| Historic Name: |
Paramount Pictures |
Common Name: |
Catholic Seamen's Club |
| Style: |
Art Deco - Streamline Moderne |
Neighborhood: |
Belltown |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1937 |
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| Significance |
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This was the last of the local film exchange buildings to be constructed, in 1937. It served as the regional center for distributing the films of Paramount Studios. The original owner, Samuel Israel, held a large amount of downtown property, including the adjacent Austin Bell Building. The architect was J. Lister Holmes, one of Seattle’s pioneering Modernist architects. This Streamline Moderne design can be seen as a transition from his early eclectic revival designs in the Beaux Arts tradition to his later International Style works.
In 1951 the City of Seattle purchased the building for construction of the Battery Street Tunnel, which intrudes into the building’s basement. In 1956, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese purchased the building and converted it into a club for Catholic seamen. Some alterations to the entry may have been made at that time, along with the addition of a blade sign for the club.
The building has been altered at least twice since that time. The 1938 King County Tax Assessor’s photo shows a distinctive 1-1/2 story Streamline Moderne structure with rounded corners and strong horizontal lines. The recessed entry at the southwest corner appears to have been accented with an expanse of glass block and the words “Paramount Pictures.” Large plate glass display windows were on the first floor, with bands of steel sash on the second floor and the north elevation.
In 1969 a second story clad with CMU was added on the single-story rear section. The second-floor sash was replaced with larger plate glass windows. It also appears that the glass block was removed over the entry and the cladding was re-done, removing the concrete courses that provided the strong horizontal element. In 2005 a prominent new entry was added on the main façade, flanked by new display windows. This space has been used by a restaurant/lounge since April 2005. The north elevation is largely original, with three entryways. Two of the entryways have blue ceramic tile floors and doors with round porthole-like windows, in keeping with the Streamline Moderne style. The westernmost entryway has curving sides. Both the first and second stories have steel sash that may be original. The rear elevation retains original 16- and 20-light industrial sash on the first floor. The second story, added in 1968, has newer sash. Materials are concrete below and CMU on the second story.
J. Lister Holmes (1891-1986) received his degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1913. He returned to Seattle to work for several firms and established his own practice in 1922. His Beaux-Arts training enabled him to design eclectic and revival style homes such as this one for a considerable number of prominent citizens. Holmes executed designs in a range of architectural idioms, including English Tudor, Spanish Colonial, Norman Provincial and 18th century French. Among his designs are Collinswood on Bainbridge Island and several fraternity houses. During the Depression he began designing houses in the newly-developed International Style and served as the chief architect for the Seattle Housing Authority’s first public housing project, Yesler Terrace. After the war he continued his work in the International Style, designing clinics, banks, and schools as well as houses.
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| Appearance |
| This two-story building is of reinforced concrete construction with the curved corners and strong horizontal lines characteristic of the Streamline Moderne style. The rear portion of the second story, added in 1969, is clad with CMU. The second-floor sash was replaced with larger plate glass windows. It also appears that the glass block was removed over the entry and the cladding was re-done, removing the concrete courses that provided the strong horizontal element. The front (west) façade has two entries--the original one toward the south, and a new restaurant entry, flanked by new display windows. The north elevation is largely original, with three entryways. Two of the entryways have blue ceramic tile floors and doors with round porthole-like windows, in keeping with the Streamline Moderne style. The westernmost entryway has curving sides. Both the first and second stories have steel sash that may be original. The rear elevation retains original 16- and 20-light industrial sash on the first floor. The rear part of the second story, added in 1969, has newer sash and CMU cladding. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Concrete - Block |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Block |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Warehouse |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Entertainment/Recreation, Religion |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Storefront: |
Moderate |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
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City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.
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Sheridan, Mimi, “Historic Context Statement, Belltown," 2007.
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