The Cove Motel
The Cove Motel hasn't always been a motel. The building was originally opened as a post office and general store in 1904 to serve the Mosquito Fleet that carried freight and mail between Seattle and the Cove Dock. In addition to these steam-powered boats, a passenger ferry ran the same route, and a mill operated nearby for several decades.
Above the Cove Motel there lived a family--headed by E.O. Rindall--that also owned a farm a mile or so to the north at Beulah Park. The Rindalls had a small boat-building business as well in the store's early days.
When their family moved to Lake Union in the 1950s, the old store changed ownership and became the Cove Motel, but the old sign advertising the Post Office and "boats for rent" remained; in fact, it is still visible today, though the Post Office actually closed in 1956.
Legend has it that the building was once used as a brothel, but there exists no concrete proof. The old hotel has since been converted into apartments, and all that remains of the Cove Dock are a few rotted pilings.
Sources:
Sandy Olean, current owner, and
"A History of Vashon-Maury Island--Readdressed"
