| Historic Name: |
Del-Teet Furniture |
Common Name: |
Hollywood Video |
| Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1929 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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This building was constructed in 1929 as the Del-Teet Furniture Store. Cyrus Teeter, who had a Denver store, identified this location as one of the busiest in Seattle and thus suitable for his second store. In the 1950s the store gained renown as the first local store to introduce modern furniture to go with new post-war housing styles. This was the first of several major furniture stores that opened on Broadway, earning it the name Furniture Row during the 1950s-60s. Del-Teet remained open at this location in to the 1990s. Noted developer Frederick Anhalt supervised construction of the building, but it is not clear who actually designed it.
This area was one of the first sections of Capitol Hill to develop, as in 1891 a streetcar line was extended from James Street, running north on Broadway to the city limits at E. Lynn Street, with direct service to downtown added on Pike Street in 1901. Another major impetus to local development was the 1902 completion of Seattle (later Broadway) High School, the city’s first modern high school, which was located at the corner of Broadway and E. Pine Street. Broadway, already an important street, flourished with new businesses, especially those catering to students, such as sandwich shops. By 1910 the area was largely developed, with small commercial buildings, numerous apartment buildings and single family homes. Further apartment and commercial development occurred in the 1920s, when the Broadway district boomed to become one of the city’s premier shopping venues. It was during this period that this unique store was built.
The Great Depression of the 1930s led to general stagnation, and the neighborhood changed significantly after World War II. Broadway High School closed in 1946, replaced by Edison Technical School, a vocational training institution. Many houses such as this one became rentals, often being converted to multifamily or being replaced by institutional uses. The 1980s brought new development, as people returned to live in city neighborhoods. The Broadway district is now thriving with new stores and apartment buildings.
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| Appearance |
| This three-story red brick building has a stepped parapet and arched windows with center wood mullions on all three floors, becoming proportionally smaller as you move up each floor. The ground floor has four arched windows, two on each side of a central arch containing a frame door; the windows on this level extend down to the ground. Wood frame doors have been added in the two outer arched windows. The second story projects over the first story, supported by six square wood columns. Although the upper floor windows have a modern look, they are original. The building's only ornament is brick sills and arches around the windows and simple decorative brick insets below the cornice line. The rear elevation has six original one-over-one double-hung windows on the second and third stories.The ground floor has a sliding door for loading and two smaller entry doors. |
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