Arctic Building

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  • Address
    at Cherry St, 700 3rd Ave, Downtown
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Lonely Planet review

The Arctic Building, completed in 1917, is unique for its intricate terra-cotta ornamentation and 25 walrus heads peeking off its exterior. Though the walruses' tusks were originally authentic ivory, an earthquake in the 1940s shook 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.