| Historic Name: |
Lloyd Building |
Common Name: |
Lloyd Building |
| Style: |
Commercial - Chicago School, Beaux Arts - American Renaissance |
Neighborhood: |
Denny Triangle |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1926 |
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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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Like the former Vance Hotel, now the Hotel Max, the Lloyd Building was designed by architect Victor Voorhees in 1926. It too was commissioned by the Vance Lumber Company, an important client for Voorhees. The design of the Lloyd Building bears a strong resemblance to that of the Vance Hotel, although the Lloyd Building has more clearly defined bays and a more consistent relationship between these bays at various levels. Voorhees also designed the Vance Building on 3rd Avenue and Union Street (1929-1930). Aside from the changes to the storefront, the Lloyd Building is virtually intact and, like the former Vance Hotel, a beautiful example of Beaux Arts design, as applied to a large block. The Lloyd Building has always gone by its present name. It continues to function as an office building with stores on the ground level, as it did when it was first built
Victor Voorhees was a known and prolific Seattle architect from around 1907 to the late 1920s, but actually appears to have continued to practice architecture at least into the 1950s. His career in Seattle began in 1904, when he moved from the Midwest to work in the building department of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Line. From 1907 to 1911, through the publication of his Western Builder, which featured a series of his house plans, he was responsible for the construction of many houses in Seattle. These house designs, although varied, have recognizable features and detailing. Extant examples can be found in many parts of Seattle, but in particular on Queen Anne Hill and Capitol Hill. He is perhaps best known for high end buildings in downtown, however. In addition to the Vance Building and the Lloyd Building, he designed the Troy Laundry Building (1924) and a “warehouse for A.C. Goerig,” later occupied by the Granville Company (1924), both on Fairview Avenue (South Lake Union). He was also responsible for the Georgetown City Hall; the Marqueen on Queen Anne Avenue North and Mercer Street and the Washington Arms apartment building, south of Volunteer Park, on Capitol Hill.
Voorhees, who was born in 1876, spent the better part of his youth in Minneapolis and moved to Cambria, Wisconsin at age 23. He was trained in law at the Minneapolis Academy, a Lutheran College in Minnesota, and during the same period worked in general construction. It is not clear that he was ever formally trained in architecture, but appears to have become an architect as a result of his construction experience.
Voorhees’ output and the quality of his design work, particularly as expressed in this building, is truly impressive. This is one of the best examples of his work and is very significant in the context of downtown Seattle and to the entire city. Changes to the exterior of the building, aside from those made to the storefronts, seem to be minimal. There have been some interior changes and remodels, but these have not affected the integrity of the exterior.
Although changes to the storefronts and other areas have not affected the overall sense of Voorhees’ design, they probably should be noted. The recorded changes are mostly more than the fifty years old. The main changes to the storefronts and the remodel of the main entry were made by the architecture firm of Richard Lytel and Associates in 1951, with drawings dating from May 29, 1951. This firm was also responsible for storefront changes to the Vance Hotel/ Hotel Max. Based on drawings from November 13, 1947, the storefront in the corner western bay along Stewart St was probably altered previously for the “K. Koffee and Smoke Shop,” around 1947 or 1948. Based on drawings from November 27, 1957, a mezzanine floor was apparently added to the building by the architecture firm of Decker Christenson and Kitchin. This design involved somewhat ambitious and carefully designed modern interiors, which included cabinetry. In 1940, a local office for Libby Owens Ford Glass, which had vaguely Moderne interior detailing, was also designed for this building.
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| Appearance |
| This ten story office building is clad in golden-buff brick, with cream-colored terra cotta trim. It has a basement and a footprint of approximately 120 feet by 53 feet, as well as a flat roof and parapet. According to original drawings, the footprint is slightly irregular. Along the back, south alley side, above the ground floor, the floor plan cuts away and is more L-shaped. The basic structure is concrete, with regularly spaced hexagonal columns on the interior and continuous concrete piers defining the bays, particularly along Stewart Street. The main façade along Stewart Street has six bays, while a secondary façade along 6th Avenue has three bays. Storefronts and a main entry are located at the ground level along Stewart Street. There are also storefronts along the 6th Avenue. A minor elevation, facing north (or northeast because of the skewed street grid) has one bay, clad in brick and terra cotta, while the other two bays, which were not meant to be seen from the street, are unclad concrete. A fire escape is also attached along this east wall.
The Stewart Street façade is striking as a result of the proportion and careful organization of its parts and because of the detailing of its cladding and delicate ornamentation. The ornamentation is simpler at the lower floors and becomes increasingly intricate at the top of the facade. It includes typical Beaux Arts, Renaissance inspired floral and leaf motifs. Storefronts have been redesigned somewhat over the years, but the rest of the cladding and fenestration appears to be intact. The six storefront bays are set between terra cotta clad piers, each clad with a granite base, terra cotta shaft and capital. There is a distinctive ornament consisting of symmetrically placed wave shapes, set on the face of the pier, above the shaft. An egg and dart band decorates the echinus of the capital. Directly above the storefronts, there is continuous terra cotta cladding, with some ornamentation. Over each capital, there is an inset rectangle, with a tiny flower at its center; and there are longer, inset rectangles, emphasizing the spandrels directly over the storefronts. Located at the second bay from the west, there is a major entry, with “Lloyd Building,” inscribed in incised letters over the door. Surmounting this, is a projecting classical cornice in terra cotta. Notable ornamental detailing includes a band of simplified acanthus leaf shapes.
At the second level, the piers are expressed as shallow, terra cotta pilasters, which define brick clad bays, although the bays are largely taken up by fenestration. Each window opening features a series of three windows with transom lights. The central window is wider than the windows to each side of it. The second floor is topped by a simple belt-course, clad in terra cotta.
From the third floor to the ninth floor, each bay features two single double-hung windows with terra cotta sills. Bays are accentuated and the piers expressed by seven-story engaged pilasters, with shafts clad in brick, terra cotta bases and modified Ionic capitals. Between the pilasters, the cladding is brick. Surmounting the pilasters and across the facade is a terra cotta band, which includes round disks placed symmetrically above the pilasters, with two equidistant disks, set between. At the top level of the façade, directly above each of the pilasters, is an ornate terra cotta bas-relief, consisting of a stylized plant topped by a shield. A horizontal band, which includes an overhanging roll moulding tops this portion of the façade. On top of this is continuous terra cotta frieze, which includes squares above the pilasters, each with an inset floral motif and between them long rectangles, with a central flower and stylized foliage to each side. Above this, is a slightly projecting egg and dart band. Finally a projecting, classical cornice, which includes a band of repeated acanthus-leaf shapes, crowns the façade. Set back and above this, is a low, terra cotta clad parapet.
The 6th Avenue elevation, divided into three bays, has the same cladding and decorative elements. This is also true of the brick and terra cotta clad bay (closest to the street) of the east elevation. The south elevation was not designed to be seen from the street and faces an alley.
Some of the storefronts along Stewart Street, located in the second, third and fourth bays, from the east have distinctive designs, with a slightly projecting base. This base is mainly covered in black squares of ceramic tile. The profile of the base angles out toward the top and then becomes vertical. This change is expressed on the face of the mainly black ceramic base by small, square golden tiles. Originally storefronts tended to angle in to a recessed, glazed door, with a heavy darker wood frame. Often each plate glass piece has a frame in similar dark wood. Around 1951, the glass in the transoms was replaced with “new black glass veneer,” probably also known by its trade name, “vitrolite.” Separating the transoms from the main storefront are aluminum bands, with a slightly scalloped profile, which date from the same period. As part of the same storefront/ ground floor remodel, the main entry to the building was modernized: brown marble veneer covers a wide recessed entry, featuring new metal doors. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
INV |
| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Ceramic tile, Stone, Terra cotta |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Professional |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
ten |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Community Planning/Development, Manufacturing/Industry |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Storefront: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
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Don Glickstein, “Victor Voorhees and the prospering of Seattle,” Seattle, WA (?), 2001.
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Kate Krafft, List of Permits Granted to Victor Voorhees, unpublished, ca. 2004.
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Victor Voorhees, The Western Home Builder. (Sixth Edition), Seattle,WA: V.W. Voorhees, Architect, 1911.
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Andersen, Dennis and Katheryn Hills Krafft. “Pattern Books, Plan Books, Periodical,” in Shaping Seattle Architecture. Edited by Jeffrey Karl Ochsner. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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