Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 562 1 AVE / Parcel ID 7666206865 / Inv #

Historic Name: Bornstein & Sons, Inc. Warehouse Common Name: 562 1rst Avenue South Style: Commercial, Commercial - Chicago School Neighborhood: Pioneer Square Built By: Year Built: 1909   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). This historically significant property was first completed in 1909. It was built at the end of the decade that runs from 1900 to 1910, when both the district and Seattle experienced explosive economic and physical growth. This warehouse was built for Julius Bornstein, one of Seattle’s earliest merchants. Around 1885, Bornstein established one of Seattle’s first department stores, the Golden Bazaar, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1889. The business was rebuilt after the Fire and in 1909, the company branched out into a wholesale business which operated out of this warehouse building. The company provided department store supplies throughout the Northwest and Alaska. The warehouse building is attributed to Josenhans and Allan, also responsible for the Hambach Warehouse between Second Avenue South and Second Avenue Extension and the design of the base of the Drexel Hotel in the Pioneer Square-Skid Road National Historic District. Josenhans later became a Seattle superintendent of public works. His early experience in the office of William LeBaron Jenney explains his familiarity with the Chicago School as shown in this building, if, in fact, Josenhans and Allan are the designers. While less seems to be known about Norris Best Allan, there are more details concerning Josenhans’ career. Timotheus Josenhans was born in Wurttemberg, Germany. He worked briefly for William LeBaron Jenney and then as a railroad construction engineer in Chicago. He arrived in Oregon in 1880 and worked as draftsman in Portland for Joseph Sherwin and Warren Williams. By 1888, he had moved to Seattle and was a draftsman in the office of Hermann Steinmann, the architect of the Terry and Kittinger Building, now known as the Delmar in Pioneer Square. Between 1888 and 1889, he designed powerhouses for Seattle’s electric railways. He formed a partnership with James Stephen which lasted from 1894 and 1897. Josenhans and Allan are also responsible for Parrington Hall on the University of Washington Campus (1903-04). The partnership lasted until 1912.   Appearance This is a seven story building with frontage on First Avenue South and on Occidental Way South. Its footprint is 30 feet by 150 feet. It has reinforced concrete and steel structure with exterior brick cladding on the main First Avenue South façade and the east facing, back elevation. The 30 foot First Avenue South façade has a two part composition and is typical of Chicago School influenced warehouse buildings. It consists of one single bay, which is slightly recessed above the ground level. The ground level consists of storefront, framed by two original cast-iron pilasters. The upper floor bays are framed by slightly projecting piers. At each level, there is one wide, trabeated opening with a cast-stone sill and a header course emphasizing the top of the opening. Each opening contains four large vertically pivoting windows with transom lights. The original sheet metal cornice and masonry parapet pier extensions, which rose over the flat roof, have been removed. The rear elevation includes trabeated openings with intact multiple-light sash, as well as delivery bays.

Detail for 562 1 AVE / Parcel ID 7666206865 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: NR, LR Cladding(s): Brick, Concrete, Metal Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition, Unknown Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Warehouse Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Steel No. of Stories: seven Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Storefront: Slight Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: 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. Krafft, Katheryn Hills. “Northwest Hotel Supply, 212 Second Avenue, Historic Preservation Certification, Part 1.” 24 July 1989. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 November 1914, p 2. City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfiche Library. Krafft, Katheryn Hills, “Pioneer Square – Skid Road Historic District (Boundary Increase),” submitted 15 December, 1987 and approved 6 May, 1988.

Photo collection for 562 1 AVE / Parcel ID 7666206865 / Inv #

Photo taken Apr 22, 2004