Located in D.T. Denny's 2nd Add. This distinctive but somewhat altered former warehouse (with offices) building was designed and constructed in 1964 for the William Dierickx Company. The 9,500 sq. ft. building (approx. 60 x 119) was designed and built by Donald Williams & Co. architect/builder at a cost of $135,000. It originally included display and office space at the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Valley St. entrance while the remainder of interior space was devoted to warehouse and delivery bay purposes. A distinctive original feature was a rooftop parking area for 17 cars.
The company was a highly successful distributor for several lines of duplicating and photo coping machines and office supplies. It was founded in 1947 by William Dierickx - a typewriter-ribbon and carbon-paper salesman for International Business Machines (IBM). The company began when Dierickx borrowed $12,000 from friends and bought a little company that was doing duplications, using the then state-of-the-art mimeo process. Prior to constructing the subject building, the company was located at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">2234 First Ave. In the late 1950s, the first photocopy machines became available and the Dierickx Company was among the first to start selling them. The company became one of the best-known in the industry in the Northwest. Peter Dierickx, one of William’s sons, took over management and pushed the company into the business of providing solutions to various office needs, not just equipment needs. In the mid-1980s, Peter Dierickx sold the company to Ikon Office Solutions, a large company that was putting together a national network of companies similar to Dierickx. The company continues to operate today under the original name with offices in <st1:city w:st="on">Seattle and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bellevue.
The building has been adapted to now function as <st1:placename w:st="on">Hutch <st1:placename w:st="on">Kids <st1:placename w:st="on">Child <st1:placename w:st="on">Care <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center, an employer sponsored child care center for employees of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Fred <st1:placename w:st="on">Hutchinson <st1:placename w:st="on">Cancer <st1:placename w:st="on">Research <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center.
Donald Dwight Williams (1908-1990) was born on in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Cushing, <st1:state w:st="on">Nebraska. In 1930, Donald and his mother moved to <st1:city w:st="on">Seattle and he enrolled in classes at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University of <st1:placename w:st="on">Washington, where he studied architecture but did not complete a degree. Williams never received a formal architectural license, even though he practiced and advertized his services as such for the next 50+ years.
In 1934 Williams established his own independent architectural practice in downtown <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle. By the mid 1940s he began to offer design/build services; a unique business model at the time. As such, he was one of the first architects in the State to handle both the architectural design and the actual construction of the building.
Known as Don Williams & Co., early projects included the KRSC Radio Station (1944); the <st1:placename w:st="on">Electrol <st1:placetype w:st="on">Building (1944); and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Home <st1:placename w:st="on">Oil <st1:placetype w:st="on">Co. <st1:placetype w:st="on">Building (1944).
In 1944 the Williams’ moved into a home office/warehouse building at <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">314 Fairview Avenue N. Their live-work space contained his design and construction business (operated with his wife) on the first floor, while the second floor was home to a unique 4,000 sq ft apartment.
Williams specialized in industrial / office-warehouse buildings similar to the subject building. Known projects include the J.R. Watkins Co. Headquarters Building (1955); the DeVoss Desk Co. Building (1956); the Moore Business Forms & Dictaphone Corp. Building (1956); the Metropolitan Press Printing Co. (1957); the Johns-Mansville Sales Corp. Office (1957); the Shifton Plywood Co. (1958); the Charles Bruning Co. Building (1959); the Nebar Supply Co. Building (1960); the Redordak Corp. Building (1960); the Continental Mills Inc. Headquarters (1961); and the William Dierickx Co. Building (1964).
Other projects include a 100,000 sq. ft. shopping center in Federal Way (1955); the Local 76 Musicians’ Union Building (1955); Bellevue-Medical Dental Building (1955); the US Post Office (1956) in the International District; Renton Carpenters’ Union Building (1957); Sure Fit Seat Cover Store (1958) on Rainer Avenue; Queen Anne Medical Center (1959); and the remodel of the old Green Lake Theater into the home of Western Pacific Insurance Co. (1959).
Williams design for the 11– story luxury cooperative Mercer West Apartments (1962-63) at the base of Queen Anne Hill, garnered much attention in local newspapers. He also developed a model design for the Federal Old Line Insurance Company, which constructed several offices in <st1:city w:st="on">Seattle, <st1:city w:st="on">Tacoma and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Everett.
Residential projects were limited in number. To date known projects include an all-aluminum model home in Bellevue (1948); the W.H. Wagnitz House (1939); a home featured in Architectural Record (1942); the Mrs. Sigrid Nelson House (c.1948); and the Curtis Lind House (1949). Williams retired in 1987. [Credit: DoCoMoMo WeWa webpage]