Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 542 1st AVE / Parcel ID 7666206851 / Inv #

Historic Name: George Hoffman's Carriage Factory/ Washington Shoe Company Common Name: Washington Shoe Building Style: Commercial Neighborhood: Pioneer Square Built By: Year Built: 1903   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). 542 First Avenue South was completed in 1903, during the early part of the decade, 1900-1910, when both the district and Seattle experienced explosive economic and physical growth. This is one of the earliest masonry structures to be built this far south, during a time when this portion of the old planked First Avenue and the adjacent tidelands were still being filled. (At this time, since First Avenue only extended to Lander Street and since many of the warehouses were located next to unfilled tideflats, they sometimes included wharves). George W. Hoffman commissioned builders Megath and Duhamel to erect the building. Hoffman had sold his blacksmith shop in 1902 to construct this building on leased ground. He used the building first as a carriage factory and blacksmith shop. Eventually it evolved into an auto parts and bodies manufacturing company. More recently, the building has been commonly known as the Washington Shoe Company Building.   Appearance This is a three story building with exterior brick walls. Its footprint is 90 feet by 150 feet. It has a flat roof with parapet. It has a two-part main west façade on First Avenue South with a back, east façade. The main façade is divided into four bays that vary slightly in width and window placement. It also currently painted beige. The ground floor consists of storefronts with transoms, separated by simple columns. The typical second floor bay consists of three segmental openings, with varying amounts of space between them. The top floor bays are organized with corresponding trabeated openings. Other features include continuous stone sills and double-hung windows. The façade is topped by a corbelled brick cornice. The rear elevation, clearly undergoing changes as of this writing, is slightly less regular, but still combines wide trabeated openings at the first floor, segmental openings arranged in groups of three at the second level and trabeated openings at the third level. Here the cladding is red brick.

Detail for 542 1st AVE / Parcel ID 7666206851 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: NR, LR Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown Building Type: Industry/Processing/Extraction - Manufacturing Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Masonry - Unreinforced No. of Stories: three Unit Theme(s): Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry, Transportation Integrity Storefront: Moderate Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Moderate Major Bibliographic References Bagley, Clarence. History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1916. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972. City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfiche Library. Krafft, Katheryn Hills. “Pioneer Square – Skid Road Historic District (Boundary Increase),” submitted 15 December 1987 and approved 6 May 1988. "Sanborn Insurance Map." 1904.

Photo collection for 542 1st AVE / Parcel ID 7666206851 / Inv #

Photo taken Jul 26, 2004