By Gene Barton

“Times in the Life of a Seattle Icon”
By John Pierre
Classic Day Publishing, 2005

In the first few pages of John Pierre’s book on the life and times of Seattle law and parking legend Joe Diamond, there’s a photo of the Diamond family from what is likely 1912. Little Josef, who would have been about 5 at the time, stands to the far right in the photo. He is looking askance at the camera, just like his father, with the sort of expression that says he knows something we don’t.

About 70 pages and 34 years later, we see Joe again, a full-bird colonel in the U.S. Army. He has just been awarded the Legion of Merit for his work with the Corps of Engineers as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Office during World War II. There’s that look again.

Fast forward 60 years and, on the occasion of Joe Diamond’s 99th birthday, one must think that this man, who has served the legal profession in our community for 75 years, built a parking empire with a business acumen rivaled by few, and overseen a number of other successful ventures from the rental car business to banking to one of the first incarnations of members-only, discount warehouse shopping, did know something that the rest of us didn’t. Fortunately, Pierre’s look into the life of this multi-faceted jewel of a man, while short on elegant prose and drama, i.e., Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg aren’t fighting over the movie rights, does allow us into the inner sanctum, so to speak, and gives us a good idea of what Joe Diamond knows.

Over the years, those who didn’t know Joe Diamond thought he was like his name: cold and hard. According to Pierre, Diamond was mistaken for “a greedy ogre anxious to separate the little people from their hard-earned money as they were forced to park in one of the many Diamond Parking lots” and often returned to find their cars “barreled” if they overstayed their welcome. Diamond also may have earned this reputation on the strength of his skills as a no-nonsense negotiator and a courtroom bulldog; few, if any, ever left a room having gotten the better of Joe Diamond.

But, as Pierre relates, to those who knew and know Joe Diamond best, he has always been warm and giving -- of his time, his experience and his wealth. The opinions are many and varied. What is not to be mistaken, however, is that Diamond inherited both the entrepreneurial drive and instincts of his father and the dogged determination of his mother, who immigrated separately to this country from Russia near the turn of the last century to flee Jewish persecution -- Hikel Dimeretz (later, Michael Diamond), first, to seek his fortune as a tailor and later, his wife, Rifke (Ruby), with their three children in tow. Eventually, there were six little Diamonds (Joe was No. 4, the first born in the U.S.).

Michael, though illiterate, built a thriving garment business in the midst of Seattle’s gold-rush boom, which allowed Joe, a member of the first -- and esteemed -- graduating class at Garfield High in 1924, to be the first member of the family to go to college. Diamond went to the University of Washington to fulfill his mother’s dream of becoming a lawyer. She had wanted him to become a doctor, but the sight of blood made him faint.

Diamond graduated from law school and into the Depression. Unable to find paying work as a lawyer, Diamond cajoled former Seattle Mayor Hugh Caldwell, of Caldwell and Lycette, into letting him hang his hat in the firm’s library for 30 days without pay. The rest -- as they say -- is history.

The one argument Diamond didn’t win was an effort to stay out of active duty during World War II because of his concern for leaving both his family and his thriving law practice behind. Drummed into service for the JAG, Diamond made the most of the opportunity and not only distinguished himself, but gained an expertise in real estate and construction that served him well once the war was over.

Returning to Seattle, Diamond not only resumed his law practice but also took over the Diamond Parking business from his brother, who was ready to retire to Hawaii. Diamond has been, in all respects, a hands-on businessman to the point that those who have walked and talked with him were often delayed as he stopped to pull weeds from the cracks in the pavement of his parking lots.

The heart and soul of Joe Diamond are revealed by those who know and love him. Pierre, who worked for Diamond for decades as first a car washer and eventually an executive with Budget Rent-A-Car: “Joe is, as he has always been, a tenderhearted and gentle man. He continues to be more concerned about the welfare of his friends than he seems to be about his own. If he knows of someone in need, he offers help without a moment’s hesitation. . . . He is, without question, the gentlest and least greedy man I’ve known.”

Muriel Bach Diamond (Joe’s wife): “I have found him daring, at times hardheaded and occasionally blind to reality yet always patient and determined not to hurt feelings -- quite a feat for a stubborn soul with a delightful sense of humor.”

“Times in the Life” is replete with such remembrances, culled by Pierre from the hundreds of well-wishes accorded Diamond on his 83rd birthday. Judy Ann Moulton, a former barreling “victim,” became his devoted executive assistant of more than 15 years. He has the respect and admiration of the best and brightest of the legal and financial communities. Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers wrote the Profile in the Bar Bulletin in March 2002, honoring Diamond on his 95th birthday, recalling him “as the son of a tailor who built a financial empire, but to me he is the most unforgettable character I ever met.”

Regrettably, I have never met Joe Diamond. When I came to Seattle to go to law school in 1993, the name Diamond was, to me, just a brand on parking lot signs. I didn’t know “who” Diamond Parking was. When I joined the bar, there was no longer a firm with his name on it, so I never knew him as a lawyer either, although he never retired. Even so, I believe I now know the man behind the legend and can yet learn a few things from him.

Available in both hard cover and soft cover, “Times in the Life of a Seattle Icon: Joe Diamond,” is available through Amazon.com, by calling 800-771-2147 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time) or at local bookstores. Proceeds benefit the Josef and Muriel Diamond Literary Award.