| Historic Name: |
305 9th Avenue N |
Common Name: |
Soilsoup |
| Style: |
Modern - International Style |
Neighborhood: |
South Lake Union |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1949 |
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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 historic property is no longer extant. Based on field examination conducted in January - February 2014, it has been demolished. Specific demolition date has not been established.
This significant building was designed by Seattle architect John Rohrer as a “warehouse and office building” for R. M. Buntin. The engineer was Stevenson and Rubens. The builder was Hall Atwater Company. The drawings date from the end of 1948 and the building was completed in 1949. In 1952, John Rohrer designed a north addition to this building at 309 9th Avenue North for the same client. Based on construction drawings, an original entrance, located on the north side of the 305 9th Avenue North façade, was replaced by the large window visible today and a new entrance to the whole complex built on the north side of the 309 9th Avenue North façade. Otherwise, the second building functions as a very simple addition to the original building. Despite this, in 1953, the two buildings housed different tenants. 305 9th Avenue N. housed the Timken Roller Bearing Company, while the second building housed three tenants, all “television set distributors.” John Rohrer has been an architect at least since the 1940s and was also known for a long time as a faculty member of the Department of Architecture at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of the University of Washington.
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| Appearance |
| Located on the northwest corner of 9th Avenue North and Thomas Street, 305 9th Avenue North has a rectangular plan with a flat roof and parapet. The building has exterior concrete block walls with a veneer of red Roman brick, topped by a deep band of concrete. The flat band of concrete is deeper on the 9th Avenue North façade and after turning the corner, continuing at the same depth along several feet of Thomas Street, it becomes shallower to the west. It is emphasized by a thin extruded band below it and at the parapet level, which is interrupted on the Thomas Street elevation by two vertical, trapezoidal pieces which project out of the wall. According to original architectural drawings, the space between these projecting pieces was meant to provide a space for signage lettering. The deeper flat concrete section along 9th Avenue North was also meant as a flat backdrop for signage. A photo from around the 1950s shows it used in this manner. The extruded horizontal band also functions as a kind of belt-course above a series of metal frame windows, set in varied but related patterns. For instance on 9th Avenue North, many repeated, virtually square window panes are combined with a larger uninterrupted pane of glass to define an upside-down L-shape. On Thomas Street, a vertical opening consisting of five pairs of squarish window lights is followed to the west by three bays, each divided into four sections, consisting of three vertical pairs of window lights of the same size. This also defines an L-shape, although it is slightly more subtle. The original building was given an addition in 1952. That structure, whose address is 309 9th Avenue North continues some of the elements of the earlier design, including the concrete backdrop for signage, but has much less architectural detail. |
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| Status: |
No - Altered |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
INV |
| Cladding(s): |
Brick - Roman, Concrete |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Commercial/Trade - Warehouse |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Concrete - Block |
No. of Stories: |
one |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
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Drawings, Microfiche Files, Department of Planning and Development.
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City of Seattle DPD Microfilm Records.
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