The Capitol Hill mystery soda machine was a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

Capitol Hill, Seattle Capitol Hill is a densely populated residential district and a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is immediately east of Downtown Seattle and north of First Hill. The neighborhood is one of the city's most popular nightlife ...

, notable for its "mystery" buttons which dispensed unusual drink flavors. It is unknown who restocked the machine, which originally caused the development of a local legend that the machine was haunted, and later an enduring legacy of "cultural fascination". The machine reportedly operated from the late 1990s until its unexplained disappearance in 2018.

Description

The machine was located in front of Broadway Locksmith on East John Street in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. It was a 1970s-made

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

-branded unit, but dispensed drinks from various manufacturers. A drink could be chosen using one of the "mystery" buttons and the dispensed drinks were typically of unusual flavor varieties, some of which were no longer being manufactured. Broadway Locksmith provided electricity to power the machine; although rumors existed about the business's possible involvement with the perpetuation of the mystery, employees maintain that they have no knowledge of who operated or restocked the machine. The machine also has a

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page associated to it.

History

According to ''

Seattle Met ''Seattle Metropolitan'', or ''Seattle Met'', is a monthly city magazine covering Seattle, Washington. Its first issue was published in March 2006, and features reporting and feature articles on Seattle events, politics, people, dining and restaur ...

'' and ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', the machine was in operation since at least the late 1990s. In 2002, the drinks were priced at , and the machine had only one "mystery" button alongside five that were labeled normally. After receiving exposure in news publications, all six were gradually changed to "mystery" buttons. A local legend that the machine was haunted began to develop, which Hilary Pollack of ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' attributes to its nostalgic 1970s-era appearance, as well as its "unusual and even intimidating" presence along the sidewalk. According to Zosha Millman of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'', a "cultural fascination" with the machine developed. In 2012, a short film was produced taking inspiration from the mystery of the machine. In 2014, images posted online showed unidentified individuals restocking the machine. The same year, the cost for a drink increased to . In 2015, a spokeswoman told ''The Seattle Times'' that the city had no permits for the machine on record. In January 2018, the same month Seattle passed its

sugary drink tax A sugary drink tax, soda tax, or sweetened beverage tax (SBT) is a tax or surcharge (food-related fiscal policy) designed to reduce consumption of sweetened beverages by making them more expensive to purchase. Drinks covered under a soda tax ...

, the price rose to . On June 29, 2018, the machine disappeared following maintenance work done on the nearby bus stop and sidewalk, with a note left nearby reading "Went for a walk." A message was posted to the machine's Facebook page stating "Going for a walk, need to find myself. Maybe take a shower even." An employee of Broadway Locksmith noted that the machine " adto have been removed with care, and on purpose" due to the way it was connected to its electrical supply. In the months following the machine's disappearance, the page posted several edited images of the machine in various locations, including the

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a List of Seattle landmarks, Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen An ...

and the ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'' sculpture. In 2022, the page posted an image of the machine, appearing more damaged than before. In August 2023, an employee of Broadway Locksmith reaffirmed that the machine had not been sighted since its disappearance. Allison Williams of ''Seattle Met'' also notes that the neighborhood of

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

now has a more

corporate culture Organizational culture encompasses the shared norms, values, corporate language and behaviors - observed in schools, universities, not-for-profit groups, government agencies, and businesses - reflecting their core values and strategic direction. ...

, and doubts whether the area is "still weird enough for a persistent enigma".

References

External links

* {{Capitol Hill, Seattle 1990s establishments in Washington (state) 2018 disestablishments in Washington (state) Capitol Hill, Seattle Coca-Cola Drinks Individual physical objects Unexplained disappearances Vending machines