A hundred years of Seattle architecture - Washington

Sunset, Oct, 1994 by Jena MacPherson

Two of the first retrospectives on Seattle's rich architectural history are timed to coincide with the centennial of the founding of the American Institute of Architects in Washington state this year: an exhibit called Blueprints: 100 Years of Seattle Architecture, which opened at the Museum of History and Industry in March and runs through September 1995, and the publication this month of Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Also in October, a special tour focuses on the use of one of the city's most popular building materials--terra-cotta--and another opens up the workplaces of modern architects.

"Buildings can explain our history to us," says Lawrence Kreisman, chief coordinator and researcher of the museum exhibit. Architectural models, building artifacts, photographs, and drawings of 500 different structures (including a surprising and highly creative proposal for the Space Needle) are divided into sections on work, residential, and social gathering places. A hands-on area offering a look at shapes, materials, and design technology appeals to both children and adults.

The book, edited by Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, is a joint effort of AIA Seattle, University of Washington Press, and the Seattle Architectural Foundation. It has more than 500 illustrations, and profiles 45 early shapers of Seattle architecture, including Fred Anhalt, Elizabeth Ayer, Kinland Cutter, Victor Steinbrueck, and Roland Terry.

Terra Cotta Seattle, a tour offered October 8 by the Seattle Architectural Foundation, offers a look at some of the more than 100 structures downtown that feature terra-cotta. Kreisman describes this baked clay as a chameleon-like material that can imitate marble, granite, limestone, and other finishes. It was at the height of its popularity from 1890 through the mid-1920s, and can be found in many of Seattle's fine old buildings, such as Smith Tower and the Times Square Building. The Coliseum Theater at Fifth Avenue and Pike Street (recently renovated and scheduled to open late next month as a Banana Republic store) sports arches, urns, swags, wreaths, and more, in what Kreisman believes is the city's richest example of the classic forms of terra-cotta. The Arctic Building's walruses show regional interpretations in terra-cotta. You also see an example of Henry Bittman's terra-cotta work on the Decatur Building.

Working Places: Retail District, a tour offered October 22, will visit the offices of city architects and designers for a look at the tools they work with and the environments they work in.

Each tour lasts 3 hours and costs $18 per person. Advance registration is recommended; call (206) 448-0106.

The Museum of History and Industry is at 2700 24th Avenue E., south of Husky Stadium; for directions, call (206) 324-1126. Admission costs $5.50, $3 seniors and ages 6 through 12, $1 ages 2 through 5. To order the book (hardbound, $40; paperback, $19.95), call University of Washington Press at (800) 441-4115.