Seattle Times Building
Seattle Times Building | |
---|---|
Indiana limestone | |
Floor count | 5 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Robert C. Reamer |
Architecture firm | Metropolitan Building Company |
Main contractor | Teufel & Carlson Builders |
Designated | March 11, 1996[1] |
The Seattle Times Building was an
The exterior and roof of the Seattle Times Building were designated a city landmark in 1996. Designed by Robert C. Reamer with elements of the Art Deco and Moderne styles, the reinforced concrete building was representative of early 20th century architecture in Seattle.
The newspaper moved out of the building in 2011 and sold it in 2013 to
Architecture and design
The Seattle Times Building was situated on a full
The original building, which measured 135 feet (41 m) long, 68 feet (21 m) wide, and 24 feet (7.3 m) high,
The front entrance of the 1931 office building, on the southeast corner of the block, faced south on John Street towards
Inside the public lobby of the building were walls and floors made of light tan
History
From 1916 onward, the Blethen Building near modern-day McGraw Square was the headquarters and printing plant for The Seattle Times, one of Seattle's two daily newspapers. The newspaper had been founded in 1896 and moved from two previous offices and printing plants, each time relocating further and further north of the city's historic central business district. By 1930, the newspaper's circulation averaged over 100,000 copies per day and the strain of its growth had caused the location to run out of office space and present logistical problems with printing and distribution, especially as Stewart Street, used by delivery trucks and nicknamed "Times Alley", had grown to become a major thoroughfare for automobile traffic.[2][6]
In the summer of 1929,
To prepare for the moving of printing presses, the Times began publishing shorter versions of its dailies in December 1930.[14] The newspaper began publishing at the new building on March 2, 1931, using a press capable of printing 40,000 copies per hour.[6][15] The new facility was heralded as "the finest plant yet built for an American newspaper" by the paper's publisher, C.B. Blethen;[16] other newspapers from around the state of Washington congratulated the Times on their move and complimented the building and plant on their modernity and functionality.[17] The building's location on Fairview Avenue gave rise to a nickname, "Fairview Fanny", coined by Teamster columnist Ed Donohoe to refer the newspaper's reputation as a stodgy and slow-to-change paper.[18][19]
Additions and renovations
The first major addition to the building, a three-story office building with 7,500 square feet (700 m2) of floor space primarily for the classified advertisements department, was completed to the west in 1947. The $125,000 project was postponed during World War II because of a shortage in materials, resulting in cramped conditions as circulation had, during the building's 16-year history, doubled to more than 175,000 daily and 225,000 on Sundays. A gold, illuminated sign with the Times logo in 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) letters was also placed atop the building's entrance on John Street.[20][21] In 1950, the building was expanded to the north by 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2), housing a larger mailing room, a new newsroom, and offices for the Associated Press bureau and Sunday departments.[22] A clock and temperature sign on the southeast corner of the building was installed in December 1959, with text reading "Today's News Today"; it sparked comparisons to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's globe that was installed in 1948, used as symbols of each paper's philosophy.[23][24] The clock was later changed to read "Since 1896" and a digital temperature display was added below; it was stopped permanently at 2:40 when the building was vacated.[25][26]
Post-war growth in newspaper readership prompted an even larger, $3.5 million expansion in 1964 to fit eight-unit presses and a new three-story press room to the west of the printing plant.[22][27] Four years later, an even larger $6 million addition would use up the last of the surface parking lots on the property's block, building a two-story newsroom clad in reinforced concrete instead of the limestone used on the 1931 building; a skybridge was built across an alley to connect to the older office building.[28][29] In 1979, the new newsroom was renovated and modernized and a nearby alley was filled and enclosed.[25]
On May 23, 1983, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer began its
Planned redevelopment
External image | |
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Rendering of proposed use of Times Building as a rooftop deck (DJC) |
On March 11, 1996, the
The Seattle Times Company began selling parcels of its land in South Lake Union to
On July 31, 2013, The Times Company announced that the two blocks would be sold to
Squatting incidents
Since the site was sold to Onni in 2013, a series of incidents with squatters and vandals have drawn attention to security issues at the vacant building. In October 2014, the city of Seattle began exploring legal action over Onni's failure to secure the site; KIRO-TV reported that at least 10 squatters occupied the building, whose first floor had been boarded up.[48]
On September 30, 2015, the Seattle Police Department cleared the building of squatters, an estimated 50 to 200 people, after unsuccessful attempts by Onni to secure the property. Prior to the operation, the city had received several complaints and medical calls to the building in response to drug overdoses.[49][50]
A series of fires in November 2015,[51] December 2015,[52] and July 2016 led to a proposal by the city to accelerate the demolition permitting process for the site.[53][54] Seattle Fire Department operations battalion chief Bryan Hatings called the building a "death trap" after the July 2016 fire, and reported at least 10 to 12 squatters had been living there.[55]
Demolition and construction
The demolition of the building's north and west side began in October 2016.[56] The west side addition was fully demolished by March 2017, and other portions of the complex were demolished by September 2017.[57] Two sides of the facade were preserved and are planned to be integrated into the new building.[47] Work was paused for several years until a master use permit was issued by the city government in March 2022. Excavation of the five-story underground parking garage at the site began later that year. The project, named 1120 John, is planned to include 935,951 square feet (86,952.7 m2) of office and retail space in two buildings that are 16 and 18 stories tall.[58] The complex, designed by Perkins&Will, includes skybridges between the two buildings over a central courtyard; 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2) of retail space for a grocery store is also included.[59]
References
- ^ a b Seattle City Council (March 15, 1996). "City of Seattle Ordinance 118046". City of Seattle Legislative Information Service. Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board. August 15, 1995. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "The New Homes of The Seattle Times". The Seattle Times. September 21, 1930. p. 2.
- ^ Kreisman, Lawrence (February 27, 2004). "Mountain Magic: In lodges, a Seattle architect honors the adventurous spirit". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ The Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "Times in New Building Tomorrow". The Seattle Times. March 1, 1931. p. 1.
- ^ "Seattle Times To Build". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. August 30, 1929. p. 2. Retrieved September 6, 2016 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Times Plans New Home On Fairview". The Seattle Times. August 29, 1929. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "Work Begins On Times' New Home". The Seattle Times. September 26, 1929. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "Building in Seattle Due For Big Gain". The Seattle Times. December 29, 1929. p. 12.
- ^ "$600,000 Bonds Issued For New Times Building". The Seattle Times. June 9, 1930. p. 26.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Construction of New Home Began on June 9, 1930". The Seattle Times. March 15, 1931. p. HC-7.
- ^ Blethen, C. B. (December 9, 1930). "An Explanation". The Seattle Times. p. 1.
- ^ "Moving of Times to New Home Gigantic Task". The Seattle Times. March 1, 1931. p. 16.
- ^ "Times' New Plant Without Newspaper Peers". The Seattle Times. March 15, 1931. p. HC-2.
- ^ "What the State Thinks: Times Moving". The Seattle Times. March 15, 1931. p. HC-6.
- ^ Duncan, Don (October 21, 1980). "Ed Donohoe: A Don Quixote who rarely misses". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. p. 7. Retrieved September 6, 2016 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Anderson, Rick (February 22, 2012). "For Sale: The Seattle Times – Its Historic Headquarters, Anyway, for Twice Its Value". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "Times Matches City's Progress: Work Is Begun on Three-Story Addition". The Seattle Times. March 4, 1947. p. 3.
- ^ "The Times Strides Forward with Seattle". The Seattle Times. December 14, 1947. pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b "Business Gain Forced Times To Construct New Plants". The Seattle Times. April 7, 1963. p. 23.
- ^ Duncan, Don (January 14, 1981). "Global issue: What about P.-I. landmark?". The Seattle Times. p. A7.
- ^ "'The Times' Time". The Seattle Times. January 3, 1960. p. 7.
- ^ a b The Johnson Partnership (October 2014). "Seattle Times Building Complex—Printing Plant Landmark Nomination" (PDF). City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Mapes, Lynda V. (February 16, 2017). "History coming down: Old Seattle Times building tumbling". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- ^ "Expansion, New Equipment Bring Later News Home Sooner". The Seattle Times. July 16, 1964. p. 16.
- ^ "Each New Press Can Run 60,000 Papers an Hour". The Seattle Times. March 26, 1967. p. 39.
- ^ "$6 Million Times Expansion Nears Finishing Stages". The Seattle Times. April 21, 1968. p. 34.
- ^ Brazier, Don (May 22, 1983). "Start to finish: The JOA begins and a career ends". The Seattle Times. p. A28.
- ^ Richman, Dan; James, Andrea (March 16, 2009). "Seattle P-I to publish last edition Tuesday". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ Lane, Polly (March 6, 1985). "Expansion Cited in Times Purchase". The Seattle Times. p. B5.
- ^ Alexander, Karen (May 22, 1992). "The Times' North Creek Presses Debut In A Smooth Run". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Lewis, Peter (August 3, 1995). "Landmarks Board Rejects Times' Request". The Seattle Times. p. B3.
- ^ "The Times Wins Zoning For New Plant". The Seattle Times. March 12, 1996. p. B2.
- ^ Serrano, Barbara A. (May 16, 1996). "South Lake Union Changing, Commons Or No Commons". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ McOmber, J. Martin (June 15, 2004). "Vulcan to buy land from Times". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "Times sells building to California real-estate investors". The Seattle Times. January 27, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Cohen, Aubrey (January 27, 2011). "Seattle Times moving out of historic headquarters (Seattle Times)". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Pryne, Eric (February 21, 2012). "Seattle Times Co. explores sale of two blocks in South Lake Union". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "Seattle City Council passes South Lake Union rezone" (Press release). Seattle City Council. May 6, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Bhatt, Sanjay (July 31, 2013). "Seattle Times Co. reaches $62.5M deal for SLU parcels". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Stiles, Marc (November 27, 2013). "Canadian developer pays $29 million for Seattle Times' old HQ". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Bhatt, Sanjay (November 19, 2013). "Developer proposes 4 residential towers in SLU". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Stiles, Marc (May 16, 2014). "Condos or apartments? Canadian developer shares details of mega project in Seattle". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "1120 John Street". Shaping Seattle: Buildings. Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Minnick, Benjamin (February 28, 2018). "Onni may switch to offices for part of its big SLU development". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ Guerrero, Maria (October 14, 2015). "City threatens legal action against owner of building with squatters". KIRO 7 News. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Clarridge, Christine (September 30, 2015). "Former Seattle Times building now home to thieves, squatters". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Miller, Mark (September 29, 2015). "Cops clear dozens of squatters out of old Seattle Times building". KOMO 4 News. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Bush, Evan (November 12, 2015). "Fire at old Seattle Times building forces squatters to leave building again". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "Crews battle another fire at old Seattle Times building". KOMO 4 News. December 10, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Lee, Jessica; Beekman, Daniel (February 23, 2016). "Squatters to hasten demolition of old Seattle Times building". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Lee, Jessica (July 15, 2016). "Officials preparing to issue demolition permit for old Seattle Times building". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Lee, Jessica (July 13, 2016). "Fire quickly put out in vacant old Seattle Times building". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ Gilbert, Greg (October 18, 2016). "Demolition started on Old Seattle Times building". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ Minnick, Benjamin (March 16, 2017). "Onni cues up apartment towers as newspaper plant comes down". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Miller, Brian (July 20, 2022). "Onni starts digging up dirt for offices within landmarked Seattle Times facade". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ Miller, Brian (March 14, 2022). "Onni secures DNS for north Seattle Times block". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
External links
- Media related to Seattle Times Building at Wikimedia Commons