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Pioneer Square (Seattle, Wash.), Smith Tower, front elevation
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| Title | Pioneer Square (Seattle, Wash.), Smith Tower, front elevation |
| Architectural Firm Name | Gaggin & Gaggin |
| Architects | Gaggin, Edwin H.
Gaggin, T. Walker |
| Artist | Steinbrueck, Victor |
| Client | Smith, Lyman Cornelius, 1850-1910 |
| Date of Drawing Execution | 1972 |
| Object Type | Architectural drawings |
| Physical Description | Ink and graphite on tracing paper: 87 x 46 cm. |
| Building Street Address | 502 2nd Avenue |
| Building Location | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Purpose | Record drawings
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| Representation | Elevations
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| Descriptive Notes | Handwritten beneath drawing:
Smith Tower
Signed by artist:
[copyright] Victor Steinbrueck '72 |
| Building Notes | Architect, educator, and artist Victor Steinbrueck helped foster responsible civic development though his efforts in promoting revitalization programs for the city of Seattle. Along with many others, Steinbrueck's work to raise awareness of Seattle's historic and architectural significance resulted in the city's adoption of historic preservation ordinances, including the one that made Pioneer Square the city's first National Register district in 1970. These drawings were part of a study he conducted of that area in the late 1960s, early 1970s. The Smith Tower was completed in 1914 and was considered the tallest building west of the Mississippi at that time. It was commissioned by the typewriter and rifle magnate Lyman C. Smith. Smith hired Gaggin & Gaggin, an architecture firm from New York to design the building with the most modern technology available. In addition to its fireproofed structural steel frame, it had interior doors and trim of metal, finished to look like mahogany as well as bronze window frames. The building's exterior, almost entirely clad in gleaming white terra cotta, is one of the finer examples of the legacy of terra cotta clad buildings in Seattle. When it opened, the Smith Tower contained the latest conveniences of the time, including: lavatories on every floor, telephone, telegraph, wireless and cable offices. It also featured shops and restaurants. It is still famous for the richness of its lobby interior, paneled with Pedrara onyx, the ornate steel cage elevator cabs, upper floor lobbies clad in marble, as well as the Chinese Room. The room's name derives from the extensive carved wood, porcelain ceiling and elaborately carved blackwood furniture that were gifts to Smith from the last Empress of China. |
| Subjects (LCTGM) | Elevations |
| Subjects (LCSH) | Smith Tower (Seattle, Wash.); Pioneer Square (Seattle, Wash.); Office buildings--Washington (State)--Seattle--Designs and plans |
| Digital Collection | Architecture Collection
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| Digital ID Number | ARC0529
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| Ordering Information | Restrictions apply to the ordering of this image. Please contact photos@u.washington.edu for more information. |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Victor Steinbrueck Collection |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original drawing in RGB at 200-400 dpi, saved in TIFF format, changed to indexed color, enhanced and resized using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2006. |
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