| Historic Name: |
Lake Union Community Psychiatric Clinic |
Common Name: |
Bush, Roed & Hitchings |
| Style: |
Modern - Northwest Regional |
Neighborhood: |
Eastlake |
| Built By: |
Kirk, Wallace, McKinley & Associates |
Year Built: |
1962 |
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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 is one of more than fifty medical clinics designed by Paul Kirk and his firm in the 1950s-60s. Originally known as the Lake Union Psychiatric Clinic, it was designed specifically as a clinic, with individual therapy rooms, private offices and waiting rooms. The buidling is now used for offices, but it once had twenty-one therapy rooms as well as private offices and waiting rooms. Two wings provide separate areas for adults and children, connected by a two bridges. Rooms are arranged around a landscaped open courtyard, which gives a direct connection with nature.
Paul Hayden Kirk received his architectural degree from the University of Washington in 1937. He started his own practice, doing primarily residential work, in 1939. With the coming of World War II, he associated with B. Dudley Stuart and Robert Durham and, later, with James Chiarelli. During this period his work turned increasingly toward the Modern and began to include small commercial buildings such as medical clinics. In the 1950s he began to abandon the formalism of the International Style and his work showed the influence of Japanese traditional architecture. This is evidenced in many of his designs with post-and-beam construction (such as the Magnolia Library) and intricate wood detailing. In 1957 his firm was known as Paul Hayden Kirk & Associates. In 1960 it became Kirk, Wallace McKinley & Associates, shortly before this building was designed. The firm's office was built the previous year, next door to this structure.
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| Appearance |
| This two-story post-and-beam structure has three wings arranged around a central courtyard in a U shape. The wings are connected by enclosed bridges. It is clad with cedar siding with narrow full-height windows irregularly placed on each elevation to let light into each of the small rooms. Wood slats project over the windows, providing privacy. The entrance is at the south end of the east elevation, with access from the street up a concrete ramp to a wood-and-glass door, to the second floor. The site is sloping, with parking below the building. |
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