Historic Name: |
Seattle Engineering School |
Common Name: |
Marqueen Hotel |
Style: |
Commercial |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
Built By: |
V. W. Voorhees (1926) |
Year Built: |
1918 |
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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. |
In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This building, at a key location at the bottom of the Queen Anne Counterbalance, has an unusual history. It was built in 1918 as the Seattle Engineering School, to retrain blacksmiths to work at the Ford assembly plant at the south end of Lake Union. The school operated a garage in the one-story section along the east side of the building. The school was short-lived and, in 1926 the building was acquired by the Vance Lumber Company. They hired a prominent architect, V. W. Voorhees, to remodel it into the Marqueen Apartments. The sizeable building had about 70 units, featuring a lobby with Alaska marble and terrazzo floors. In the 1990s the building was renovated and became a hotel, retaining the Marqueen name.
The eastern portion remained a repair garage until 1979, when the business moved to the top of Queen Anne Hill. The former garage space has long been occupied by restaurants, fronting on both Mercer and Roy streets.
Victor W. Voorhees is credited with more than 100 building projects between 1904 and 1929, ranging from cottages and large residences to apartment blocks, industrial buildings, office buildings, stores and hotels. He did a considerable amount of work for the Vance Lumber Company during the 1920s, including the Vance Building and the Vance Hotel in downtown Seattle. He was also known for publishing a popular book of house and bungalow plans in 1907. Voorhees designed numerous auto showrooms and garages and may have been the original architect of the building, although the building permit has not been located.
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Appearance |
This building is located at the prominent corner of Queen Anne Avenue North and West Mercer Street, in the heart of the Uptown commercial district. The three-story rectangular building is nearly 250 feet long, occupying the entire block front. It is built of reinforced concrete clad with red brick. It is generally simple and utilitarian with little ornament except for the decorative stepped parapet above the main entry, capped with cast stone, and cast stone caps on the pilasters between each three-window bay. A wide concrete belt course runs just below the cornice line. Windows are one-over-one double-hung sash. The current sash are vinyl, installed during the hotel renovation; they are similar in appearance to the original except that they are white in color. There are two storefronts, one at each corner, that are generally intact. The restaurant storefronts on the former garage have been modernized with new steel and glass doors. One restaurant on Roy Street has a new façade with glass block. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Flat |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Concrete - Poured |
No. of Stories: |
three |
Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Manufacturing/Industry |
Integrity |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Windows: |
Moderate |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Major Bibliographic References |
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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Reinartz, Kay F. Queen Anne: Community on the Hill. Seattle: Queen Anne Historical Society, 1993.
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