Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 3307A 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Historic Name: Red Brick Building Common Name: Alexander Hall Style: Queen Anne - Richardsonian Romanesque Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1893   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). Seattle Pacific University was first established on April 4, 1891, as the Seattle Seminary, organized by the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church in order to train missionaries. It began with 34 elementary school students, adding high school courses the following year. In 1910 it expanded to include college-level courses. Soon afterwards, in 1913, it was renamed The Seattle Seminary and College and, in 1915, Seattle Pacific College. It gained its current name in 1977. By 2001 the school had grown to serve 3,500 students on a 45-acre campus. The older buildings, and important newer structures, form an ensemble that illustrates the school's history; they are arranged around a grass-covered central square with numerous large trees. This building, Alexander Hall, was the institution’s first building, originally known as The Red Brick Building and later as Men's Hall. In the 1940s it was renamed Alexander Hall to honor the school’s first president, Alexander Beers. Alexander and Adelaide Beers moved to Seattle from Virginia in 1891 to run the school. He worked on fundraising and building the campus, while she taught and developed curricula. It was a remarkable building for the small community of Ross. The 9,200 square foot building met all the schools need's, with a dining room, kitchen and lavatory on the ground floor, a chapel and classrooms on the second floor, a library and classrooms on the third, and dormitories and teachers’ apartments on the top floor. It even had electric lights, powered by its own generator. The building was renovated in 1966-67. Alexander Hall was designed in 1891 but not completed until 1893, due to financial difficulties. The architect was John Parkinson (1861-1935), one of Seattle’s most notable early architects. Parkinson received his technical education and building experience in England, and emigrated to Winnipeg and then Minneapolis in 1883. In 1885 he settled in Napa, California, where he designed his first building, the Bank of Napa, in 1888. He arrived in Seattle in 1889 and soon received significant architectural commissions, including major hotels in Olympia and on Mercer Island (now destroyed) and the Butler Block (altered) and the Interurban Building in Pioneer Square (1890-92). After completion of this building, he designed a similar multipurpose structure for Seattle’s new Jesuit College, now called the Garrand Building (1893-94) at Seattle University. He also designed 32 public schools in the Northwest; one of the few to survive is B. F. Day School in Fremont. Following the economic downturn of 1893, Parkinson moved to Los Angeles, where he had a distinguished career nearly until his death in 1935. In partnership with his son, Donald, he designed three of that city’s most significant buildings: Bullock’s Wilshire, the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Los Angeles City Hall.   Appearance Alexander Hall is a narrow four-story building of dark brown brick with a hipped roof clad with slate. The foundation and water table are quarry-faced sandstone. At each of the four corners a polygonal tower rises from ground level, each topped by a pointed hexagonal roof. This strong vertical emphasis is continued with four two-story arched bays on the side elevations. The main entry has a Romanesque arch and an arched door with sidelights. Above the entry are three-part bow windows on the second and third floor; the lower portion rests on a sandstone corbel and is trimmed with sandstone. This rounded bay forms a small porch at the top level. Courses of projecting brick run between the first and second floors and the thrid and fourth stories. Original windows were primarily large one-over-one sash with pairs of casement windows on the top floor. These have been replaced with large fixed-pane windows with operable awning windows at the bottom; the top floor has sliding sash Two windows have modern stained glass. The front steps and metal rail are also newer.

Detail for 3307A 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Slate Building Type: Education - College Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Brick No. of Stories: four Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Education, Religion Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Windows: Moderate Major Bibliographic References King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Reinartz, Kay F. Queen Anne: Community on the Hill. Seattle: Queen Anne Historical Society, 1993. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl and Dennis Alan Andersen. Distant Corner: Seattle Architects and the Legacy of H. H. Richardson. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003. McNichols, Donald. Seattle Pacific University: A Growing Vision, 1891-1991. Seattle Pacific University, 1991.

Photo collection for 3307A 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 04, 2004