The first location of the business was on what was known for years as "Auto Row" on Seattle's Capital Hill, Rivily said. The 11th Avenue location was in centered in the middle of dozens of automotive wholesalers and auto related businesses from manufacturers to jobbers.

In 1968, the current location and adjacent parking lot was purchased and the firm moved to 13th Avenue into a 34,000-square-foot, two-story building, said Pete McCool, Auto Accessories' sales manager who has been with the firm since 1963.

Today it is that last remaining automotive wholesaler business in the area, McCool said.

Alex Rivily had been in the service station business prior to his partnership at Western, Rivily said.  Though the firm specialized in accessories, it has several hard-parts lines, including fuel and water pumps, ignition, clutches, gaskets, belts and hoses, electrical products, and others, he said; a variety of equipment is also part of inventory, from floor jacks to air compressors.

The firm also sells Valley hitches, truck mirrors, and related products, Rivily said.

Today, with two outside salesmen, the firm covers most of western Washington and has some business in eastern Washington and Alaska, McCool said. While the focus of the business has always been parts jobbers, he said that market has dwindled substantially, and the firm has developed some industrial and marine business as well.

The staff at Auto Accessories has been a mainstay for the business over the years, Rivily said. Salesman Dave Murray has been with the wholesaler since 1968; Jim Toates, a counterman and warehouse manager, has 30 years with the firm; Patricia Matthews-Thrash has been with Auto Accessories since 1973; and Warehousemen Jim Thrash and Jim Davis both have more than 10 years at the wholesaler.

"It's been a fun ride," McCool said. "The business has changed drastically, but we've survived for 50 years."