Arctic Building
Entrance at the Cherry Street
The Arctic Building is a building with nine floors in Downtown Seattle, Washington. It stands on the northeast corner of the intersection of Third Avenue and Cherry Street. The building was constructed in 1916 for the Arctic Club and was used by this until its dissolution in 1971. The building's facade is executed completely in cream terra cotta, but accents are set in submarinblae and orange brown. The 128 feet ( 39 m ) tall building is particularly known for its Walrossköpfe terracotta that are queued on the third floor around the building into the facade. The building has been restored and is now a luxury hotel with 120 hotel rooms; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1978, is also a City of Seattle Landmark.
History
The land on which the Arctic Building is located, once belonged to Joseph R. Lewis, the Chief Justice of Washington Territory and direct descendants of George Washington's sister Betty. The house which he built in 1875 at the site was considered one of the most beautiful buildings of the city in his time. It was in 1892 replaced by the three-storey building of the Seattle Theatre, whose draft was made by the architects Saunders and Lawton. The newly founded Rainier Club was housed in the office section of the building until it moved to its own premises. The theater building was in 1916 replaced by the Arctic Club Building.
The Arctic Club was founded in 1908 by successful veterans of the Klondike gold rush. In the same year the existing Alaska Club with the Arctic Club was merged. The Arctic Club was a social club for men reserved for business people who had connections to the Gold Rush or Alaska. Originally settled the Arctic Club in 1909 at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Jefferson Street in the Morrison Hotel, which was also referred to at the time as the Arctic Club Building.
After a dispute with the owner of the building, the Arctic Construction Company, it was decided in 1914 to resettle. 1916 appointed the members of the recognized Seattle architect A. Warren Gould, the new Arctic Building in Downtown Seattle to plan as the new seat of the Arctic Club. Builder and owner of the new building was James Moses, which included the previously demolished theater building. He closed with the club from a long -term lease. During the parade, the members surreptitiously the bar furnishings of the former building, by abseiled the parts through one of the windows. When the president of the club after installation in the new building, learned of the vertigo, he made a compensation payment to prevent a lawsuit.