Seattle Historical Sites

450 S Spokane Street is a fairly large complex. It has a major presence along the west side of Spokane Street, as well as the adjoining north side of Spokane St. The complex is comprised of several buildings and a good portion is currently off limits to the public; however, the buildings described stand out not only because of their overall design, but because the buildings have retained a fair degree of integrity.

Based on drawings from early 1931, the maintenance shop building located along 6^th Avenue South, as well as Spokane Street, (Building A), and the office building, which faces Spokane Street, (Building B),were both designed for the State of Washington Highway Department. The architect was D. H. Moodhe of Spokane and the completion date is also given as 1931. A simpler, frame storage building, also with the signature raised parapets, was also completed in 1932. A closer look at the 1931 drawings reveals that, although what is left of the 6^th Avenue façade of the maintenance building has retained a fair degree of integrity, the façade has been altered. Apparently, there were originally fourteen bays following the south end bay, as well as a similar end bay on the north side of the façade.

The building complex at 450 Spokane Street is comprised of several utilitarian buildings, most of which have been significantly altered.  One set of buildings, includes the office and the maintenance shop buildings for the State of Washington Highway Department. These stand out because of the quality of design and architectural integrity. Concrete walls with an exterior coat of light colored stucco, brick trim, and original multi-pane windows are some of the salient characteristics of these buildings. There are many raised parapets, which frequently end in a gable shape, and are often set between engaged pilasters. Contrasting brick trim is consistently used at the top of the parapet, to emphasize the overall shape. Similar trim is also used to mark the lintels of window openings. Incised brick diamond-shapes and related ornament are also used at select locations, often set at the centerline of a window below it.

A courtyard, not currently accessible to the public, separates two facades along Spokane Street. The Spokane Street facades, which face south, exhibit many of the characteristics already described. In particular, the façade of the separate western building, originally described as the “office" along Spokane Street has a symmetrical composition. There is a raised gable shape at the end bays and over the central entry, where the raised parapet is higher than that of the end bays. Aside from the entrance bay, each one-story bay includes one window, topped by brick trim. Two bays, with a straight parapet flank the central entry bay and, in turn, are followed, to each side, by an end bay with a raised parapet.

The south façade to the east and closer to 6^th Avenue South is two-stories in height.  The façade belongs to a building designed as the maintenance shop building. Here, end bays, each topped by a gable shape, which are set between two tall engaged pilasters, flank three central bays, separated by lower engaged pilasters. Typically, there is a band of brick trim at the top of each of the lower pilasters, which is set slightly above the brick trim that marks the lintels of the window openings.  In the three central bays, windows are paired. This façade is contiguous to the longer east façade along 6^th Avenue South. A two-story end bay, topped by a gable shape, which is also set between two tall pilasters, marks the south end of the 6^th Avenue façade. Ten bays, with multi-pane glazing and marked by lower pilasters, follow.