Historic Name: |
Holgate Terminals Incorporated |
Common Name: |
MacMillan Piper |
Style: |
Modern |
Neighborhood: |
Duwamish |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1960-1963 |
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Significance |
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Architect: Stanley Mar
The main part of this
Modernist building dates from 1960 and was designed by architect Stan Mar, who
designed later additions during the 1960s, including one from 1963. It combines
design conventions, which are typical of 1950s/1960s buildings, particularly in
the lower L-shaped office wing, with utilitarian construction and function. The
building originally housed Holgate Terminals Incorporated. By 1965, several
businesses occupied the building: Allison Mitchell Transfer Trucking, the Corn
Products Company, a division of Best Foods and Corn Products Sales. By 1970,
Allison Mitchell Transfer, as well as the Eyres Transfer Company, a transfer
company, which has commissioned and occupied a number of buildings in Seattle’s
Industrial District at least since the 1920s, shared the building. By 1974, the
building still housed the Allison Mitchell Transfer Company, in addition to a
longer list of tenants, such as the Olympic Import Company, a meat wholesaler,
and local offices of Philip Morris, Sunkist and Best Foods and Holgate
Terminals. By 1980, the building was listed as an office building, but with a
different list of tenants, including Best Way Motor Freight Transit Lines and
the Milwaukee Import Company, also a meat wholesaler.
MacMillan-Piper, now a
major presence in Seattle’s Industrial District, now occupies the building. The
company’s corporate office is located in this building. Jim Piper founded it in
1969. MacMillan-Piper’s role has been described as collecting, storing and
moving “everything from corn meal for cattle to Nordstrom apparel to frozen pork-neck
bones.” Based on its own description, the company is the “largest container
freight station in the Pacific Northwest.” This building is one of four
facilities in Seattle, while there are also two in Tacoma and a trucking
operation in Vancouver, Washington.
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Appearance |
The building is located
on the northeast corner of 6th Avenue South and Holgate Street. It
is rectilinear in plan. It appears essentially as a large concrete box, which
is rectangular in plan, with a lower L-shaped structure set at the northeast
corner of 6th Avenue South and Holgate St. Its main elevations are
set along 6th Avenue South and along Holgate Street. The lower one
story portion, that projects out from the rest of the slightly taller concrete
structure, marks the corner of 6th Avenue South and Holgate Street.
It extends to the adjacent south portion of the 6th Avenue South
elevation and to the west portion of the Holgate St elevation. Its exterior
includes repeated bays, set between wide walls expanses, which have a veneer of
large rough-cut stone pieces, set in mortar. The bays are also each marked by
rows of four openings, which are blackened out, at the top of the elevations
and at the basement level. The Holgate elevation has five such bays, topped by
their own flat roof. Behind this low portion of the building, the higher one
story building, which has unadorned concrete walls, rises and extends east to
complete the Holgate elevation. Unadorned concrete wall and a series of service
entrances mark the rest and eastern part of the Holgate elevation.
The 6th
Avenue South elevation follows a similar design. There are four bays that
correspond to the lower and projecting portion of the building. The design of
most of the bays is similar to the ones on the Holgate elevation, except for
the third bay from the corner, which is a main entrance. The main entrance
includes a double door, transoms and sidelights, set in aluminum frame. North
of the four bays, the rest of the elevation is also set back. Unadorned
concrete wall and a series of service entrances also mark the northern portion
of the 6th Avenue South elevation.
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
INV |
Cladding(s): |
Concrete, Metal, Stone |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Flat with Parapet |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
Building Type: |
Industry/Processing/Extraction - Industrial Storag |
Plan: |
Irregular |
Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
one |
Unit Theme(s): |
Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry |
Integrity |
Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
Changes to Windows: |
Moderate |
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Major Bibliographic References |
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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Drawings, Microfiche Files, Department of Planning and Development.
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King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator
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