Seattle Historical Sites

This warehouses was constructed beginning in 1922 by Charles Frye as an investment to provide warehouse space to tenants seeking to take advantage of the rail, road and maritime transportation connections for the distribution of goods.The original warehouse was designed by the Austin Company. The building was developed over several years with two large additions to the original in 1924 and 1937.

Charles Frye's firm the Frye Company was a large and significant meat packing house that had grown to serve international markets by the 1920s.Frye also invested in real estate and in art. Charles and Emma Frye established  the Frye Art Museum with their collections and endowed it for future generations.

Located in the former Seattle tidelands area, the warehouse building is associated with the final phase of the historic era of development of the area (Post World War I up to 1930) as a transportation-related industrial and commercial warehouse district. The tidelands were filled through a series of successive grading and fill projects between 1895 and 1929, creating developable land that made the expansion of railroad and port facilities possible and fostering the development of the area for commercial use that supported significant economic progress of the city in the early 20^th century.

Portion of the south end of the building demolished in 1987 for the construction of I-90 ramps.

Sources:

-------“Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Project, Vol. 3: Specialized  Technical Information,” Seattle, WA: Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District. August, 1996.

-------“Seattle’s Industrial Expansion in Pictures.” Seattle, WA: Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 1929.