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| Eagleson Hall, University Of Washington. Formerly University branch of YMCA, architectural drawing by Andrew Knox, 1922. Designed by Charles Bebb and Carl Gould. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Archive for the ‘Historic Buildings’ Category
Rendering Eagleson Hall
May 19th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings |
8 Comments »
Today we have a beautiful architectural drawing of Charles Bebb and Carl Gould’s 1922 built University of Washington YMCA branch. It was sold to U.W. in 1963 and then renamed Eagleson Hall. Click on the thumbnail to see artist Andrew Knox’s work.
Seattle-First National Bank Proposal Pt. 3
April 21st, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 1 Comment »
We march on with Paul Thiry’s seemingly never-ending supply of conceptual drawings of the Seattle-First National Bank. If you need to catch up, see Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Thiry, one of the Northwest’s earliest European Modernist architects, was the principal architect of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Click for the high res goodness.
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| Proposed building for the Seattle-First National Bank (1959-1961)by Paul Thiry. The site for the Century 21 Branch of the Seattle First National Bank was located at the northwest corner of the Friendship Mall. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Seattle-First National Bank Proposal Pt. 2
April 14th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | No Comments »
Today we move on with Part 2 of the Paul Thiry design concepts for the Seattle-First National Bank. Thiry was the principal architect of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and is still known as the father of modernism in the Pacific Northwest. Click for the high res and click here if you missed Part 1.
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| Proposed building for the Seattle-First National Bank (1959-1961)by Paul Thiry. The site for the Century 21 Branch of the Seattle First National Bank was located at the northwest corner of the Friendship Mall. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Seattle-First National Bank Proposal Pt. 1
April 8th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 4 Comments »
It’s not a great time in the world of Paul Thiry designed architecture as his 1962 Normandy Park home is being dismantled and demolished. Nickel Bros was unable to find a buyer to move it. Check out a video tour of the home here. More info here.
We’ve explored Thiry — principal architect of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair — before with this First National Bank rendering. Now let’s trace the concepts that eventually ended up as the final structure. Click for the high res.
We’ve explored Thiry — principal architect of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair — before with this First National Bank rendering. Now let’s trace the concepts that eventually ended up as the final structure. Click for the high res.
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| Proposed building for the Seattle-First National Bank (1959-1961)by Paul Thiry. The site for the Century 21 Branch of the Seattle First National Bank was located at the northwest corner of the Friendship Mall. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Rockin’ Around The Carousel Room
April 6th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 9 Comments »
Human Resources Director Audrey McCombs of the historic 1927 Mayflower Park Hotel writes in with a link and a fantastic high-res photo of the Carousel Room. Audrey writes:
The Seattle Times had a great article today in the NW Weekend Section on “A Self-Guided Tour Through Seattle History”. One of the stops is Oliver’s at the Mayflower Park Hotel and we thought we’d share a little history of this corner of our hotel at 4th & Olive Way. From 1929 until 1946 it was the location of Bartell Drug Store #13. From 1949 until 1974 it was the popular Carousel Room. Oliver’s opened in 1976 and continues to be a Seattle favorite. Anyone remember going to the Soda Fountain in Bartell Drug Store #13 or having a Paul Bunyan Hamburger at the Carousel Room? We’d love to hear your stories…
Audrey McCombs
Human Resources Director
Mayflower Park Hotel
Via E-Mail 4/1/2010
Audrey McCombs
Human Resources Director
Mayflower Park Hotel
Via E-Mail 4/1/2010
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| Carousel Room, Mayflower Park Hotel. |
Remember The Heffernan Building
March 24th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 14 Comments »
This is the Heffernan Building. From what I can gather it stood at 6th & Pine, presumably this would be at the site of the current Old Navy building(?). Chime into the comments if you have anything on when this building came down and if you remember it. Click on the thumbnail for the high res version.
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| Heffernan Building, Seattle, Washington. Designed by architect John Graham (1873-1955). Photographed March 24, 1966 by Marion Dean Ross. Image courtesy Visual Resources Collection, Architecture & Allied Arts Library, University of Oregon Libraries. |
Top-Down Space Needle Schematics
March 18th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 12 Comments »
I’ve had a number of people e-mail me recently asking for more architectural Space Needle drawings in addition to the ones posted in May 2008. So, I went straight away to the VS.org archives and started digging. Here are some top-down schematics I found showing the restaurant, plaza, and observation levels from an old 1962 publication. Click for the high res and show us your 3d model if you build one!
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| Space Needle architectural diagram, Restaurant Level & Plaza Level, elevation 628.00 feet. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
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| Space Needle architectural diagram, Observation Level, elevation 646.75 feet. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
Edward Osborn’s Rowe Apartments
March 8th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 2 Comments »
File this under yet another beautiful Edward Osborn watercolor rendering. The color palette and trademark cloud formations are similar to the Central Auto Stage Terminal rendering posted last month. Though these apartments were never realized, it’s more proof that the 1920′s produced some of the finest architecture in Seattle. Click for the high res copy.
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| Rowe Apartments, architectural rendering by Edward Osborn. Pencil and watercolor on board, 1923-1927. Born and educated in England, Edward Osborn arrived in Seattle about 1910 and worked as a delineator for several well-known architectural firms. From 1920-1930, he occasionally worked as an independant designer. Osborn was known especially for his watercolor renderings. While design specifications exist for a few of the apartments Osborn was either commissioned to design or those that he put out for speculative bids, the name Rowe apartments does not appear among them. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Hartford Building, Art-Deco Delight
March 2nd, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 5 Comments »
Building of the Day goes to the Hartford Building at 2nd and James. It was built in 1929 for the First Realty Company and designed by noted Seattle architect John Graham Sr. Here is the modern day street view and as you can see it needs a good, honest power-washing. Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods also has a very nice writeup on the building here. Check out the 1974 photo below and click for the high res.
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| Hartford Building, 2nd & James, Seattle, Washington. Photographed May 4, 1974 by Marion Dean Ross (1913-1991), courtesy Visual Resources Collection, Architecture & Allied Arts Library, University of Oregon Libraries. |
Rendering Commodore Apartments
February 16th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 7 Comments »
Earlier this month we had a look at Thomas Edward Osborn’s unbuilt bus terminal building but today we admire one of his creations that did get built. Though the final product wasn’t quite as grand as the rendering, The Commodore Apartments building on the U.W. campus is still a real gem. You can have a look here at the street view. Click below for higher res.
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| Born and educated in England, Edward Osborn arrived in Seattle about 1910 and worked as a delineator for several well-known architectural firms. From 1920-1930, he occasionally worked as an independant designer. Osborn was known especially for his watercolor renderings. This drawing shows an early, decorative design that was later scaled back. In the 1950s, the Commodore Apartments and Duchess Apartments were renovated and joined together to provide student housing for married couples on the University of Washington campus. Rendering by Edward Osborn, graphite on board, 1923-1927. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Central Auto Stage Terminal
February 3rd, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 4 Comments »
Architect and inventor Edward Osborn worked in Seattle between 1910-1930 and was particularly known for his watercolor renderings. Below find his 1920′s era Central Auto Stage Terminal pencil and watercolor on paper for Wheatley & Osborn Architects. This building remains only on paper to this day. Click for the high res.
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| Central Auto Stage Terminal, architectural rendering by Thomas Edward Osborn. Pencil and watercolor on paper, 1923-1924. Born and educated in England, Edward Osborn arrived in Seattle about 1910 and worked as a delineator for several well-known architectural firms. From 1920-1930, he occasionally worked as an independant designer. Osborn was known especially for his watercolor renderings. While design specifications exist for commercial projects that Osborn was either commissioned to design or those that he put out for speculative bids, the name Central Auto Stage Terminal does not appear among them. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
Alderwood Mall 197x
December 14th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 5 Comments »
Maybe you’ve seen enough of the subject of today’s image while shopping for gifts. Opened in 1979 by developer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr, Alderwood Mall has in recent years reversed the “enclose it” trend and embraced open air shopping. Below find the 1978-79 architectural drawing from artist Ken Duffin. Ok, ok, maybe categorizing it under Historic Buildings is a bit of a stretch but it had to go somewhere. Click for the high res and good luck with your shopping.
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| Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood, Wash. architectural drawing, gouache or acrylic on board by Ken Duffin, 1978-1979. John Graham Jr. received international recognition for his large scale shopping complexes. Combining architectural skill with business acumen, Graham helped shape Seattle’s commercial environment after World War II. Born in Seattle to architect John Graham Sr., Graham Jr. enrolled in the University of Washington’s architecture program in 1926. Transferring to Yale in 1928, Graham graduted with a degree in fine arts four years later and initially pursued a career in merchandising rather than architecture. When John Graham Sr. retired in 1946, Graham Jr. took over his father’s architecture firm. When the post-World War II economy spurred suburban growth and expansive commercial development in King County, Graham, groomed in retail management, recognized the potential for innovative design strategies. With an initial collaboration with department store owner Rex Allison, Graham conceived the model for the suburban shopping center. Key elements were scale, concentration of shops, abundant parking and easy highway access. When Graham decided to enclose the entire complex, the modern mall was born. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
A Window To Smith Tower
December 11th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 3 Comments »
While we just had a view of it on Monday, I just seem to always come back to Smith Tower. A co-worker friend and I were agreeing tonight at dinner that it’s probably our favorite building in Seattle. From my West Seattle home I’m lucky enough to have a view of it from the window. Check out the Max R. Jensen Ektachrome from the late 50′s or 60′s. Click for the high res.
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| Smith Tower, 42 stories high, Seattle, Washington. One of Seattle’s tallest skyscrapers. The Chinese Room at the top affords a magnificent view of the city and the harbor. Ektachrome by Max R. Jensen. |
Alki Point Lighthouse 1959
December 9th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | No Comments »
Here it is, folks, the Alki Point Lighthouse. She was built in 1913, upgraded to more modern optics in the 1960′s, and still operates today. This meg+ high res shot was taken by Werner Lenggenhager in 1959. Click to up-res.
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| Photo of Alki lighthouse in West Seattle with flag, water, mountains, taken by Werner Lenggenhager, 1959. Image courtesy Washington State Digital Archives. |
Nalley’s Fine Food Pavillion 1961
December 4th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings | 4 Comments »
Even the food pavillions at the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle were electrifying. Nalley’s Fine Food Pavillion went up without a sharp edge to be found. Check out the 1961 sketch from architect Paul Thiry. Does anyone have any photos of the pavillion as built? Click for the high res copy.
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| Nalley’s Fine Food pavillion, Century 21 Exposition — Seattle, Wash., west elevation, architect Paul Thiry, 1961. In 1957 Paul Thiry, one of Seattle’s earliest pracitioners of European Modernism, was appointed prinicpal architect of Century 21, the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The Nalley’s Fine Food pavilion was a plastic form shell pneumatically applied on a frame of reinforcing rods and metal lathe. The exterior of the pavilion was constructed without a straight line or sharp angle. The unique oval contained a theater which showed movies of the great Pacific Northwest. In the lobby of the building were displays of the food products from Nalley’s Tacoma-based company. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division. |
