Henry Broderick

Henry Broderick (October 12, 1880 – October 7, 1975) was a Seattle, Washington realtor, civic leader, memoirist, and Seattle historian. He arrived in Seattle in 1901 and, in 1908, founded the real estate firm that he would turn into the city's largest.

Life and achievements Broderick was born and raised in Minneapolis, where he attended the public schools until the financial panic of 1893 caused him to drop out at age 13. From that time, he worked to help support his family, but continued to study informally on his own (including Greek classics). He would later describe himself as "a graduate of the Minneapolis Public Library". Broderick wrote in one of his memoirs:

… ife there was influenced by the great Greek philosopher Epictetus. … Exponent of "everything in its place", he advocated the practice of the inner life, utterly divorced from externals. … We determined that No. 1717 was to be a haven untouched by the tedium of the materialistic side of life. … e carefully excluded all who came with thoughts of commerce lurking in the background.

Starting with the Broadway High School group who graduated in 1908, we gathered a collection of youngsters whose lives became intertwined with our own. We called them "near-sons" and "near-daughters"…

Broderick was a member (1951–1975) of the Seattle University board of regents, and a mentor to Father A. A. Lemieux, president of the Jesuit institution from 1948 to 1965. A constant joiner and an inveterate civic leader, he was a member of the Seattle Chamber of commerce and Downtown Boosters Club (and served terms as president of each), Greater Seattle, Inc., the board of the Seattle Symphony (where he also served a term as president), the Seattle Arts Commission, the Rainier Club, the Seattle Press Club, the Seattle Tennis Club, Washington Athletic Club, 101 Club, the Harbor Club, and even the Pacific Northwest International Writer's Conference.. He served on the boards of directors of The Seattle Star, the Seattle Day Nursery, as a trustee of the Seattle Chorale, and, from 1929 to 1933, the Washington Prison Parole Board. He was a founding member of the Seattle Realty Board (now the Seattle-King County Board of Realtors). In 1952 he was given the Board of Realtors' First Citizen Award (not typically awarded to one of their own members).

Partial bibliography The following is a partial bibliography of works by Broderick. [Christmas greetings from Henry Broderick.] Seattle: Dogwood Press (F. McCaffrey), 1933–1975. The command ment breakers of Walla Walla. Seattle: Dogwood Press (F. McCaffrey), 1934. Timepiece; being a first collection of the writings of Henry Broderick. Seattle, 1953. Early Seattle profiles by "HB"; some recollections. Seattle: Dogwood Press (F. McCaffrey), 1959. Mirrors of Seattle's old hotels. Seattle: Dogwood Press (F. McCaffrey), 1965. The HB story: Henry Broderick relates Seattle's yesterdays, with some other thoughts by the way. Seattle: F. McCaffrey, 1969. "HB" writes about Henry Broderick. Self-published, 1971.