Skyway Luggage

Skyway started making luggage in 1910. The company still exists as a brand, owned by Ricardo Beverly Hills, though it looks like their luggage is made in China now, no surprises there.  The old Skyway building, which was once their headquarters, sold to a music company in 2012 but it’s still wearing a For Sale sign. The neighborhood is fast turning to condos, so it probably won’t be too long before this funky old warehouse site, an endangered species in the Belltown neighborhood, is gone, replaced by highrises with units starting at 300,000 for a lower floor studio  unit with no view and not much natural light. The poster graffiti Native in the doorway is one of several downtown. This one’s been messed with a little, but in their original state, they’re not just beautiful, they’re also a reminder of the city’s history and the people who lived here long before luggage was a disposable consumer product and warehouses, neglected, turned to condos seemingly overnight.