Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 201 Yesler WAY / Parcel ID 5247800955 / Inv #

Historic Name: Tyee Saloon Common Name: Campbell Fuller Building Style: Commercial, Queen Anne, Queen Anne - Richardsonian Romanesque, Various Neighborhood: Pioneer Square Built By: Year Built: 1891   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). The most complete documentation states that the Campbell Fuller Building was built right after the Fire of 1889 and completed in 1891. Construction was begun before the regrading and widening of the streets in the “burnt district,” which took place in the summer of 1889 not long after the June 6 Fire. This is evident in the half covered windows at the ground level. The building’s first tenant was the Tyee Saloon. The Tyee Saloon reflected the sometimes brash and bawdy nature of Seattle in the 1890s. It was also a frequent haunt of early civic leaders, who worked in City Hall, which was located nearby. According to some records, construction was completed in 1891, while King County Tax Assessor Record Card gives a date of 1895. (In general, in the case of early Pioneer Square buildings the King County Tax Assessor Records often give later dates, which appear to be associated with subsequent remodels, so the 1891 date is just as likely). Located at the hub of traffic, the Campbell Fuller Building, like many buildings of its time, was covered with many wall signs. By 1906, the northwest doorway was remodeled and billboards were attached to the parapet of the building. The Campbell Fuller Building was located not far from Seattle’s original Chinatown and its tenants came from a wide assortment of national backgrounds. A 1912 photograph, for instance, shows the building covered with a profusion of commercial signs, with at least one advertising a Chinese tailor and another in Greek and English advertising the “Paradise Café.” In 1928, the Second Avenue Extension, a major public works project cut a diagonal swath, creating the triangular version of Fortson Square, along which the Campbell Fuller building is now located and a loading point for traffic going South and West. This drove a huge wedge through the original Chinatown and dispersed its remaining inhabitants, who had already begun to move to the current “Chinatown-International Historic District.” As a result, the Campbell Fuller Building was no longer associated with the original Chinatown and the international flavor of the building and of Fortson Square was lost. Around the same time, however, one of the most active speakeasies located in the basement of the building. The general history of the building reflects the urban and social changes at the edge of the former “burnt district.” Although Historic Certification was granted in 1979, the building has undergone extensive physical changes over the years. It is therefore historic non-contributing. From 1951 to 1978, the building housed the Mocambo, an early Seattle gay bar, where gay political and business groups, including the gay business council of the Greater Seattle Business Association and the Ebony Council, an association of gay African-American men, often held meetings beginning in the 1960s.   Appearance This is a one story building with parapet, constructed with brick exterior walls and heavy timber interior structure. There is a basement level and the footprint of the ground floor is 60 feet by 108 feet. Of note is the angled northwest façade with a large arch framed in wood (the opening is currently boarded up) and a series of openings on the west façade with segmental arches and a continuous wood frame and molding that outlines the arched portions of the openings and links them together. Again, the actual openings are currently closed -in. While there are a few interesting remnants of architectural detailing, the building appears to have gone through many remodels and changes, with many signs attached and detached over time. The south façade, in particularly, has received particularly harsh treatment. In terms of architectural integrity, the building is non-contributing.

Detail for 201 Yesler WAY / Parcel ID 5247800955 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: NR, LR Cladding(s): Brick, Wood Foundation(s): Brick, Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat, Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Restaurant Plan: Irregular Structural System: Masonry - Unreinforced No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Community Planning/Development, Ethnic Heritage Integrity Changes to Plan: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Extensive Changes to Windows: Extensive Major Bibliographic References King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972. Brians, Ann Elizabeth. Indomitable Pioneer Square. Master of Urban Planning Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, 1973. Andrews, Mildred et al, Pioneer Square: Seattle's Oldest Neighborhood. Manuscript.Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, forthcoming 2005. "Campbell Fuller Building, 207 Yesler Way, Historic Preservation Certification Application, Part 1," 27 April 1979. Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, State of Washington, Olympia, Washington, Microfiche File.

Photo collection for 201 Yesler WAY / Parcel ID 5247800955 / Inv #

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