Page Places: The Edgewater Inn (The Shark Incident)

Hello there, for this installment of Page Places I wanted to highlight somewhere basically in my backyard, The Edgewater Inn in Seattle, Washington.

The Edgewater is a hotel, literally on the waters of Puget Sound, the only hotel like it in Seattle. In the good old days the hotel actually gave you fishing poles so you could literally fish the waters of the sound without leaving the comforts of your room. I've actually been here numerous times to eat at their restaurant which is spectacular! Seriously, try the mussels.

Many many famous bands have stayed here over the years, the hotel actually has a "Beatles Suite" in the room the Fab Four stayed in on their tour of America in 1964. The room is actually really cool and is decked out in Union Jacks and Beatles memorabilia.

Beatles at the Edgewater, 1964

Led Zeppelin actually stayed here twice while touring America, the first time in 1969, and the second in 1973. An episode that lives on in rock and roll legend allegedly took place at the Edgewater during their first stay. According to some, after catching either a mud shark, or a red snapper out of the window of their hotel room, John Bonham, Led Zeppelin's drummer, and Richard Cole, their tour manager, fornicated a groupie with the live fish. Jimmy Page himself was not involved in the "Shark Incident".

Richard Cole with a Mudshark

Except for the word of Richard Cole, there isn't any tangible proof that this incident took place, but nonetheless it is a story that endures to this day, and adds to the image of the band as being crazy and out of control. Supposedly, Mark Stein, the lead singer of the group Vanilla Fudge filmed the whole thing, but a tape has never surfaced, Stein claims to have given the tape to Vanilla Fudge Road Manager Bruce Wayne...not Batman.

On Led Zeppelin's second stay in 1973, the group got banned from the hotel forever, in an article published in the Seattle Times in 2009, the reason for this was attributed to the following; "[Led Zeppelin] caught some 30 mudsharks and left them under beds, in closets, elevators, hallways, bathtubs and all over their rooms. They threw beds, TVs, mattresses, lamps, drapes, china and glassware into Elliott Bay."

Led Zeppelin performing in Seattle in 1969

When I visited the Edgewater, I actually asked about what room the members of Led Zeppelin stayed in but the manager of the place was pretty non-committal and said he didn't know. I don't necessarily blame him for not divulging the information, and I'm sure he gets asked about this pretty frequently. He did tell me though that Robert Plant has stayed at the Edgewater in recent years, so I suppose they overlooked his involvement in previous shenanigans. The Edgewater is a very cool place to visit, and a Rock and Roll landmark, so if you ever find yourself in Seattle, be sure to check it out!