A photo, posted on social media around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, showed the coke machine in front of the Space Needle next to Fisher Plaza.
On Wednesday, the vintage Coke machine that disappeared from Capitol Hill in June after dispensing cheap soda for two decades, spread the word on social media that it had resurfaced near the Space Needle. But a Seattle Times investigation has found it to be a hoax.
A photo, posted around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, showed the coke machine in front of the Space Needle next to Fisher Plaza. Another photo, posted around the same time Thursday showed the machine at Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park.
Both photos appear to be fake.
Loui Velaoras, who has owned the restaurant Grecian Corner in Fisher Plaza for 14 years, said he had never seen the Coke machine there. And if it had made an appearance on Wednesday, Veloras said his employees would have noticed, as they’d been at work since 9 a.m. and their restaurant looks right out to the spot where the photo appears to have been taken.
Velaoras also noticed that in the photo, a tarp could be seen around part of the observation deck of the Space Needle. The day the photo was posted on the Mystery Machine’s social media accounts, there was no tarp to be seen.
“This must be an old photo,” Velaoras said.
The Space Needle’s public relations director, Dave Mandapat, confirmed in an email that it appears to be an old photo, because there aren’t wraps on the structure for construction.
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In the photos, the machine is selling soda for 75 cents. However, the soda machine began charging $1 for sodas in January.
The vending machine was a beloved fixture on Capitol Hill, with a following of more than 24,000 people on Facebook, as it dispensed soda (sometimes discontinued) for cheap. The machine sat in front of Broadway Locksmith for two decades, mysteriously staying stocked, although photos have been taken of an individual restocking it. The machine vanished in June, leaving behind a note that said, “Went for a walk.”
The Mystery Machine did not respond to requests for comment over Facebook.