G.O. Guy was a small chain of

drugstores A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

located in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. The chain was founded in 1888 by George Omar Guy. Throughout the early 20th century, G.O. Guy's was the second largest drug store chain in Seattle behind

Bartell Drugs The Bartell Drug Company, commonly known as Bartell Drugs and referred to by locals as simply "Bartell's", is a chain of pharmacies in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. Bartell Drug stores primarily serve the Seattle area. Bartell's was b ...

and predated it by two years. In 1987

Pay 'n Save Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington-based retailers including Lamonts ...

purchased all six locations and converted most of them to Pay 'n Save express stores, slightly smaller than full service stores. Pay 'n Save was bought by

Thrifty PayLess Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Stores chains in the western United States. The combined company was formed in April 1994 when Los Angeles-based TCH Corporation, the pa ...

which in turn was bought by

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 lis ...

Original location

Many modern sources give the location of the first store as the H. K. Owens / Metropole Building at Second Avenue and Yesler Way, however contemporary sources indicate that Guy's first store was actually located about two blocks south, at Occidental Avenue and Main Street. For example, Guy's January 31, 1927, obituary in the ''

Seattle Daily Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

'', reads: :Mr. Guy started his drug business at the corner of Occidental Avenue and Main Street. After the great fire a year later .e. in 1889 which demolished his store, he resumed business in a tent at First Avenue and Main Street and in 1893 occupied, at Second Avenue and Yesler Way, the present site of the drug company. A ''Times'' article from 1934 gives further details of the several years following the fire: :Guy's first thought was for the medicines, and he saved them to establish headquarters in a first-aid tent, where he stayed until a frame building was finished at Fourth Avenue and Main Street... Later he moved to First Avenue and Main Street and, in 1893, he moved to Second Avenue and Yesler Way. There the store still stands.

Shootout at Second and Yesler

The G.O. Guy drugstore at the corner of Second Avenue and Yesler Way in Seattle was the site of an infamous shootout in 1901.Nancy Bartley
Blaze damages building that survived fire of 1889
''Seattle Times'', May 22, 2007. Accessed online 19 November 2007.Summary for 423 2nd Ave Extension / Parcel ID 5247800595
Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed online 19 November 2007.Patrick McRoberts
Police Chief William Meredith is killed on June 25, 1901
HistoryLink, November 4, 1998. Accessed online 19 November 2007. Seattle police chief William L. Meredith had been fired for corruption as part of a feud with "

box house A box house was a combination of low-class theater and brothel, found in western North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It offered light entertainment "such as magic acts, singing, dancing, minstrel shows," as well as sexual serv ...

" owner John Considine. John Considine owned the People's Theater, a "

," offering light entertainment "such as magic acts, singing, dancing,

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

s," but also providing sexual services. Their feud had led to Meredith's resignation under pressure. Meredith, out of a job, came gunning for Considine. After Meredith got off a couple of wild shots, Considine's brother Tom Considine managed to grab a gun and use it as a club to fracture Meredith's skull; John Considine shot Meredith in the heart. The struggle lasted about 90 seconds altogether. The Considines were ultimately acquitted for the killing.

Locations

Locations included, but not limited to: * Second Avenue and Yesler Way ''1927 Seattle City Directory'', R.L. Polk, 1927.''1930 Seattle City Directory'', R.L. Polk, 1930.''1936 Seattle City Directory'', R.L. Polk, 1936. * 725 3rd Avenue,''1960 Seattle City Directory'', R.L. Polk, 1960. also described as the corner of 3rd Avenue and Columbia * 1401 3rd Avenue in the Mann Building ''1948 Seattle City Directory'', R.L. Polk, 1948. also described as the corner of 3rd Avenue and Union, opposite the post office * 406 Broadway East,Broadway looking north, 1934
Seattle Municipal Archives feed on Flickr, 16 October 2009. Accessed online 22 October 2009. also described as corner Broadway and Harrison and as 406 North Broadway * 4501 University Way * 4700 California Avenue SW * 2238 Market Street * 4002 Roosevelt Way * 518 Queen Anne Avenue * 1928 3rd Avenue, also described as corner of 3rd Avenue and Virginia Street in the Security Market Building * 1024 Madison Street * 4002 10th Ave NE at north end of University Bridge * 4727 California Avenue SW * 427 2nd Avenue South * 3600 South Village Mall

Notes

{{reflist Defunct pharmacies of the United States History of Seattle Pay 'n Save Retail companies established in 1888 Retail companies disestablished in 1987 Health care companies based in Washington (state)