Seattle Historical Sites

This is a large Modernist industrial building, whose main façade is close to being intact. Although the building is utilitarian in nature, its façade is also a good Modernist example. Original construction drawings and other records indicate that the building was built between 1951 and 1952 and completed in 1953. There do not seem to be any records that say who the architect may have been, if there was one, but the consulting engineer was Sigmund Ivarsson. Lushland Incorporated initially constructed it as a warehouse for S & W Fine Foods, listed at this address until at least 1974.

According to local directories, during the late 1940s, Frye & Company Meats was located (in a previous building) at this site. Currently, the present building seems to be occupied or associated with the Frye Art Museum (“Charles and Emma Frye Museum”), while Nitze-Stagen is administering the property. The building apparently suffered damages during the Nisqually Earthquake. Based on drawings from late August 2001, structural strengthening and corrections for seismic damage were made to the building around that time.

The building is located on the northwest side of Airport Way South and Stacy Street. This is a Modernist industrial building with an almost regular plan, 170’ by about 200’ to 240’. The original structure includes concrete walls and interior heavy timber construction, as well as roof trusses, in some areas. From the street, the building appears to have a flat roof, although original construction drawings suggest that there may also be angled skylights, hidden behind the parapet. Its main façade includes, at the second level, five window bays, set in a concrete surround.

Except for the first bay, all the bays include five windows, composed of four smaller panes set in a vertical row.  The larger grouping of window bays is a distinctive architectural element. Two single windows with concrete sills and then a fairly long expanse of wall follow the larger grouping of windows. At the ground level, the windows are lower in height than the second floor windows. They are placed at each side of a doorway with a concrete overhang. The individual bays are more defined and each has its own concrete sill.  There are also two individual windows that correspond to the single openings at the second level and the same expanse of wall on the north end of the elevation.

The north side elevation includes a series of service entries, with a large overhang overhead. The bay closest to the façade repeats much of the same architectural vocabulary found in the façade. There is one bay of five windows, set in a concrete surround. Below, the windows are the same height as those of the second floor, but are only tied together by a common concrete sill.