| Historic Name: |
West Coast Conditioned Air/ West Coast Heating and Plumbing Company |
Common Name: |
Bernard Imports Bodyworks |
| Style: |
Modern - International Style, Other - Industrial |
Neighborhood: |
South Lake Union |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1953 |
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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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This is a virtually intact example of early Modernist industrial architecture. What really stands out is the column and tapered beam assembly at the ground level and the mostly intact metal sash at both floors.
The first floor of the building was originally erected between 1947 and 1948, while the second floor was added in 1953. During the late 1940s, the one story building was a store and warehouse for “West Coast Conditioned Air.” Construction drawings from the 1953 addition show that the civil and structural engineer for the second story of the building was Harlen H. Smith. He may have been the main designer, since this was a building used for a succession of industrial uses. In any case, no architect is listed on available records for either the first phase or second phase of the construction.
Both stories were commissioned by West Coast Heating and Plumbing Company, but by 1953, according to Polk’s Directories, the building housed the Korry Manufacturing Company, which produced “aircraft accessories.” By 1955, construction drawings by engineers Green Sibold & Associates show that the building was being remodeled to serve as a “flammable liquid storage building.” In general, the building continued to serve as a warehouse and factory, associated with B. V. Korry, who owned other buildings in the neighborhood. By 1988, it housed Jerry’s Body Shop and is now currently associated with automobile repair.
Both stories were commissioned by West Coast Heating and Plumbing Company. By 1955, construction drawings by engineers Green Sibold & Associates show that the building was being remodeled to serve as a “flammable liquid storage building.” In general, it now served as a warehouse and factory and was associated with B. V. Korry, who owned other buildings in the neighborhood. By 1988, it housed Jerry’s Body Shop and is still currently associated with automobile repair.
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| Appearance |
| 223 8th North is located mid-block on the west side of 8th Avenue North between Thomas and John Streets. It is a two-story reinforced concrete building with a rectangular footprint of 120 feet by approximately 60 feet and has regularly spaced interior columns. It has a flat roof, with parapets that rise to each side of the main elevation, which faces 8th Avenue North. Other elevations are not meant to be visible from the street and, in the case of the north and south elevations, have no fenestration.
At the ground floor level, the building’s main façade is divided into five bays, defined by round concrete columns, with steel frame glazed storefront set between the columns. The second bay from the north is now a garage entry. Of note is the concrete overhang, which includes a tapered concrete beam, poured around the front of each column. Columns and tapered beams appear as one assembly in concrete, which also includes and supports a flat concrete slab. This slab, which serves as covering, is also tapered.
At the second level, the façade mainly consists of an uninterrupted series of fifteen windows in metal frame, divided into five bays, by square columns set behind the glass and corresponding to the round columns below. Each window bay consists of a trio of taller rectangular panes, with, below them, three smaller panes, longer in the horizontal dimension. Many of the bottom panes were designed to be operable. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
INV |
| Cladding(s): |
Concrete |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Warehouse |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Manufacturing/Industry, Science & Engineering, Transportation |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Storefront: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Drawings, Microfiche Files, Department of Planning and Development.
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