Electricraft Roots of Remarkable Audio
In studying the history of the audio industry in the Pacific Northwest the name Electricraft comes up a lot, whether you are talking about remarkable audio engineers, recording studios or retail stores. Like a bookstore in Berkeley or the roundtable at the Algonquin, Electricraft has all the markings of an extremely happening place in its day, with influence spreading out in time.
Electricraft had 8 stores and did $12M (equiv of $ 46M today) in its heyday. It was started by Oliver Runchey, Sr., and was run with help from his son Oliver Runchey, Jr., his daughter Betty Hall, and his son-in-law E.M. Ted Treanor. The formal opening was held Friday night, October 16, 1947 at their Home Appliance Headquarters at 622 Union Street. Their opening ad in the Seattle Times declared their product lines as Zenith, Emerson, Motorola Radios, and their specialty, Recording and Recording equipment.
During their Grand Opening they offered free Walkie Talkies for the first 50 kids, and free voice recording for everyone. Anything you wanted to say! In August 1948 you could buy a Disc Recorder on sale for $99.50, down from $157.50. And a pack of 5 Blank Records was on sale for .29, regularly 75 cents! In 1958 they were offering the Ampex Signature Home Music System AM FM Radio Phonograph & Stereophonic Disc Changer. Call or drop by for pricing!
A summer sale in 1964 wanted to move product by Empire, Electro-Voice, Fairchild, Fisher, Grado, Kenwood, Shure, Stanton, and Tandberg. Jump to November of 1968 to find a full-blown McIntosh clinic with free replacement tubes. This is where Greg Mackie went to find parts for a guitar amp Bob Carver was designing for him in return for Greg and his friends helping Phase Linear move to larger digs. This is also where Rick Chinn, audio engineer and designer, AES Officer for 44 yrs and counting, met Greg Mackie and their friendship turned into several famous Rick-designed products for TAPCO, Audio Control, Mackie, Symetrix, and more.
Started as a family business in 1947, Electricraft slipped away into bankruptcy in 1979, followed by the end in 1984. Magnolia Camera (1954) grew into Magnolia Hi Fi and began siphoning off high-end sales, while Pacific Stereo (1977-1986) captured the low end long enough to hasten the Electricraft slide. Comments in the Seattle Times of the day indicate that there was a perception Electricraft did not have a clear image in the market, and the lack of differentiation hurt them while helping Magnolia and Pacific define themselves.
The company may have ended, which is always sad, but the talented people spawned our audio environment, spread the excitement, helped encourage participation, and operated companies that employed lots of people. Both shoppers and employees went on to populate the most influential audio companies, stores, projects, stations, and studios in the Pacific Northwest. We are fleshing out the details of this company, and if you ever worked at Electricraft, do not be surprised if someday an email from the Audio Industry Historical Society shows up, asking for your memories. Or you could share some here. Please leave a comment – we would love to hear from you.
I worked for Electricraft from Nov 1969 through June 1972 managing the Burien, then Northgate and finally the Bellevue stores. Then went to work for Pacific Stereo managing the Santa Rosa store until October 1974. Being homesick for Seattle I returned to Electricraft and managed the Main Roosevelt store until June of 1976. Continued my home electronics career as a factory training rep and then independent consultant through the 80s and then did a midlife switch to being a social worker. The days at Electricraft were wonderful and full of playing with and selling great high end gear. Working while indulging in one’s hobby was a dream come true. Being surrounded by Altec Voice of the Theater, Bozak Concert Grands, the JBL Paragon and S8R and the KLH 9 electostatics as well as all the Ampex reel to reel, old school Marantz and the McIntosh Clinics was like spending weekdays in a fantasy land. Worked with great people too. Dennis Knight hired me and mentored me and became a great friend. Michael Holmes owned the company while I worked there and always made me feel appreciated and part of the team. A host of other unnamed people also remain fondly in my memory. It’s a shame that good stereo gear turned into products like toasters to be sold by big box stores by people who know next to nothing about the product. Stores like Electricraft and the old Magnolia Hi-Fi are now just memories of a classy era long gone. I miss it.
Electricraft was the beginning of my career in audio. In my time there i was surrounded by the most knowledgeable people in the business. Don Parsons, Dick Miller, Ted Treanor and others made a big difference in my life and my career decisions. The E-Craft years were some of the best times of my life.
M R
I didn’t even know you worked there until I started doing research! Electricraft was one of those special hubs. I would love to interview you about those times. We are putting up history and interesting stories on Electricraft – I will send you the link as soon as it’s up.