| Historic Name: |
Holland Building |
Common Name: |
Miken Building |
| Style: |
Commercial - Chicago School |
Neighborhood: |
Commercial Core |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1920 |
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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 early twentieth century developmental era (1920-1930) when a significant number of commercial buildings were constructed and the modern downtown commercial district was fully established. In 1923 Seattle adopted its first ordinance that regulated specific geographic areas for specified uses; it allowed the most densely concentrated commercial development to occur in the downtown core. The economic prosperity of the 1920s stimulated the development of numerous major highrise commercial buildings, as well as smaller-scale bank and commercial buildings, major hotels and apartment hotels, club buildings and entertainment facilities, which were typically designed by leading Seattle architects. During this era, the original residential district was entirely absorbed by commercial and other real estate development. By 1930, virtually all of the old residential properties - as well as many of the immediate post-fire era commercial buildings outside of Pioneer Square - had been demolished or removed.
The property appears to have been purchased by the Exeter Company in 1911. The company retained ownership until 1948 and appears to have been a major upper floor level tenant. By 1937, it was known Holland Building and The Exeter Company had offices on the 7th floor. A wall sign from this era states the company’s business as “property management, insurance, mortgage and loans, real estate.”
The building was constructed in two phases with the initial basement and four floor constructed in 1918 and the additional four floor levels added in 1923. It is assumed that the building was built and expanded for The Exeter Company. The 1923 addition was constructed according to plans prepared by architects Stuart and Wheatley. The cohesive design of the addition may be indicative of role of one or the other of these architects in the initial 1918 design. Stuart and Wheatley also designed the Exeter House Apartments; however, it is not known what the relationship may be between this project and the subject building and owners. Early retail tenants after the 1923 addition include the Northwestern Photo Supply Co. and Eastman Kodak Co. and the upper floor levels appear to have housed wholesale jewelers and optical supply companies.
In 1939 and again in1948, the storefront was altered for Klopfenstein’s menswear store. In 1967, a major storefront remodel and interior alterations (designed by Royal McClure) were undertaken for a major commercial tenant Equitable Savings and Loan, which purchased the building in 1963.
Bertram Dudley Stuart (1885-1977) practiced in Canada before his arrival in Seattle in 1918. During the later 1920s, Arthur Wheatley enjoyed a very successful partnership with Bertram Dudley Stuart. The 1923 addition to this building appears be among the partnerships earliest commissions. The firm became well known for its residential and commercial projects, especially for a number of large apartment buildings and hotels. These included the Claremont Apartment Hotel (1925), the Bergonian Hotel (Mayflower Park Hotel, 1926), Continental Hotel/Earl Hotel (1926); the Exeter House Apartments (1927), the Marlborough Apartments (1926-27) and the Biltmore Apartments.
This building is an elegant, but significantly altered, example of a mid-rise, terra cotta clad commercial building from this era. The current storefront openings have been repeatedly remodeled and do not include any historic building fabric. It is associated with a notable local architecture firm, Stuart and Wheatley. [This property was previously determined eligible for listing in the National Register by the SHPO.]
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| Appearance |
| Located mid-block on the west side of Fourth Avenue between Union and Pike Streets, this eight-story office building was designed and constructed in two phases with the initial four floors built in 1918 and the upper four floors added in 1923. It continues to be used for commercial office and retail purposes. It measures 60’ x 111’ and exhibits an altered three-part vertical block façade composition and some intact terra cotta ornament.
The reinforced concrete structure with concrete foundation and basement is clad with ivory-color glazed terra cotta. The façade is divided vertically between three prominent bays and horizontally between the base and shaft and cap. The vertical bays are accentuated by four wide terra cotta clad piers that extend to the seventh floor level where the two central piers are capped by ornate terra cotta tile sculpted in low relief and adorned with swags. Each bay of the shaft is dominated by tripartite window groups and terminated by segmental arched window openings. The bays are dramatically accentuated by dark cast iron (or glazed terra cotta) spandrels and mullions. The building cap at the eighth floor level is clad with terra cotta, distinguished by an intermediate cornice and dominated by sets of individual rounded-head window openings that align with the fenestrated shaft below. The terminal cornice is adorned with terra cotta lion’s heads and corbelled brackets. Original intact fixed or pivoting window sash appears to remain in place.
The base is distinguished by broad two-story segmental arched storefront bays that were not part of the historic design and appear to have been constructed in the late 1960s. An historic photograph from the B. Dudley Stuart records indicates that the base was originally much more defined; it was clad with rusticated terra cotta panels and exhibited a distinct division between three rectangular storefront bays and sets of second floor level windows. An arched upper floor entry vestibule surmounted by ornate terra cotta was originally located at the north end of the northern storefront bay. The base is now accentuated by terra cotta clad piers that extend to the seventh floor level. Originally an intermediate cornice separated the base from the shaft and these piers were not continuous. The current storefront openings have been repeatedly remodeled and do not include any historic building fabric. There do not appear to be any intact or architecturally significant interior building features, finishes or public spaces. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Terra cotta |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Professional |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
eight |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Interior: |
Extensive |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Storefront: |
Extensive |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Courtois, Shirley L. METRO Downtown Seattle Transit Project FEIS Inventory Form, 1984.
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Seattle Inventory Field Form, Office of Urban Conservation, 1979.
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Aldredge, Lydia. Impressions of Imagination: Terra Cotta Seattle, Allied Arts of Seattle, 1986.
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