Architecture sights in Pacific Northwest
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Pioneer Building
Built in 1891, this magnificent structure facing Pioneer Square Park is one of the finest Victorian buildings left in Seattle; many mining companies had offices here during the Klondike Gold Rush years. It was designed by Elmer Fisher, whose fingerprints are all over Pioneer Square. Resting on the site of Henry Yesler’s original home, the building now houses, in part, Doc Maynard’s Public House, a handsome old bar and restaurant that serves as the ticket office for Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. Be sure to peek in at the Italian marble in the lobby.
reviewed
-
B
Grand Central Arcade
This lovely meeting point was originally Squire’s Opera House, erected in 1879 by Watson Squire, who became one of Washington’s first senators after it achieved statehood. When the Opera House burned down, it was rebuilt as the Squire-Latimer Building and later became the Grand Central Hotel. The hotel died during the Depression, but it underwent a major restoration in the 1970s and now contains two floors of shops, including the excellent Grand Central Baking Co.
reviewed
-
C
Arctic Building
The Arctic Building, completed in 1917, is unique for its intricate terra-cotta ornamentation and 25 walrus heads peeking off the building’s exterior. Though the walruses’ tusks were originally authentic ivory, an earthquake in the 1940s managed to shake a few of them loose to the ground. To protect passersby from the unusual urban hazard of being skewered by falling tusks, the ivory was replaced with epoxy.
reviewed
-
D
Washington State Convention & Trade Center
It’s hard to miss this gigantic complex decked out with ballrooms, meeting rooms, space for exhibitions and the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau. An arched-glass bridge spans Pike St between 7th and 8th Aves, with what looks like a giant eye in the middle of it. Strewn across the various decks and patios, Freeway Park provides a leafy, fountain-laden downtown oasis.
reviewed
-
E
Union Station
A landmark that benefited from restoration fever is Union Station, the old Union Pacific Railroad depot (1911) that was unoccupied between 1971 and 1999. The restoration project included the preservation of the original tile floors, clocks and windows. More than 90 years of build-up was hand-scrubbed off the exterior brick. The Great Hall, half the size of a football field, remains an impressive space.
reviewed
-
F
Turret House
This adorable castle-like building, with gables and (appropriately enough) turrets galore, was once the home of the Love Israel Family, an ex-hippie commune turned religious cult. Love Family members were famous for huffing noxious gasses, refusing to cut their hair and believing they were each part of the body of Jesus Christ. The Turret House has since been converted to apartments.
reviewed
-
G
Times Square Building
This terra-cotta and granite structure, guarded by eagles perched on the roof, was designed by the Paris-trained architect Carl Gould (who also did the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the UW’s Suzzallo Library). It housed the Seattle Times from 1916 to 1931.
reviewed
-
H
Cors& Wegener Building
Once the offices of the early local broadsheet, Ballard News, this is still one of the most impressive in the area. One of the first in the area to be revitalized, it’s now mostly shops, apartments and office space.
reviewed
-
I
Ballard Building
Ballard’s only major terra-cotta structure, this was built in the 1920s by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It once held a community hospital and now houses the Ballard News-Tribune.
reviewed
