Obituary

George Bolotin
October 10, 1914 – January 20, 1980

George was born in Dobryanka, Ukraine. His mother initially had to raise him and his twin brother, Sam, by herself, as his father had escaped from the Tsar’s army and fled to America. It was seven years before George’s father was able to send for his family to join him in Seattle. At that point, it was difficult to leave the country, and George’s mother had to bribe the border guards in order to cross into Poland. She and the boys eventually made their way to the Baltic Sea, where they were able to board a boat for America. After being processed through Immigration in Ellis Island, they traveled across the country by train until they finally made it to Seattle.

Arriving in Seattle in 1922, George initially attended Washington Grammar School and then Garfield High School. Meanwhile, over the course of the family’s first few years in Seattle, two more brothers were born: Eagle and Max.

George was a gifted artist. After graduating from Garfield, he won a scholarship to the Cornish School of Art, which he attended from 1934 to 1936. He then transferred to the University of Washington, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1939.

Meanwhile, the Bolotin family had gotten to know the Greenfields, a neighboring family that had also emigrated from Russia. The Greenfields had four children, as well: a daughter, Ruth, and three sons (two of whom were also twins). George and his brothers were friends with the Greenfield boys—but eventually, George became interested in Ruth, and the two started dating (much to the consternation of Ruth’s brothers, who would tell George unflattering things about their sister in an attempt to discourage the relationship).

Still, the romance between the two continued, and in 1938, while they were both students at the UW, they decided to elope. They thought that by driving down to Tacoma to get married, they would prevent their families from finding out, so they could continue to save money by living at home—but they didn’t realize that the notice would be published in the Seattle papers. So they ended up moving into a rented room, where they cooked meals on a single-burner camp stove (unbeknownst to the landlady, who would have prohibited it had she known).

After graduating from the UW, George initially worked for Boeing and then spent four years in the shipyards during World War II. In 1945 he went to work for architect John T. Jacobsen. Then, from 1946 to 1954, he worked as a draftsman for Victor Jones & Associates. In 1955, he left to start his own firm, George Bolotin, AIA & Associates, which he ran until his death in 1980. Over the years, in addition to being licensed as an architect in Washington, George obtained architectural licenses in Alaska, Arizona, and Oregon.

George’s firm specialized in apartment buildings and clinics. His straightforward, no-nonsense designs for apartment buildings brought him an endless number of clients. Notable Seattle projects included the Blue Spruce Apartments; Rochdale House (later renamed Melrose Terrace)—Seattle’s first cooperative apartment house; the Edgewater Apartments; Harborview Tower; and the Panorama House Apartments. In Tacoma, his firm developed the plans for the Sans Souci Condominiums for the newly formed Quadrant Corporation; and in Lacey, they developed the Panorama City Retirement Community.

Other notable projects designed by George’s architectural firm included the James Sadler House, which was featured in the Seattle Times; the Dr. Roger Hendricks house; a seven-story executive office building for the Doric Company; and a department store in Tacoma for developer Alex Shulman.

His clinic designs included the Bridge Clinic and Professional Offices; the Peizer Medical-Dental Clinic; and numerous facilities for Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, including the Renton, Redmond, and Olympia clinics. He played an active role in the founding of Group Health, served as the organization’s house architect for many years, and also served several terms on its Board of Directors—including one term as President of the Board. In addition, he was one of the founders of Group Health Dental Co-op.

A great believer in cooperatives, George not only was involved with the Group Health Medical and Dental Co-ops, but also was active nationally in the cooperative movement of Health Maintenance Organizations. In addition, he was an early member of the Hood Canal Coop, a cooperatively owned piece of recreational property located on the southeastern shore of Hood Canal.

George was active in a variety of other professional and civic organizations, as well. At the time of his death, he was president of the Puget Sound chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute, president of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, president of the Capitol Hill Improvement Club, and immediate past president of the Hebrew Free Loan Association. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the First Hill Improvement Club; was a sustaining member of the downtown YMCA; and was a member of the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the National Council for Architectural Regulating Boards, the College Club, the Madison-Jackson Street Development Council, and Allied Arts.

In 1974, he received the Capitol Hill Community Brotherhood Award for his pro bono services in designing a newsstand on Broadway for a disabled couple, to replace a ramshackle structure that they had been using to sell newspapers.

George was known as a raconteur, and could be counted on to liven up every occasion with jokes and stories. He loved music and rhythm, and taught himself to play the harmonica and the bones (frequently using a pair of spoons for that purpose). Other interests included playing chess, playing handball, sailing (initially on ocean races to Hawaii and later on his sloop, the Tola), and his family, including two children and one grandchild, Tammy, who was the light of his life in his later years.

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Tuesday, January 22, 1980

George Bolotin

Funeral services for George Bolotin, 65, a Seattle architect who died Sunday, will be held at 1 p.m. today at Arthur Wright Funeral Home.

Mr. Bolotin died from injuries he suffered in a fall at his apartment on East Pine Street, the King County Medical Examiner's office said.

Mr. Bolotin was president of Group Health Cooperative in 1960-61 and had been a member of the hospital's board since 1947. He designed several of Group Health's facilities, including the Renton and Olympia clinics, and served as Group Health's house architect for many years. He was also one of the founders of Group Health Dental Co-op.

Mr. Bolotin also designed Rochdale House, Seattle's first cooperative apartment house, on First Hill; Panorama House in Seattle; and the Panorama City Retirement Community, near Olympia.

He was a member of the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects, president of the Puget Sound chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute, president of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, and immediate past president of the Hebrew Free Loan Association. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the First Hill Improvement Club, a sustaining member of the downtown YMCA, and a member of the College Club, Madison-Jackson Street Development Council, and the National Council for Architectural Regulating Boards.

Born in Russia, Mr. Bolotin came to Seattle in 1922. He attended Washington School, Garfield High School, Cornish School of Fine Arts, and the University of Washington.

Survivors include his wife, Ruth Bolotin; daughter, Mrs. Dave Watts and granddaughter, Tamara Watts, Seattle; and brothers Eagle, Bellevue; Sam, Seattle; and Dr. Max Bolotin, New York City.

Burial will be in Machizikay Hadath Cemetery.