| Historic Name: |
Scargo Hotel/ Hotel Scargo |
Common Name: |
Hotel Scargo |
| Style: |
Colonial - Georgian Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Downtown Urban Center |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1911 |
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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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This building dates from 1910-1911. It has been called the Scargo Hotel at least since 1919. It is also now more commonly known as the Hotel Scargo. It was one of several former workingmen’s hotels in Belltown, located along First Avenue. Other extant examples, located in the vicinity and on the west side of First Avenue, include the former Lewiston Hotel/ Martin Building, the former Grace Hotel, later known as the Hotel Utah (now the Apex Coop) and the Hotel Oregon. Although a typical commercial building with storefronts on the first level and hotel rooms on the upper levels, its façade stands out especially because of its English Georgian Revival design. Based on an historical photo from 1936, the façade has changed very little, even at the storefront level.
The ground floor storefronts have consistently housed a variety of businesses. For instance, in the mid-1930s, the Hudson Stove Works were housed in the basement level space, accessed from the north on First Avenue, while the north storefront at street level had an overhead sign for the Waterloo Register Company. During the same period, the central storefront was the home of the White Star Grocery, while the south storefront housed the Belltown Café.
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| Appearance |
| The Hotel Scargo is a three story building with a basement, sited on the west side of First Avenue between Bell and Blanchard Streets. It is flanked by buildings to each side of it, including the former Lewiston Hotel to the south. Other similar neighboring buildings of the same period include the former Hotel Grace/ Utah Hotel, now the Apex Coop and the Oregon Hotel, now part of the Oregon Apartments. Like all of these buildings, the Hotel Scargo has a rectangular footprint of 60 feet x 111 feet. It also has a flat roof and parapet. The original building structure includes 13” thick exterior brick walls and an interior heavy timber, post and beam structure.
The building has one main façade which is set along First Avenue. The facade is primarily clad in red brick with light-colored cast stone, as well as sandstone trim. The contrast of red brick with light colored trim is an important element of the façade design, which is based on symmetry or implied symmetry. The ground level is divided into three basic storefront bays by piers, which are clad in cast stone, made to resemble stone with a tooled finish. In the case of the central bay, a central doorway is recessed, with slightly angled storefront glazing, set to each side of it. In general, storefront glazing sits on a wood base and includes long, vertical multi-pane lights, set in two horizontal rows, at the transom level. The south bay includes a similar doorway with typical storefront assembly. The south bay also includes a separate doorway, which leads to the floors above and is set to the south of the storefront doorway, at the end of the façade. The north bay includes a typical “left-handed” storefront arrangement, with multi-pane transoms, followed by two recessed doorways, also with multi-pane transoms. The second doorway, located at the (north) end of the façade, opens on to a stairway that leads to a basement level space below.
There is continuous cast stone lintel above the ground floor openings and storefronts, topped by a spandrel area clad in brick, which, in turn, is topped by a projecting cast stone belt-course. The belt course doubles as a shallow window terrace for the five window bays set above it. At the second and third levels, the façade, primarily clad in red brick, is now divided into five window bays. At the second level, each bay consists of a recessed, semi-circular arch, in red brick, with another shallow, recessed arched shape set within it. A rectangular 8 over 12 double-hung window is set within the interior shape, while the remaining semi-circular tympanum above is clad in red brick, set in a herringbone pattern.
Other ornamental features include a cast stone scroll bracket, set in the location of what would be the keystone of each arch. Set at the level of the arch springlines, there is also a continuous, horizontal, light-colored stone band, which links together the five arched shapes to the quoins at the edge of the facade. This is further emphasized by inset ornaments, placed along the same band, at the outer edge of each arch. Each second story window also has a window railing, which includes a central geometric shape, based on two concentric circles and accompanying inscribed arcs. Circular medallions in light colored stone or cast stone are also inset into the brick between each of the arches, above the springline of the arches.
At the third level, there are five trabeated window openings, which correspond to the openings at the second level. Each of these openings has cast stone sills and flat arches. The central ornamental keystones and outer voussoirs are longer than the rest of the flat arch elements and contrast with the overall red brick cladding of the wall. Also contrasting with the brick cladding are the light colored quoins at the edge of the façade, at the second and third floor levels. Above, a projecting classical cornice, originally of metal, tops the entire façade. This is surmounted by an ornamental parapet railing, divided into sections, which correspond to the five bays directly below. A rectangular portion of the railing is set back over each of the bays and is punctuated by a central circular medallion, flanked by two rectangles. The slightly projecting portions of the railing are centered over the areas of the wall which have no openings. They too are further emphasized by rectangular shapes within them.
Currently, the front or east portion of the north elevation, which was not meant to be seen from the street, is also visible. It is a simple brick clad wall with no visible openings. More recent murals, advertising the Plymouth Housing Group, have been added to it. |
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