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Summary for 1762 6TH AVE / Parcel ID 7666203440 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Holgate Terminals Incorporated Common Name: MacMillan Piper
Style: Modern Neighborhood: Duwamish
Built By: Year Built: 1960-1963
 
Significance

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.

 
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.

Detail for 1762 6TH AVE / Parcel ID 7666203440 / Inv # 0

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
Major Bibliographic References
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
Drawings, Microfiche Files, Department of Planning and Development.
King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report, database at http://www5.metrokc.gov/ --parcel locator

Photo collection for 1762 6TH AVE / Parcel ID 7666203440 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 22, 2010
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