In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
This New Formalism style commercial building is in the Uptown neighborhood.
The Best Pie Company built a factory at this site in 1953, designed by architect Donald M. Wilson. A permit was issued in 1973 (548468) to demolish this factory building and another permit issued that same year (550165) to construct an office building with an estimated value of $1,200,000.
Architect Chester Lindsey designed the new building. Plans were dated to August of 1973 with revisions through September of 1974. Martin Selig was the developer. Interior floors for the building consisted of a central elevator and stairway core with open floor space around the perimeter that could be subdivided based on tenant needs.
Chester Lindsey (1927–2003) received his architectural training from Washington State University (then Washington State College) in 1949. A native of Yakima, Lindsey worked briefly in California before arriving in Seattle in 1951. He worked for a series of employers in the city before establishing his own firm in 1957. Lindsey’s early designs in Seattle include the Chevrolet Motors Division building (1960–61) and the Sixth & Lenora Building (1962–63). Lindsey’s career was largely defined by commercial work, designing numerous office buildings in Seattle, and his professional relationship with developer Martin Selig (b.. In addition to the 100 W Harrison towers, Lindsey and his firm also designed for Selig the Metropolitan Park Office Building towers (1988), Fourth and Battery Building (1978), and the soaring 76-story Seafirst Tower/Columbia Center (1985). Martin Selig, arrived in Seattle after fleeing Nazi Germany with his family in 1939, founded his real estate firm in 1958. Since then, Selig’s company has developed some of the city’s largest office buildings, including the Columbia Center, which was the ninth tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1985.
This building retains a high level of integrity and is a good example of a New Formalism style building in the neighborhood.
References:
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed., Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Guide to the Architects (Seattle, University of Washington Press: 2014), 2nd edition.
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938–1972), Washington State Archives.
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890–1996.