| Historic Name: |
Safeway |
Common Name: |
Honda of Seattle |
| Style: |
Art Deco |
Neighborhood: |
Denny Triangle |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1950 |
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| Significance |
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This was designed in 1950 as a Safeway Store by Simonson and Putnam, Architects and Engineers, a Seattle firm, for Bramwell Construction Company, a division of Safeway Stores, Inc. It is likely that this was a standard Safeway store design, but, if so, few of these original Safeways remain. Despite the fact that this building was designed and built as late as 1950, it reflects the influence of Moderne design. The building design retains much of its original cladding and ornamentation, but the original detailing of the storefronts, consistent with Moderne design, has been lost. By 1967, the building was used by automobile sales business. It still has a similar use.
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| Appearance |
| This one story building is set on the northern portion of the block located between Howell, Olive Way, Boren Avenue and Terry Avenue. It has a rectangular footprint, 75’ by 117’-6”. It has concrete exterior walls, with cast stone ornamentation. The roof, which rises above the parapet walls, was designed to be supported by a series of bow trusses. The curve of the roof is mostly not visible from the street. Secondary north and south elevations face Howell and Olive Way, while the main, east facade is set along Boren Avenue. The main façade has several distinctive elements, influenced by Moderne design. At the corners of the façade, large, fluted cast stone piers rise toward the top of the parapet and step back at the top. Storefronts sit on a cast stone plinth. On the southern part of the façade, the storefronts are separated by smaller fluted piers; while storefronts and doorways on the northern portion of the façade have definitely been replaced. Original drawings indicate that the southern storefronts were originally glass block, so it is likely that these storefronts were also replaced. All the storefronts are surmounted by an original, fluted, metal overhang. The north elevation is mainly characterized by regularly spaced concrete buttresses and follows the original design. The south elevation appears to have been modified in 1967, with additional modifications, when the building was modified to serve an automobile sales business. The west elevation is a simple concrete wall, which now faces an open lot, but is not meant to be seen from the street. |
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