which continues throughout the atrium and the Roosevelt Suite.

Museum of History and Industry

Hotel Theodore's museum-quality artifacts come through a unique partnership with Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI). Founded in 1952, MOHAI has grown into the largest private heritage organization in Washington State, preserving more than four million objects, documents, and photographs from the Puget Sound region.

That partnership is woven throughout the hotel. Guestrooms feature photography and patent drawings hand-selected from MOHAI's archive, each one spotlighting a Seattle innovator whose ideas changed daily life. On the 15th floor, custom-built museum cases bring that history into sharper focus, housing rare industrial artifacts that trace Seattle's evolution from logging town to tech hub.

Here's what you'll find inside the cases:

Hotel Theodore Seattle Downtown, Tapestry by Hilton
Hotel Theodore Seattle Downtown, Tapestry by Hilton

Eddie Bauer Skyliner Jacket

In 1940, Eddie Bauer crafted the first quilted, down-insulated jacket, the Skyliner, patented in America out of the need for a lightweight, warm and non-bulky coat for cold-weather recreation.  An early iteration of the Skyliner jacket that put Eddie Bauer’s sportswear on the map is on display on our 15th floor.

Bertha Knight Landes

A revolutionary leader, Bertha Knight Landes became the first female mayor of any major American city when she took office for Seattle in 1926. She was known for her conviction and strong leadership during a tumultuous time in the city’s history.

Vintage Boeing P18 B Fighter Designs

Boeing is the world's largest aerospace manufacturer, and is known for its pioneering industry advances. Founded in 1916, the company recently celebrated its centennial anniversary, marking 100 years of aircraft innovations, including the Boeing P18B Fighter designs featured in our guestrooms.

Amazon's First Kindle

In 2007, Amazon first raised the question: what if a device could hold 3,000 books at once? Thus, the Kindle was born. Upon release, the electronic reading device sold out in under six hours, and revolutionized the way we read forever.

Artifacts from Seattle's Early Logging History

Before the tech boom of the 1970s to the present, the Boeing boom during the 1940s, or even the Gold Rush in the late 1800s, the lumber industry boom laid the foundation for the city that Seattle is today. Visit our 15th floor for artifacts highlighting Seattle’s early logging history.

Antique Glass Fishing Net Buoys

These antique buoys are coveted finds that wash upon the Washington shore from Japanese fishing boats. While the colors vary, the most popular glass float colors are greens and blues made from recycled sake bottles.