| Historic Name: |
Colonnade Hotel |
Common Name: |
Gatewood Apartments |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Commercial Core |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1898 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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This property is directly associated with the period of reconstruction and commercial redevelopment (1889-1902) that took place during the decade after the 1889 fire, which destroyed 64 blocks of commercial and waterfront industrial buildings. While the reconstructed commercial district remained fixed within five blocks of Yesler Way and First Avenue, substantial commercial construction began to gravitate further north along First and Second Avenues and toward the well-established residential district that survived the fire. By 1900, more than 29 street railway or cable car lines were in operation, many constructed by private entrepreneurs to promote suburban residential real estate holdings. The expeditious development of suburban residential neighborhoods after the turn of the century occurred in tandem with the rapid northern expansion of the commercial district and the gradual absorption of the old residential area by commercial real estate development. None of the older residential properties and very few intact commercial properties dating from this era remain within the downtown commercial core.
The concept of the modern hotel that would include private rooms, toilet and bathing facilities, public spaces and related guest services, originated in the early nineteenth century. By 1853, the settlement community of Seattle included its first hotel, the Felker House. It was a modest wood-frame structure located near First Avenue and Jackson Street and served as a community gathering place where early King County court sessions and territorial legislative meetings took place. By the later part of the nineteenth century, Seattle - like cities throughout the United States - included a significant number of hotels that served a wide variety of business travelers, tourists and both permanent and semi-permanent transient residents. By the late 1880s several elegant as well as workingmen’s hotels were clustered along the west side of First Avenue between Cherry and Columbia – in proximity to the original railway passenger depot. Urban hotels, lodging and apartment buildings all closely resembled commercial office buildings in the 1880s and 1890s; however, by the 1920s the hotel had become a distinct property type.
Hotel development was clearly stimulated by improvements in railroad service that brought immigrants and drew tourists and entrepreneurs. Prior to the fire of 1889, the Occidental – Seattle Hotel (1864, 1887 & 1889, destroyed), which was located at James Street, Yesler Way and Second Avenue, had evolved as the city’s premier tourist-oriented hotel, although there were numerous other hotels located within the commercial district. At least a dozen hotels were destroyed in the great fire of 1889; however, within four years some 63 hotels were in operation.
After the fire, both the Rainier Hotel (1889, destroyed) between Columbia and Marion Streets above Fifth Avenue and the Rainier-Grand Hotel (c.1889, destroyed) at First Avenue and Marion Street functioned as the major tourist hotels. The Rainier had been intended initially to serve as a resort hotel, as was The Denny Hotel (Washington Hotel, 1890-1892, destroyed). Both were large wood-frame buildings located above the commercial and residential districts with panoramic views out to the harbor. Other major post-fire tourist-oriented hotels included the Butler Hotel (1893, partly destroyed) and the Lincoln Hotel (1900, destroyed by fire in 1920) at Fourth Avenue and Madison Street. By the turn of the century, tourist and residential hotels lined the much of First Avenue to Pike Street. Only two extant hotels constructed along this portion of First Avenue during this era remain, the Diller Hotel (1889) and the Colonnade Hotel (Gatewood, 1898).
King County tax records indicate that this 96-room hotel building was constructed in 1898 and the Colonade Hotel is noted on insurance and real estate maps prior to 1902; thus, this construction date appears to be accurate. Specific information or documentation regarding the circumstances around the design and construction of this hotel has not been uncovered. Various factors could have stimulated the real estate development of this scale and construction of a hotel building of this size at this northern location on First Avenue. A concentration of commercial activity and smaller wood-frame hotel and lodging houses had been located near First Avenue and Pike Street since 1880s. Pike Street was a major east-west transit route and a coal bunker located at the foot of Pike Street generated employment, transient traffic and local commerce. Due to economic depressions in the early 1890s, hotels were not a profitable venture until 1897 when gold was discovered in Alaska and Seattle became a major embarkation point for miners traveling to and from British Columbia and the Yukon. Hotels with easy access to the waterfront piers were particularly successful and in demand. In conjunction with the local economic prosperity brought about by the gold rush, major street regrading projects began to be undertaken, including the regrading of First Avenue from Pike Street to Denny Way in 1897.
The Colonade Hotel is only partially intact; however, it is an example of an uncommon extant downtown hotel property type from this era. Despite exterior alterations, it appears to be a noteworthy example of hotel design from this era and warrants additional research and documentation. [However, it was previously nominated as a City Landmark and denied local landmark designation. It was also previously determined eligible for listing in the National Register by the SHPO.]
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| Appearance |
| Located at the SE Corner of First Avenue and Pine Street, this former 96-room hotel building includes several retail stores and now functions as an apartment building. It is a four-story masonry structure with a concrete foundation and basement measuring 111’x113’ with six irregular bays at both the First Avenue and Pine Street elevations. It has a U-shaped plan oriented toward the alley (east) and exhibits a modest two-part commercial block façade composition accentuated by red-orange color brick cladding and modest brick and sandstone details.
The original wood and metal cornice has been removed. The shaft and the building cap (the sixth floor level) are accentuated by intermediate sheet metal cornices. Windows are primarily set in individual openings in groups of three. Original 9/1 double-hung wooden windows appear to remain in place at all of the upper floor levels. The fourth floor level window openings are accentuated by quoins and window openings at the second and third floor levels include sandstone sills and keystones.
Original vertical-pane mezzanine windows and cast iron storefront members (marked “Rainier Foundry, Seattle”) appear to remain in place at the retail storefronts; however the lower portions of the storefront units have been extensively reconstructed. There do not appear to be any intact or architecturally significant interior building features, finishes or public spaces. |
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