<p><span>Famous
theater architectural brothers, Cornelius and George Rapp designed the
Paramount and created something lavish indeed.&nbsp;
Located blocks away from Seattle’s traditional theater district along 2nd
Avenue, the Rapps drew patrons to their venue with grandeur, opulence and
size.&nbsp; The Seattle Times described its
opening thusly, “Every Washingtonian will be proud of its stately magnificence,
its gorgeous decorations, its spacious foyers, its wide aisles, its commodious
seats, its symphony of lights.”</span></p>

<p><span>The
Paramount has been shuttered and reopened and sold and resold numerous
times.&nbsp; Its playbill was severely reduced
during the 1930s and 1,600 seats were removed in the 1950s to accommodate a
larger screen.&nbsp; It was closed for long
periods of times during the 1960s, but somehow managed to limp along.&nbsp; When it reopened, yet again, in 1971 it was rechristened
the Paramount Northwest and suffered through further neglect despite, or maybe
due to, becoming a live music venue.&nbsp; It
was saved from demolition in 1992 due to the efforts of Microsoft executive Ida
Cole.&nbsp; It went through a $37 million
renovation and reopened in 1995.</span></p>

<p><span>The
Paramount’s staid exterior belies its beautiful interior.&nbsp; Designed in a French Renaissance style it
boasts a four-tiered lobby, beaded chandeliers, ornate tapestries, and numerous
decorative details.&nbsp; Legends such as Pink
Floyd, Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead and, of course, Nirvana have graced its
stage and it continues to host legendary performers, from stand-up comedians to
Broadway actors.&nbsp; Please visit their
website for show details.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>

Looking out from the stage at the Paramount.

Cover of Nirvana's live album recorded at the Paramount.

Site of the Seattle Theater Group that now operates the Paramount with show calendar and show times.

Website

Great site with vintage photos and extensive history on the Paramount.

More Info

Video

The Paramount, originally named the Seattle Theatre, opened its doors in 1928, just prior to the onset of the Great Depression.  The 3,000 seat theatre was built by Seattle businessman, L. N. Rosenbaum with the assistance of Paramount Pictures which built large movie theaters in most major American cities.  The Paramount has been through many ups and downs over the years, but has managed to avoid the wrecking ball and still hosts a variety of shows, from rock concerts to children’s shows.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Paramount Theatre

This walking tour offers a view into the history of Settle through the exploration of current and historical buildings north of Pioneer Square. The tour includes stops at popular Seattle institutions such as Pike Place Market as well as several historic hotels and museums. 

Downtown Seattle

<p>The 1911 Hoge Building represents the wealth of America's early 20th-century financial elite (not far removed from America's "Gilded Age"), the significance of gold booms, the emergence of Seattle as a prominent trade port, &nbsp;and it is a prime example of architectural advances made possible by then Chicago School and others through the use of steel frame construction. &nbsp;Evidence of Seattle's rapid transition from Western frontier town to a major city is noted by the fact that the building sat in the same spot where It was only fifty-nine years earlier Carson Boren, Seattle's first (white) resident, assembled his house from split cedar logs. The Hoge Building took over that area, Boren, then 88-years-old, was still living in the area when the building was finished.<br><br><br></p><h3>Background: Seattle's History</h3><p></p><div><br></div><div>The Klondike gold boom made its presence in Seattle on July 17, 1897 when the SS Portland arrived in Seattle, which started an economic boom in Seattle that changed the town forever -- the Hoge building in 1911 occurred during that boom. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Along with its proximity to lumber, Seattle's access to the Yukon and Alaska made brought droves of people of the city and ultimately helped turn the western boom town into a city. The 19th Century Railroad, a large corporation itself, wanted to seize the opportunity to arrive in Seattle, which only helped Seattle further.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Gold discoveries in Alaska magnified Seattle's place as a jumping point to gold mining regions of northwestern North America; Seattle interests controlled 90% of shipping interests related to trade with Alaska. By the time of the Hoge Building construction, gold had lost some of its allure in Alaska, but the preexisting trade network of allowed for a flourishing salmon trade industry. &nbsp;As well, the railroad's arrival into town and the shipping industry made Seattle a prime location for which trade with Asia commenced, including Alaska salmon.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The expansion of Asian subsequently helped rail transshipment businesses grow, carrying products from Asia to Chicago and the Eastern United States. The increased rail traffic also made it easier for the lumber industry to expand, as it could easily be shipped anywhere in the country. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In short, by the time John Hoge went into business in Seattle, as a real estate broker and entrepreneur, Seattle was a prosperous city.&nbsp;</div><h3><br>John Hoge and the Hoge Building<br><br></h3><div>John Hoge who personally financed the construction of the Hoge Building, Seattle's Skyscraper (the Alaska Building was the first). Designed with seismic activity in mind, &nbsp;architects incorporated into their design new ideas emerging from studies done after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Most amazing, the entire steel frame -- 18 stories -- was completed in 30 days, and the entire building took less than a year to finish, The Hoge Building arrived at a time when three major skyscrapers emerged in Seattle, again demonstrating the city's economic prowess and optimism (thus, heavy investing). . &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Hoge and his friend simultaneously built skyscrapers and competed over the buildings' size and stature. The two friendly rivals had agreed that 14 floors would be sufficient for their needs, but Smith Tower's original plan included a design for an 18-story building. Meanwhile, The Hoge Building also had 18 stories, but its extra height for each story allowed it become Seattle's tallest building for a short time. Not long after that, Smith, added a 24-story tower to his building, a feature the Hoge building could not structurally support.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>--------------<br><br>The Hoge Building represents a time in Seattle when captains of Industry capitalized on Seattle's potential (and reality) as a thriving trade port. The broader picture of U.S. history (and the World) can be seen in the Hoge story -- gold discovery, the opening of Japan and Asia, increased lumber, a nation stretching from coast-to-coast, and wealthy men building skyscrapers at a time when the technology was allowing cities to literally grow upwards.&nbsp;<br></div>

During Seattle's rapid growth as a western Boom Town, the rapid construction of the Hoge Building -- 18 stories -- took less than a year to complete, and allowed it to be the tallest building in Seattle during the pre-WWI era. The building represents Seattle's transition from frontier town to metropolis, largely resulting from railroad arrival because of Seattle's  access to Asia and Alaska. 

Hoge Building

<div>At the time of Seattle's economic and population boom, a period often associated with the Klondike Gold Rush, the Rector Hotel and the Grand Opera House became one of the leading social centers of the city. The downtown region grew substantially with multiple steel-frame high-rise buildings facilitated by investment from families that had profited&nbsp;during the from timber, shipping, and other extraction industries.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The growth came at an environmental price as hills were leveled to make room and gather materials for construction. Although Seattle had its share of older-style hotels, few had modern amenities. Shortly after the 1889 Great Fire, a total of 63 hotels were in operation in Seattle by the turn of the 20th century. A second hotel boom occurred between 1906 and 1910, largely tied to the arrival of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (AYP) railway. The 1909 Seattle Exposition of 1909 brought 3.7 million visitors to the city and by 1910, Polk’s Directory included over 475 hotel listings.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Rector Hotel was built for Alson Lennon Brown, son of real estate and timber pioneer Amos Brown, in 1911. The building was designed by Seattle architect John Graham and operated from 1913 - 1918. Significant in the development of the Rector Hotel were the functional components incorporated into the design of the building that served the abutting Grand Opera House. The most noticeable feature is the prominent entrance from the stair landing in the Rector Hotel’s lobby that opened directly to the balcony of the theater. However, in 1917, the Opera house suffered mightily from a major fire. The destruction was so great that plans were made to transform the structure into a parking garage.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>After the fire to the Opera House, the hotel was sold and reopened as Hotel St. Charles. The building served as a hotel for most of its history. From 2004 to the present, the building has served as an apartment complex.&nbsp;</div>

The Rector Hotel was designed by John Graham Sr., a Seattle architect employed by Alson Brown, the son of a timber baron who hoped to diversify his families investments. The hotel's location next to the Grand Opera House proved fortuitous and the two buildings were adjoined at the balcony level. The hotel was one of many built during Seattle's initial economic and population boom (1902-1920) and demonstrates the rapid commercial expansion of the city during the Klondike Gold Rush.  

Rector Hotel (Hotel St. Charles)

<p>The eight-story Arctic Club was designed by Augustus Warren Gould and George W. Lawton and built in 1916 on the former site of the home of the chief justice of Washington state, Joseph R. Lewis (whose ancestor was George Washington). Before construction was even finished, the owner, James Moses, managed to lease the property to the Arctic Club, and he subsequently directed the architectural theme to evoke the North Pole. Moses and the two architects christened the Beaux-Arts style structure the Arctic Building. Gould himself described it as "a radical departure from the conventional, inasmuch as no definite style of architecture or any particular period has been adhered to."</p><p>White terra cotta embellishments were added all over the building’s multi-colored facade, from the elaborate roof cornice to walrus heads on the third story – and even a polar bear above the entrance - which was removed at a later date. The entrance to the Arctic Club was located directly beneath the polar bear with its imitation Caen stone finish, and this led to the main club floor which featured ornamental plaster-worked columns and beams. The main feature that still exists today is the "Dome Room" - or the main dining room - that is encased with a stained glass dome and comes in at 3600 square feet.</p><p>The city of Seattle began to lease office space in the Arctic Building around 1921, and the Arctic Club, a fraternal society for the wealthiest members of the Seattle community, occupied much of the building's space. Much of the Arctic Club's money came from the Alaska Gold Rush, which was being increasingly used to develop the city. The society's origins went back to late 1907 when two tycoons who earned money from the Gold Rush formed the Alaska Club, and they soon merged with Arctic explorers who had their own group that reminisced over their experiences in the Arctic. After the merge the group was simply called the Arctic Club.</p><p>Its members occupied a beautiful space inside the building, which included a large lobby, library, card rooms, billiard rooms, a private barber, tea rooms for members’ wives, and a bowling alley. The roof was used as a garden for the members to relax in. Every year, the Arctic Club entertainment committee would host a grand ball called "Smokers" to raise money, as well as hold golf and bowling tournaments. Other tenants did occupy the Arctic Building, including Congressman Marion Zioncheck. He made headlines in 1936 when he jumped to his death from his office window and landed on Third Avenue.</p><p>The Arctic Club disbanded in 1971, and the ground floor was subsequently used as retail space, with upper stories leased as offices for the Seattle Department of Community Development. When the city of Seattle purchased the Arctic Building in the late 1980s, they opted to reconfigure the entrance and paint over many of the interior surfaces. During the time they owned the building, the city did raise funds to restore the famous walrus heads, and Seattle natives still call the building "the one with the walrus tusks."</p><p>In 2008, ownership of the building transferred to the global hotelier, Hilton, and it is operated today as the Arctic Club DoubleTree Hotel. The original entrance has been restored, sans the polar bear, and certain moldings and decorations have also been saved. The iconic Dome Room was renovated and is a popular venue for weddings and other special events.The Arctic Building is a Seattle masterpiece that has been named a City of Seattle landmark, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Trust Historic Hotel.</p>

The Arctic Building, now The Arctic Club Seattle Hotel, is a Beaux-Arts style masterpiece in the city of Seattle that was built in 1916 by two prominent Washington architects. Known as the building with the walrus tusks, it once served as the headquarters of the Arctic Club - an all-male business and social club for the city's elite. This architectural gem, with distinctive decorative features reminiscent of its namesake, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1978 and is a City of Seattle Landmark. 

The Arctic Building (Arctic Club Seattle) 

<div>The Rainier Club is the&nbsp;headquarters for Seattle's largest and oldest private club. Six leading men in Washington territory established the club in 1888. The following year,&nbsp;Washington achieved statehood. Named after British Admiral Peter Rainier, the club has been host to Presidents and visiting dignitaries. <br><br>The cost of acquiring two lots at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Marion Street was $25,000 and the construction costs amounted to $75,000 -- a significant sum in the first decade of the 20th century. The building opened in 1904. The Club's finances mirrored the challenges of the&nbsp;Great Depression, but the leadership of manager Eddie Carlson helped the club survive. Garlson&nbsp;later went on to lead Westin Hotels, managed Seattle's&nbsp;1962 World’s Fair, and served as an executive for&nbsp;United Airlines.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Members of the Rainier Club include the&nbsp;financial elite of Seattle. The club has hosted many famous guests,&nbsp;including Mark Twain, John Philip Sousa, Buffalo Bill Cody, President Taft, General MacArthur, Babe Ruth. The club hosted many diplomatic and trade meetings and was the site of several early 20th century&nbsp;conferences between Japanese trade delegations and leaders of the&nbsp;United States. The Ranier Club admitted only white members&nbsp;until 1966, when Japanese-American Saburo Nishimuro joined the club. There were no African American members for another dozen years and the club was closed to women until the 1980s. .&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The club has served as a Pacific Coast guest house for&nbsp;Presidents and their staff. For example, Gifford Pinchot, who served in the Teddy Roosevelt administration, stayed at the Rainier Club during a trip that led to the formation of the United States Forest Service and later the creation of the Mount Rainier National Park. A decade later, Teddy Roosevelt arrived at Ranier Club before visiting the newly-created federal park. In 1993, President Bill Clinton hosted the first two U.S.-based Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings with Japan and China at the club.&nbsp;</div>

This historic building has been home to the Rainier Club since 1904 and has hosted social events that include numerous presidents, captains of industry, diplomats, and world leaders among its guests and members. Established in 1888, the Rainier Club first held its meetings in the mansion of one of its members and a room at the Seattle Theater. The club is named in honor of Peter Rainier, an 18th century British naval officer.

The Rainier Club

<div>The First Methodist Episcopal Church building arrived during Seattle's initial period (1902-1920) of commercial expansion, which</div><div>occurred due to local economic prosperity after the Klondike Gold Rush and in tandem with explosive population growth and suburban residential development, much of it accomplished with the regrading of Denny Hill. Although numerous commercial buildings arose during that period, &nbsp;First Methodist Episcopal Church is the only existing downtown church building dating from this era.</div><div><br></div><div>The church congregation dates back to 1853 during Seattle's settlement era, just as Seattle began a rapid transformation from settlement-town to a bustling metropolis. Notably, the 1896 Klondike Gold Rush led to a significant population boom in Seattle, which also provided for new wealth and an abundance of new construction including several projects that would drastically reshape the city's topography. As a result, the city removed hills, built tunnels and canals, moved and built streets, and entire valleys and tidelands were filled or changed. In other words, a massive environmental overhaul occurred to facilitate the movement of goods and people and the expansion of commercial and industrial development. The church built amongst that newly changed landscape and building boom.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As population increased, so did churches, but The Methodist-Episcopal Church had been the city's first, organized decades before the gold-rush boom. Ths first church was dedicated on May 12, 1855, and for ten years it was Seattle's only church. The congregation sized increased steadily and, during the population boom, saw a doubling of size from 1905 - 1910, spurring the need for a new building. &nbsp;Construction on the downtown building began in late 1907; the cornerstone was laid on February 2, 1908, and construction lasted until April 17, 1910, for a total cost $180,000. Later donations helped pay for the costs and aided in the purchase of a $15,000 pipe organ that was installed the following November.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Intriguingly, the church's history caused issues for the church's progress. In March 1985, the City of Seattle Landmarks</div><div>Preservation Board (LPB) voted to approve the designation of the church as a Seattle Landmark, noting that "the exterior of the 1907 building and the interior of the auditorium" as features of the Landmark that had to be preserved. On May 9, 1996, after several suits, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that, due to restrictions it had placed on alterations to the interior and exterior of the building, the Landmark designation was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of the church to the free practice of religion.</div><div><br></div><div>In May 2002, the church congregation retained consultants to assist with planning for the redevelopment of the church property, including the demolition of the historic sanctuary building. Historic</div><div>preservation advocates, including Historic Seattle and the National for Historic Preservation along with City and County elected officials and governmental representatives, became actively involved to find an alternative approach. They hoped to preserve the historic church building while allowing the congregation to sell the property and relocate to a new facility. After much negotiation, the church members vacated the premises in March 2008 and transferred to a modern church, which allowed the city to designated it as a formal landmark. In other words, the church had to move so the city could save the history of the church and its building.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Today, it sits adjacent, and connected, to the nearly completed "The Mark," a 660-foot and 44-floor skyscraper that will be Seattle's fifth-tallest building. Although the construction resulted in the demolition of the church's education wing the remainder of the former church structure was preserved and has since been re-purposed into the Daniels Recital Hall.<br><br>[<i>Editor note: Much of the prose included in this entry are taken directly from the National Park Service's lengthy&nbsp;history. Although parts of the text remain unchanged, the bulk of the material was edited and modified for simplification. A link to the original text is provided. ]</i></div>

Now connected to a new, towering skyscraper, the church opened in 1908. The church, itself, was the first organized church congregation in the settlement era, established in 1853. The building arrived during Seattle's economic, population, and construction boom after the Klondike Gold Rush.  First Methodist Episcopal Church is the only extant downtown church building dating from this era.

First Methodist Episcopal Church (The Daniels Recital Hall)

<p>The Seattle Public Library dates back to 1891 when the Seattle Library Commission opened a public reading room in the Occidental Building located at 1st Avenue. The first book borrowed was Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad." Due to tight budgets, the library did not have one established building and they relocated to different downtown buildings several times. Finally in 1899, the Seattle Public Library rented the elaborate Yesler Mansion and grew to holding almost 140,000 volumes. Tragically, just after New Year's in 1901, the wooden structure burned to the ground and much of the collection was lost. Soon after, Andrew Carnegie agreed to give $200,000 to fund a new, fireproof library, and even agreed to an annual maintenance allotment of $50,000.</p><p>In 1902, the City of Seattle purchased the city block that included Fourth and Fifth avenues as well as Madison and Spring streets for a total of $100,000. Peter J. Weber, and architect from Chicago, was chosen to design the new library and he formed a Beaux-Arts design that totaled 55,000 square feet. On the evening of December 19, 1906, more than 1,000 people attended the dedication of the Seattle Public Library. The new building held what was called the largest children's reading room in America, a large lecture hall, an atrium, electric elevators, and even a telephone system.</p><p>In the midst of the Great Depression, unemployed workers would make the trek to The Seattle Public Library to read the job ads, and simply to burn time because they had little else to do. Yet the library also suffered due to budgets being slashed, and library employees had to be let go. Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal projects did alleviate some of the pressure, in 1935 there were 55 Works Progress Administration employees who were doing clerical work for the various branches. During World War II, the library struggled to keep up with the flood of individuals that the government and companies such as Boeing brought to the area.</p><p>The 1950s brought a string of new branches for the growing Seattle Public Library, whose main branch was slowly fragmenting. In 1960, the 206,000 square foot Central Library was opened at the location of the original Carnegie library built at the turn of the century. The modern building had five floors, the first escalator to be featured in an American library, a window to drive-up and pick-up books, and a whole collection of beautiful artwork.</p><p>Throughout the 1960s, several other branches of The Seattle Public Library opened up, but the main space eventually grew too small, and the concern for earthquake related danger caused local officials to pursue a renovation. In 1998, an initiative in the city called “Libraries for All” secured nearly $200 million for the renovation project. Additionally, $20 million was donated by Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft and a Seattle native. </p><p>The current library was built with a unique and innovative design structure, created to be welcoming, light filled, and ultimately, very useful. Unique features include a “Book Spiral, ”which features the library’s collection of non-fiction books over several floors, so not to disrupt the dewy decimal system. The library houses nearly 2 million books, 500 public use computers, an auditorium, a “living room” space for readers, and panoramic views of Elliot Bay from the 10 and 11th levels. </p><p>The building’s unique and striking glass, concrete and steel structure, built around floating platforms and multilayered floors, has received international attention, having been called “the most important new library to be built in a generation, and the most exhilarating” by the <em>New Yorker</em>, and being awarded one of the 150 favorite structures in the US by the American Institute of Architects. This 363,000 square foot library in the heart of Seattle has served as a social imprint for over one hundred years, and it continues to be a place for people from all over the world who share a love for reading to come.</p>

The Seattle Public Library - Seattle Central location is a historical and unique site. The land the current library occupies has been historically responsible for housing the public library, and has been doing so since the early 20th century. The current library is heralded for it’s modern and innovative design concept and architectural style. The steel, concrete, and glass structure has received significant attention and acclaim since it’s construction in the early 2000s, and maintains its dignified and unique role as a marker on the downtown Seattle skyline. 

Seattle Central Library

<p>The now Fairmont Olympic Hotel was built at the location of the original site of the first campus of the University of Washington, which had been known as Territorial University in its early years. The university moved in 1895 but they continued to own this and several other tracts downtown. After World War I, Seattle began to lobby for a fine, world-class hotel, so a committee was formed and they soon had their eyes on an area called "Metropolitan Tract," by University and Seneca streets and bounded by 4th and 5th avenues. After facing numerous obstacles and rejections, the Chamber of Commerce and Metropolitan Building Company formed a Community Hotel Corporation and subleased the property and raised money to build through a bond drive. Construction finally began in January of 1924.</p><p>The hotel was made of buff-faced brick with terra cotta trim and had a base of granite with Belgian marble; it was completed in an astounding eleven months and cost $5.5 million. $800,000 of that cost went towards the furnishings alone. The Beaux-Arts style Olympic Hotel opened on December 6, 1924 with more than 2,000 of Seattle's residents attending, and hundreds lining the streets just to catch a glimpse of the glamorous hotel and attendees. The event was significant for the West Coast because such elaborate occasions were more prone to occur in large East Coast cities such as New York and Boston. The first floor featured a grand lobby that was paneled with American Oak and a lounge called the Palm Room. Additionally there was the Assembly Lounge, which led to the Italian and Spanish Ballrooms. Below the two ballrooms were the Coffee Room, Ship Room, Lunch Room, and five kitchens.</p><p>Like many of the grand downtown hotels, the Olympic struggled during the Great Depression but remained the center of Seattle's social scene until changing consumer tastes and movement away from the city center placed the historic building and business in danger. However, the hotel and its Italian Renaissance architecture was restored in the 1980s by the Four Seasons group. Acquired by the Fairmont Hotels &amp; Resorts in 2003, this historic hotel was renovated once again between 2014 and 2016. The Fairmont Olympic Hotel continues to represent the elegance and grandeur it did when it opened in 1924 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains a sense of pride for Seattle and is still one of the finest hotels in the United States.</p>

The glamour, optimism, and excess of the Roaring Twenties were on full display as over two thousand guests joined the Olympic Hotel as it celebrated its Grand Opening on December 6, 1924. The evening was the culmination of a decade-long campaign led by members of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce to secure a world-class hotel in their growing city. Territorial University, soon known as the University of Washington, had been located on this land in its early years. The Grand Opening marked the beginning of a new era for the capital of Washington State, and the Fairmont Olympic Hotel remains a symbol of pride for Seattle. 

Fairmont Olympic Hotel

<div>During Seattle's rapid economic, population, and construction boom of the early 20th century, the downtown area flourished. The Cobb Building reflects this growth and optimism and was part of a planned development of buildings intended to create a "city within a city." Managed at the time by the Metropolitan Building Company, The Cobb was the third major building completed on the former University of Washington campus, which had left the neighborhood to create a campus at Portage Bay in 1895. The Cobb was the first building on the West Coast built specially to serve physicians and dentists. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Investors did not originally jump at the chance to build on the old University site. Many investors feared the former home of the University of Washington was too far north of Seattle's downtown, economic center. However, in 1907, the Metropolitan Building Company (MBC), with the help of a small group of local and East Coast financiers, hired the New York architectural firm of Howells &amp; Stokes to draw up a master plan for the entire tract.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Howells &amp; Stokes developed a plan intended on creating a city within a city comprised of a department store, offices, a hotel, housing, and a central plaza. The firm exhibited its plans in New York to the Architect's League of America and reported in <i>Architectural Record </i>and <i>Pacific Builder</i> <i>and Engineer</i>, where they received an overwhelmingly favorable response. As one of the nation's first planned urban development programs of its kind, it went on to inspired building projects throughout the U.S.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The MBC built the White and Henry buildings, followed by the Stuart, all named for company investors. The building's coordinated facades created the appearance of a single structure, which inspired locals to refer to the entire structure as the White Henry Stuart Building. The MBC then built the Stimson Building, Ice Arena, and Metropolitan Theatre between 1909 and 1915. However, only the Cobb -- opened in 1910 and named for lumberman C. H. Cobb -- avoided demolition in the 1950s and 1970s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As the West Coast's first building designed expressly for physicians and dentists, the entrance includes a relief of Hippocrates. The facade features large terra cotta cartouches incorporating a stylized Indian chief's face in full headdress. Inside, The Cobb incorporated a bank of four high-speed elevators, additional gas and electrical service, and a built-in vacuum cleaning system. The Cobb's 10th-floor roof garden became a popular attraction for residents and tourists.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Starting in 2006, The Cobb served Seattle as a 92-unit luxury apartment building with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.&nbsp;The Cobb is another example of the economic and population boom realized by Seattle in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Following the Klondike gold rush and expansion in railways and shipping industries, Seattle was no longer a frontier town. The Metropolitan Tract was ahead of its time in scope and ambition, but reflecting the way cities change over time, the Cobb Building is one of the last remaining structure from that period and the University of Washington is returning to the area with plans to build an urban campus.&nbsp;</div>

Built between 1909 and 1910, the Cobb Building was part of Seattle’s Metropolitan Tract-- an early example of urban planning where developers conceived of creating a "city within a city." The Metropolitan Tract was located in the area that had been home to the University of Washington and reflected the rising pace of Seattle's construction boom and the city's transition towards urban planning in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire. The Cobb's rooftop became a major tourist attraction, and the building's lavish decor and Terra Cotta exterior features impressed visitors. These Terra Cotta features included carved statues of Native Americans as well as ornately carved marble features on the building's 10th floor. The Cobb Building now operates as a luxury apartment complex. 

Cobb Building

<div>The 1920s epitomized a cultural shift in America; people separated themselves from its 19th-century ideals and believed, more than ever, in progress. The Northern Life Tower, or Seattle Tower, demonstrates that concept - one of the first skyscraper in Seattle. From Great Plains farmers who believed rain followed the plow, to engineers designing tall buildings and airplanes to modern advancements such as electricity and radio, the country (mostly, white Americans) -- was confident and wealthy.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Designed to function as a modern office building full of distinction and character, the Northern Life Tower became the home of the Northern Life Insurance Company on March 18, 1929, after roughly a year of construction costing nearly $2 million. &nbsp;Founded in Seattle in 1905, the family-operated Northern Life Insurance Company remained in business until 1977 when it was sold. Like many businesses in the modern era, it has since been absorbed into several other corporations through mergers and buyouts.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Although fewer stories than nearby Smith Tower, The Northern Life Tower was built at a higher elevation, making it Seattle's highest human-made point. The building is considered Seattle's quintessential Art Deco skyscraper, inspired by the mountains that surround Seattle. The multi-colored brick becomes gradually lighter with height, while light terra-cotta resembling snow-capped rocky peaks adorn the finished piers. Additionally, metal rods resembling evergreen trees crown the building. When the tower was opened, more than 300 floodlights shined upward against the building, reminiscent of an Aurora Borealis (but they were dismantled during World War II, in 1942).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The insurance company only occupied a few of the building's floors, the rest filled by numerous investment groups, banks, and other business the symbolized the nation's and Seattle's economic boom of the "Roaring '20s." Moreover, the building possessed a grand lobby faced in dark marble and illuminated with electric lights, as well as brass and gold leaf decorations. Onlookers could also gaze at the huge brass base-relief map of the Pacific Ocean outlining the Pacific trade routes that helped Seattle become the metropolis it was in 1929. Indeed, the map included the motto "Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Many tenants called the tower home, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several radio broadcasting companies and businesses. In 1967, the building was sold to Tower Associates and began to be known as the Seattle Tower.</div><div><br></div><div>Still operating as an office building today, it stands as a monument to an era steeped in economic and technological optimism.&nbsp;</div>

Completed in 1928, the Northern Life Tower skyscraper represents a dramatic shift in the appearance of Seattle's skyline with designs that attempted to emulate the speed, efficiency and power found within modern technology, as well as demonstrate the economic high-times  and faith in progress associated with the "Roaring '20s."  Designed by Eliel Saarinen, who won 2nd place in a Chicago Tribune contest, famous, The Northern Life Tower was the first building in Seattle to embrace the Art Deco or Art Moderne style. 

Northern LIfe Tower (Seattle Tower)

<p>The beginnings of the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) dates back to 1908 when its parent institution, The Fine Art Society, was founded. In the late 1920s, the president of the society, Carl Gould, an architecture professor at the University of Washington, renamed it the Art Institute of Seattle. In 1931, Dr. Richard Fuller and his mother Margaret donated $250,000 to build a home for the newly named Seattle Art Museum. The city of Seattle agreed that they would fund the servicing and maintain the building if the Fullers took responsibility for the construction, collections, and operations.</p><p>Carl Gould was chosen to serve as principal architect and decided on a modern Art Deco style.The Seattle Art Museum finally opened on June 23, 1933 in Capitol Hill's Volunteer Park and welcomed 33,000 visitors on the first day. The first collection to go on display was the Fullers' Asian art holdings; the Chinese jades and ceramics caught the most attention as well as publicity. Dr. Richard Fuller remained the unpaid museum director of SAM until the 1970s, with the exception of a brief hiatus during World War II when he served in the army. The museum continued to attract visitors and in the first year alone more than 346,000 people came through the doors.</p><p>Despite the success, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and the city of Seattle could not uphold their financial responsibility, therefore, the museum was only half the size it was intended to be. Regardless of the financial difficulties SAM faced in the 1930s, prominent Seattle natives like banker Manson Backus donated paintings by such famous artists such as Whistler and Rembrandt. Throughout the 1940s, the art collection continued to grow with works coming in from the likes of Japan and SAM welcomed their first traveling exhibition, "India: Its Achievements of the Past and of the Present. " The exhibit was housed in 12 of SAM's galleries for three months. To help the war effort, SAM screened civilian defense films and opened its doors to the American Red Cross and civilian defense instructors.</p><p>In 1951, SAM gained its most famous Japanese artwork when Mrs. Donald Frederickson donated a portion of a 17th century "Deer Scroll;" the other portion belongs to the Japanese emperor. Other notable pieces of work in the museum include: Jackson Pollock's "Seas of Change," "The Egyptian Masterworks of Tutankhamen," a large collection of Japanese textiles and African art, and Jonathan Borofsky's "Hammering Man." The 1960s saw continued expansion for SAM when they opened the Seattle Art Museum Pavilion at the Seattle Center, which housed a large modern art collection. In 1999, SAM partnered with the Trust for Public Land to raise $17 million to purchase waterfront property to build a large public park that would be free for people to come and enjoy.</p><p>Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi of Weiss/Manfredi were the lead designers for Olympic Sculpture Park that opened in 2007 and is the city's largest green space. That same year, SAM reopened after an extensive renovation led by Allied Works Architecture. More than 30,000 people visited that first weekend SAM reopened to view the exhibits that filled the space that had nearly doubled. Today, SAM operates three different facilities, the main one in Seattle, the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park, and the Olympic Sculpture Park. SAM continues to serve as the Pacific Northwest's center for visual arts.</p>

Dating back to its founding in 1933, the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) has provided a world-class collection of art to residents of the Pacific Northwest. Their collection includes works from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The museum's Native American gallery is one of the most exceptional collections of its type. Thanks to donations and public support, the museum completed a remodel and expansion of its current building in 2007. Currently, SAM operates three facilities: the main location on First Avenue, the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, and Olympic Sculpture Park, which is Seattle's largest green space.  

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) 

<div>Agen Warehouse served as the headquarters for dairy wholesaler, John Bernard Agen (1856-1920).</div><div><br></div><div>Agen grew up in a dairy region of New York State before moving to Iowa and operating a one-man store. A large Seattle fire in 1889 spurred Agen to send butter and eggs to a friend in Seattle after the city's great fire of 1889. The success of that transaction inspired Agen to move to Seattle and open a dairy business selling butter, eggs, and cheese.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1890, Agen founded one of his first creameries at Mount Vernon, receiving at first only 800 pounds of milk a day. By 1914, Agen regularly produced a quarter of a million pounds of milk per day.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Like many historical stories in Seattle, the Klondike Gold Rush proved highly influential towards Agen's success. &nbsp;Packaging perishable food for shipment to the interior of Alaska was a problem for most industries, but &nbsp;Agen's butter, packaged in tin containers, carried the clever marketing slogan, "Agen's Best Has Stood the Test," and it soon became the best-known brand in the North. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As well, Agen owned considerable real estate in the central business district. Directly across from the warehouse loading docks at the foot of University Street was Pier 6 (now Pier 56) — the John B. Agen dock. It provided him with a facility for his Alaskan trade in butter, eggs, and milk.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When the Klondike Gold Rush faded, the gold strike in Nome, Alaska allowed the company to continue on its rapid growth pace. &nbsp;Including establishing several branch stores in Alaska as well as several more creameries and cheese factories throughout much of the region. Seattle's flourishing trade market also helped Agen's business grow. He also provided aid (and money) to dairymen of the White River Valley, Stanwood, Mount Vernon.</div><div><br></div><div>The 1201 Western Avenue building was completed in 1910, boasting four floors. By the next year, two more stories were added. Milk from all over Western Washington for churning, which was then shipped throughout the United States and abroad. He located cold storage plants in Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota, and conducted trade with Asia, South America, the Philippines, and Hawaii.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Typical of many late 19th century industrial buildings and warehouses, before the popularization of concrete slabs and steel trusses, the Agen Warehouse relied on a brick bearing wall with heavy timber posts and beams, basically, the same method that enjoyed by the commercial buildings in Pioneer Square in the 1889-1892 period. Also, access to railways proved exceptionally important during the late 19th century and early 20th century, as demonstrated by &nbsp;The Agen Warehouse. The building contained loading docks adjacent to extant spur lines for railroad freight cars and directly across the street from a shipping facility dubbed Agen's wharf in early city directories.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Like many historical buildings within Seattle's downtown region, it stands as a monument to Seattle's rapid growth due to trade, the city's connection to gold rushes of the Yukon and Alaska, and the city's overall growth. Additionally, the building demonstrates the link between railways, shipping, and large warehouses typical of the late 1800s and early 1900s.&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1910, Agen Warehouse served as the headquarters for dairy wholesaler, John Bernard Agen (1856-1920). His dairy grew to become the largest in the Pacific Northwest, shipping to dairy goods to Alaska, the contiguous U.S., and internationally. The building itself demonstrates prototypical late 19th and early 20th century warehouse structures and easy-access to railways and shipping. The building is now home to a variety of businesses and offers retail space on the first floor. 

Agen Warehouse

<p>A History of Pike's Place from the official website: "At the turn of the century, Seattle was a rough and tumble place and a rapidly growing city. As the population of gold rushers, loggers, fishermen, shipbuilders and merchants grew, so did the demand for produce and goods from the city’s neighboring farms. In the decade of 1890-1900, Seattle’s population nearly doubled, growing from 42,000 to 80,000 citizens.&nbsp;</p><p>Farmers brought their vegetables, fruit, milk, dairy, eggs and meat to the city by horse drawn wagons and by ferry from the nearby islands. The goods were purchases by wholesalers, who sold the goods at a commission at warehouses on Western Ave. In this system, farmers occasionally made a profit but increasingly only broke even or lost money.</p><p>In 1906-1907, the price of produce—onions namely—soared, leaving the farmers none the richer and the citizens angry over the price gouging.&nbsp; The uproar led one local official to try to find a solution. In the summer of 1907, Seattle City Councilman Thomas Revelle proposed the city create a public market place where farmers and consumers could meet directly to sell and buy goods and thereby sidelining the wholesalers.&nbsp;</p><p>On the public market’s first day, August 17, 1907, crowds of shoppers seeking fresh produce and bargains descended upon the new marketplace. The first farmer sold out of produce within minutes. Within a week, 70 wagons were gathering daily to sell along the newly named Pike Place, a wooden roadway that connected First St. to Western Ave.&nbsp;</p><p>Councilman Revelle’s words of dedication ring true more than a century later:&nbsp;</p><p><em>“The Market is yours. I dedicate it to you and may it prove of benefit to you and your children. It is for you to protect, defend, and uphold and it is for you to see that those who occupy it treat you fairly. … This is one of the greatest days in the history of Seattle.”</em></p><p>Developer Frank Goodwin, who had recently returned with a small fortune from the Klondike Gold Rush, saw an opportunity in the flourishing market and began construction of the permanent arcades that make up the heart of today’s Market. The Market prospered during the 1920s and 1930s, and was home to a lively mix of Japanese and Italian American farmers, struggling artists, political radicals, and eccentrics.</p><p>Italian farmer Joe Desimone purchased the Market’s main arcades in 1941 and guided it through World War II, when 1st Avenue attracted thousands of sailors and soldiers along with ration-book bargain hunters. As suburbs and supermarkets sprouted after World War II, the Market fell on hard times, while still supporting an eclectic community of artists and craftspeople.</p><p>When the maze of aging buildings was slated for demolition in the 1960s, architect Victor Steinbrueck rallied Seattle to “Save the Market.” Voters approved a 17-acre historic district on November 2, 1971, and the City of Seattle later established the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority to rehabilitate and manage the Market’s core buildings."<sub>1</sub></p>

Established in 1907, Pike Place Market continues to serve as Seattle's public market. With over nine acres of fresh food, crafts, and entertainment, Pike's Place is one of the city's most popular tourist destinations. The market is located between 1st Ave and Western Ave and Pike St. and Virginia St. There is a parking garage at 1531 Western Ave.

Pike Place Market Historical District

<div>The Fourth Avenue Building in Seattle demonstrates the importance of the railroad and to Seattle, as well as most of the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th Century. As well, shipping interests in Seattle proved to be a significant influence in the city's expansion, both in population and economy. The entire 1st floor of the Forth Avenue Building, finished in 1929 before the Great Depression, was occupied by shipping industries and the Great Northern Railway.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Seattle's rapid transition from Western boom town to metropolis arrived in the late 19th century, mainly due to the Klondike gold rush that spurred population movements, investments in shipping from Seattle, and the all-important arrival of the Railroad -- a vital component to urban economic viability during the Industrial Revolution into the early 20th century. &nbsp;As Seattle grew, so did its downtown region, including the Fourth Avenue Building, built in 1929 (towards the later states of Seattle's rapid growth).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The 1929 cost of this Art Deco and Celtic designed 15-story building amounted to $1.1 million -- roughly $15.7 million in today's market. Surfaced entirely of stone, it was built in an "L" shape to allow for the greatest space while also offering as many outside-facing offices as possible. It was Seattle's tallest structure with a stone surface.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A few lavish items existed in this building, not atypical for construction before the Great Depression. For instance, brass doors and diamond patterned carved wood indicator panels adorned the elevator, wainscoting and flooring included green marble, and numerous examples of mahogany and polished metal features remain in place as a reminder of the prosperity accompanying the "roaring 20s."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Those occupying the office represent much of Seattle's history. The upper spaces were occupied by investment brokers (a sign of Seattle's boom and promise) and timber industries. Meanwhile, ground floors played host to the Alaska Steamship Company, Southern Pacific Railway, Union Pacific railway, and most significantly, the Northern Pacific Railway, whose ticket offices were also located right across the street, making that spot the city's financial, and certainly its transportation, headquarters.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Northern Railway proved most prominent in Seattle. &nbsp;Founded by James Hill, who uniquely refrained from using Federal Grants as most other railways, the most northernmost railway grew to become a "Class 1 transcontinental railroad," enjoying a yearly operating income of more than $1 million as of 1911. The Railway also covered more than 8,300 miles of the United States and parts of Canada. &nbsp;As a result, James Hill gained the nickname, "Empire Builder." The railway's arrival to Seattle in 1893 was met with great fanfare and enthusiasm. At the time, a railway meant urban viability; a two-day celebration commenced when the first train arrived into town.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>All told, the structure holds many stories. It represents Seattle's economic growth, its transition from frontier town to a town with easy access to Yukon and Alaska gold mining, to that of a major shipping and trade center. The architecture and design represent the good economic times of the 1920s, while those who filled the offices denote the important industries of the era.&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1929, the L-shaped, 15 story stone surfaced building stands at the point of Seattle's once flourishing economic and transportation center.  The building housed timber, shipping, and railway industries -- all representative of Seattle's economic drivers. 

Fourth Avenue Building

<div>Eagles Auditorium was erected by the Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE), in 1924-25, &nbsp;the first Eagles lodge ever formed. The organization established its headquarters in Seattle. With the growth of membership came the opportunity&nbsp;to build a structure that could host activities and events that would benefit both the city and the members. Eagles Auditorium opened with 21,000 square feet of interior space that included offices, a gymnasium, apartments, a night club, ballrooms, and dining halls. The six-story building is supported by reinforced steel and concrete. The exterior features architectural terra cotta and other features typical of the Renaissance Revival style of architecture. The interior included marble floors and ornate plaster and wood features.The building was operated by the Eagles August of 1981.<br><br></div><div>On February 6, 1898, a group of theater managers met to discuss some business matters by taking a walk along the tide flats, but the conversation turned philosophical; the men discussed issues of democracy and brotherhood. As a result, the men decided to create an organization, "Seattle Order of Good Things," which began on &nbsp;March 12, 1898.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Inspired by a picture of an eagle adorning a wall where the men met, the organization changed its name to the Fraternal Order of Eagles (hereafter, FOE). The organization drafted a constitution intent on making life more desirable by lessening life's ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope. The Order became dedicated to the "Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man."</div><div><br></div><div>The Secretary of State in Olympia issued the charter for the Grand Aerie, FOE on May 13, 1898, which quickly led to rapid expansion of the FOE. Fifteen days later, the FOE established another chapter in Spokane and, within one year, membership increased to 3,000 members and 18 chapters in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, and British Columbia. Ten years after the Seattle businessmen created the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the organization boasted of 350,000 members scattered among 1,800 lodges found throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and the Philippines. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The FOE's rapid growth signifies a broader progressive movement within the U.S; numerous social movements reshaped politics away from the policies that shaped the Gilded Age. The Order, like many of the day, sought to become a grassroots organization intent on serving "ordinary people -- a bottom-up approach to social justice and politics. &nbsp;The members of the Eagles sought to use their wealth and influence to address the needs of the less fortunate and address some of the issues plaguing cities during a time of rapid urban expansion.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In helping the "common person," the FOE offered its members were weekly benefits paid in case of sickness and free medical care, In 1900, the FOE sponsored the nation's first Workman's Compensation Law, and ten years later the FOE sponsored America's first Old Age Pension Law. In fact, in 1935, the FOE spent more than $1 million towards the promotion of the Social Security Act proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presented the pen he used to sign the act to the Eagles in recognition of the organization's efforts.&nbsp;</div>

The Eagles Auditorium was built by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1924. Inspired by the Progressive Movement, the organization was established by area business leaders who helped to support a variety of initiatives that would assist "the common man." The fraternal group's membership grew rapidly with nearly 350,000 members ten years after its first meeting in 1898. This fraternal organization's mirrored the goals of many business leaders in the "Gilded Age" and demonstrates the progressive orientation of many Republicans such as Theodore Roosevelt. 

Downtown Seattle

Paramount Theatre

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Additional Information