Seattle.gov Home Page
Link to Seattle Department of Neighborhoods home page

Seattle Historical Sites

New Search

Summary for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Modern Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Built By: Year Built: 1974
 
Significance

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.

 
Appearance

Constructed in 1974, this four-story commercial building features a rectangular plan and is built out to the lot line. Located at the southeast corner of John Street and Queen Anne Avenue N, it faces west and overlooks Queen Anne Avenue N. London plane street trees (three on the north and three on the west) grow in planting strips along the north and west sides of the building. An alley abuts the east side and a parking lot the south side. The site slopes downward from north to south.

A flat roof with parapets and clad in rolled roofing shelters interior spaces. The roof features modest eave overhangs with enclosed soffits and a decorative stepped profile along the outer edge of the roofline. A flat roof penthouse projects above the main roof within the center of the building footprint.

A concrete foundation supports the concrete structure and serves as a base around the perimeter of the building. Slender piers with rise from this base to the roof and are clad with precast concrete having white marble chips. These define seven bays along the sides and five bays on the ends. The outer building corners and spaces between the piers consist of glass curtain walls. Curtain walls consist of dark bronzed finished metal sash providing the structural frame supporting the fixed glass windows. The glass has a slight dark mirror tinting with opaque glass panels at each floor level between windows. Vertical circulation elements are grouped within the center of the building with office space arranged around the perimeter.

A recessed front entry services the building. A broad set of concrete steps with metal railings lead up from the sidewalk to a pair of glass entrance doors having slender aluminum headers and footers. Glass relites flank the doorway, with the glass sheets anchored at the top and bottom and abutting one-another. The curtain wall above the doorway slopes inward from the second story; angling inward to end at the header above the doorway and side lights.

Alterations include a series of interior renovations for tenants, as well as fire suppression system upgrades in 1981.

Detail for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Concrete, Glass - Curtain Wall Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Rolled
Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Professional Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Concrete - Poured No. of Stories: four
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Other: Intact
Major Bibliographic References

Photo collection for this site is under review and the displayed data may not be fully up to date. If you need additional info, please call (206) 684-0464


Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Feb 27, 2018

Photo taken Jan 01, 1900
App v2.0.1.0