Seattle Base

Most Alliance bases are their own free-standing building, far away from cities (and all of the politics, fires, and people therein). This is especially true in the Americas, where one base might serve thousands of miles of land. But in a few locations, there are so many people (and artifacts) moving through a city that it's practical to keep a base of operations within city limits. City bases record observations about the local culture, track rumors that might indicate something odd happening, and deal with the chaos of the particular place.
Seattle is one place where a permanent base lives. Similarly to Los Angeles, Seattle is a port city with so many people and goods moving through that there are magical items popping up with some frequency. Unlike Los Angeles, Seattle city center is so close to heavily forested areas that magical creatures often wander into the city and harass locals. But artifacts and creatures aside, there simply aren't enough people in Seattle to justify a free-standing base warehouse or office building.
Enter the Seattle base building... sort of. The building itself used to be a café, driven out of business by the sheer number of competing "local coffee shops" in the area. The windows are now covered in heavy curtains, and someone went up one night to paint over the sign, but inside, the space still looks something like a kitschy shop. The tables and chairs that remain were bolted into the floor following a particularly nasty brawl, so now they're near covered in boxes of papers. The glass pastry case holds temporary artifacts, waiting for shipment to the more secluded base at Eindothlon. The prior tenants left behind their cappuccino machine, and it occupies a particular place of reverence for the Scholars that work here.

Purpose / Function

The building started its life as a small café called the Ginger Lodge Café. The Ginger Lodge Café tried to occupy the "artisan coffee" niche, with fancy blends, authentic teas from across the globe, and pastries actually worth eating. Unfortunately for the coffee shop owners and investors, there were at least three such shops on the same block and a major Starbucks location the next street over, and the Ginger Lodge Café just did not survive.
The shop has gained new life as a Scholar base. Physical records, whether paper or compact disc, are kept out in the dining area. The Seattle team has a quiet place to update their notes, do research, and hold meetings. Prior to the base acquisition, meetings and hand-offs were often had on a park bench in the rain, and frankly, no one was happy with that arrangement. Artifacts found in Seattle are kept here temporarily for transportation off-site. A thrift store couch has been dragged up against an interior wall for anyone stuck working overnight or for the occasional visiting Scholar.

Alterations

The layout of the café was fairly resistant to alterations. About a year prior to the closing of the shop, several patrons got into a fierce argument, which turned into what might, in a different setting, be called a bar brawl. After this incident, the proprietors bolted all of the furniture into the floor, to avoid any more chairs being thrown through windows. The bolts were then backed up by glue, and cement was considered (though determined to be too expensive). The new owners of the shop didn't bother to go to all the effort of tearing out the furniture (and replacing the floor), so the fixtures are much the same.

Type

Cafe / Tearoom

Owning Organization

The Alliance of the Wandering Scholars