Seattle Historical Sites

 This building was apparently constructed in 1909. There appear to be no records of original drawings or of the original permit. So far, the original architect is unknown. Although there have been changes over time, this building is a substantial and well designed warehouse building, typical of buildings that began to be constructed particularly with the explosive growth of Seattle in the decade beginning in 1900.

A very early, if not the original owner, and main resident was the Seattle Ice Company.. This company or a similar one apparently remained in the building until 1968, when the building still housed Seattle Ice and Cold Storage Inc. A photo from the 1930s shows a large sign for the company attached to the Walker St façade. The sign was set to the east of the large mural for the Rogers Company “School Boy Peanut Butter.” Over the years, platforms, trestles and loading docks were added outside the building. For instance, in 1938, a 20’ by 60’ frame loading platform, which had easy access to the railroad lines that ran close to the building, was added. In 1940, additional storage for ice was also added on the interior of the building. Also, for about 3 years during the late 1940s, the J. J. Ross Furnishing Company seems to have leased space in the building.

The Seattle Ice Company was definitely the owner in 1949, when a major earthquake occurred. Major cracks occurred in the masonry, particularly close to the parapet level, on the Walker St and Occidental Avenue (east elevation) walls. Based on drawings from May 1949, the Austin Company was responsible for the structural repairs to the brick walls. The Austin Company also devised the slightly pitched configuration of the north Walker St parapet, as well as the south parapet. By 1970, Polk’s Seattle Directories indicate that one of the main occupants was Olympic Cold Storage.

In fact, by 1983, the building functioned as Warehouse No.3 for the Olympic Cold Storage Company. At this time, per Seattle Fire Department regulations, four doorways were added to the main façade. By 1990, the Budget Office Furniture  was listed as the building’s main occupant. Toward the end of 1999, architect Marvin Yamaguchi produced a set of drawings for the “Olympic Offices,” of Starbuck’s Coffee,” the new owner. The drawings also indicate that the building interior was reconfigured to accommodate the “Northwest Zone, Seattle Regional Offices” of Starbuck’s Coffee. It was at this time that the major renovations to the fenestration and storefronts took place. More recently, based on available drawings from September 2006, the building became “Zarrett’s Office Building,” although the title block also refers to the building as “Old Olympic Cold Storage.”

2200 1rst Avenue South, located on the southeast corner of 1^st Avenue S and Walker St, is an imposing four story building with thirteen inch thick brick walls. Its original interior structure is of heavy timber post and beam. The building has a flat roof and parapet, although currently the Walker St elevation shows that the parapet, rather than being straight, has a very slightly pitched shape. This version of the parapet dates from 1949, when the building underwent a renovation, as a result of the 1949 earthquake. Based on an earlier photo from the 1930s, the parapet was straight. This would have been more typical for a brick warehouse building from 1909, (the year that the building was originally constructed).

The long main façade is characterized by engaged piers, which rise four stories, and divide the elevation into nine bays. At the ground level, the area between the piers mainly consists of storefront, topped by multi-pane transoms. Above the ground level and a deep belt-course, the composition is similar with slightly recessed multi-pane windows and what appear to be cast stone spandrels. Each window bay is divided into three sections. There is also a tripartite division of the storefronts at the ground level. Also incorporated into the storefronts are several doorways. Per Seattle Fire Department regulations, these doors, which once accessed a new freezer, were added in the 1980s, when the building served as Warehouse No.3 for Olympic Cold Storage.

Based on original and more recent drawings, as well as older photographs, all of the storefronts and windows on both the main façade and the Walker St elevation have been replaced; however, certainly on the main façade, above the ground floor, the replacement is very consistent with the original appearance of the building. The ground floor storefronts have clearly been altered over time and often based on necessity and function. The replacement storefronts overall do a good job of replicating what was there.

The Walker Street elevation, which is a less important elevation, also has new windows and has been somewhat regularized. It originally included, above the ground level, a central vertical bank of single window openings, flanked to each side, on each floor, by two single, double-hung, multi-pane windows. The double hung windows, which were also multi-pane, have since been replaced by standard multi-pane sash, similar to what is seen on the main façade. Originally this wall did not, in fact, have many openings. In the 1999 renovation, a horizontal row of three new openings are now set symmetrically to each side of the original openings at the second, third and fourth floors.

By the 1930s, the Walker Street elevation sported a large painted sign for School Boy Peanut Butter, apparently made by the Rogers Company, which also had its name above one of the storefronts. This mural is no longer there. Another feature, destroyed as a result of the 1949 earthquake, was the corbelling at the edge of the straight parapet. Despite these alterations, the building overall has maintained its integrity and changes to fenestration and storefronts have been overall in keeping with the original building appearance.