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Summary for 2601 2nd AVE / Parcel ID 0654000125 / Inv #

Historic Name: System Delivery Company Common Name: Ex Officio
Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Belltown
Built By: Year Built: 1936
 
Significance
This elegant commercial building appears to have been one the few constructed during the Depression. It was designed in 1936-37 by Victor Voorhees for the System Transfer and Storage Company, a moving and warehouse company that occupied the three-story building to the north. The permit (#245296) was for a three-story warehouse, The four storefronts on Second Avenue had large display windows with divided light transoms above. On the Vine Street elevation were four garages with sliding doors. with sliding doors and fire walls, plus garage space; a note on the county Tax Assessor’s card says that it was built for other stories to be added. Victor Voorhees was one of Seattle’s most prolific architects, working here from 1904 until at least 1957. He understood the requirements for auto-related buildings like garages and warehouses, as he had worked on numerous auto dealerships and similar structures. He is credited with designing more than 100 local buildings, ranging from cottages and large residences to apartment and office buildings, industrial buildings, fraternal halls and commercial structures such as Washington Hall, the Vance Building, the Vance Hotel (now the Hotel Max, 1926) and the Earl Hotel (now the Seattle Hotel, 1928). However, he has become best known for a popular book of house plans, Western Home Builder, first published in 1907.
 
Appearance
This building is of masonry construction faced with brick in shades of buff and tan, with notable cast stone ornamentation, including urns. The original storefronts on 2nd Avenue have been altered with new display windows and entries. The rear (west) elevation on the alley retains its metal industrial sash. The original garage doors along the south façade have been converted to retail storefronts with large wood multipaned windows and transoms and a wide recessed entry.

Detail for 2601 2nd AVE / Parcel ID 0654000125 / Inv #

Status: No - Altered
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Concrete Foundation(s): Concrete - Block
Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown
Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Warehouse Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Concrete - Poured No. of Stories: one
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Moderate
Changes to Plan: Moderate
Changes to Original Cladding: Slight
Major Bibliographic References
Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.

Photo collection for 2601 2nd AVE / Parcel ID 0654000125 / Inv #


Photo taken

Photo taken

Photo taken Mar 18, 2007

Photo taken Mar 18, 2007
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