| Historic Name: |
Silver Hotel |
Common Name: |
Totem Pole Loand |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Pioneer Square |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1908 |
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| Significance |
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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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The original building is given a date of 1908 in the King County Tax Asssessor’s Records. By 1912, the building housed the Silver Hotel and “Gary Silver” was the owner of the building in 1937. While employing differing architectural elements, the original 1908 façade was more of a cousin to the western façade of 625 First Avenue, which still retains somewhat flamboyant, but Beaux-Arts derived elements. The original façade also had various types of moldings, emphasizing the shapes of the various architectural elements: the segmental arches or rectangular projecting moldings in rectangular shapes, emphasizing the shafts of the piers. The present remodel of the façade may have been inspired by these, but does not retain the shape or sense of the original ornament or architectural elements. In addition, the building has lost three floors.
The west façade, more typical of early construction techniques and styles from right after the Fire, may well date from that time, although no records prove this. It suggests that the more ornate 1900s façade may have been added to an older five story building and that the Assessor’s Records may have only documented the façade change of 1908, as the date of the building construction. In turn, about a decade after the loss of the upper floors, the remaining details of 1900s façade were replaced in the 1960s by the present façade.
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| Appearance |
| This is now a two story building, which began as a five story building. The main east elevation has a double height storefront divided into two bays at street level, framed by big piers. The current façade composition consists of recessed rectangles, set vertically next to the piers and horizontally above the door openings. The top level is one bay and has a large three light window, with the central light wider than the other two. The division of the window is reflected in the three horizontal recessed rectangles of the parapet. The present façade is not the historical façade dating from the 1900s.
Based on photos in the King County Tax Assessor’s records, the building had lost its three upper floors by 1952, probably as a result of the 1949 Earthquake. In addition, a photograph which probably dates from the 1960s, indicates that the extant portion of the original 1900s façade was then considerably altered, particularly at the ground level. The 1900s facade had big piers which divided the ground level into two, as does the modern facade, but the piers also had classical capitals (or moldings approximating capitals) and were topped by low segmental arches
The west elevation is clad in red brick and has single segmental arched openings, typical of buildings erected in the district right after the Fire of 1889. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
NR, LR |
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Concrete, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition, Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Hotel |
Plan: |
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| Structural System: |
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No. of Stories: |
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| Unit Theme(s): |
Commerce |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Extensive |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Storefront: |
Extensive |
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Changes to Windows: |
Extensive |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
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Baist, William. Baist’s Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash. Philadelphia: W. G. Baist, 1912.
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Files, Historic Preservation Program, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle.
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