| Historic Name: |
Hotel Westlake |
Common Name: |
Westlake Hotel |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Denny Triangle |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1907 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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Known historically as the Hotel Westlake, this significant building, according to a King County Tax Assessor report, was completed in 1907, in the same year that Westlake Avenue (south of Denny Way) was constructed and regraded. Westlake Avenue became an important thoroughfare and electric trolley route. The building was restored by Tonkin Hoyne Lokan Architects in 1988 and retains the most important features of its original design. Not only is the cladding intact, but so are storefronts and the cornice, although the actual Hotel Westlake sign was remade. Replacement windows replicate the multi-pane pattern of the top half of the double-hung windows, shown in historical photographs. Also, not visible from the exterior of the building, the roof was rebuilt and windows in an interior lightwell were replaced. The Westlake Hotel is a well-designed, early Seattle hotel building in the local commercial style. By 1912, the hotel was one of many in the vicinity, including the Vancouver, the Wilshire, the Virginia and the Larned Hotel. The Larned, located across Westlake Avenue from this hotel building, is also still standing. At the end of the Twentieth Century, both the Westlake and the Larned were converted to housing, with commercial spaces at the ground level.
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| Appearance |
| Triangular in plan, this is a three-story brick building, with a projecting, wooden ornamental cornice and a parapet above it. There is also a basement, built in concrete. The roof, originally built in frame construction, is flat. The main elevation along Westlake has a symmetrical composition. At the second and third levels, window openings, single or grouped in pairs, set up a lively rhythm: at each level, a single window opening is set on the center axis and is flanked to each side by a grouping of three pairs of similar openings, followed by a single opening, and then by a pair of openings. The windows themselves are double-hung, with a representation of multi-pane glazing on the top section. At the ground level, corresponding storefronts, some including entries and topped by a double transom, are set in wooden frames. Separating the storefronts are piers, with shafts clad in brick and modified Tuscan capitals. Each capital features a single rectangular ornament, set on the neck of the capital and above the astragal. Other characteristics include the masonry quoining at the edge of the façade, the masonry flat arches and the “belt-course,” created above the storefronts, by several rows of slightly projecting brick courses. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
INV |
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Metal, Wood |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
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Plan: |
Triangular |
| Structural System: |
Masonry - Unreinforced |
No. of Stories: |
three |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Transportation |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Storefront: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Baist Map of 1908 and 1912
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“Final Environmental Impact Statement for the New Federal Courthouse, Seattle, King County, Washington,” U.S. General Services Administration (Region 10), March 27, 1998, p 56-77.
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