The rapid industrialization of World War I inspired a bold architectural style known as Art Deco. After the horror and dread of the war, Art Deco buildings evoked feelings of hope, luxury, glamor and faith in social and technological progress.
According to the Seattle Architecture Foundation, Seattle caught on to this emerging trend and began building Art Deco interiors with northwest influences. Here are a few masterpieces from Seattle’s Art Deco scene.
Exchange Building
Photo: Exchange Building Seattle
This building was originally constructed for the Northwest Commodities and Stock Exchange on 821 Second Avenue. It was the second-tallest reinforced skyscraper in the United States when it was built in 1929. Intended to hold Seattle’s produce, grain and market exchanges, the building is decorated with “organic” motifs. Prolific English architect John Graham combined familiar Art Deco symbols such as the starburst, diamonds and chevrons with images specifically evocative of northwest marketing activities, including fruit trees, stalks of wheat and grape vines. Ironically, the Exchange building opened its doors on the eve of the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression.
The Seattle Tower (The Northern Life Building)
Photo: Wikimedia
Originally built and named to house the Northern Life Insurance Company in 1929, the Seattle Tower was made to resemble the mountain ranges surrounding Seattle. Native American, Central American, Polynesian and Asian motifs mix into the Art Deco style. Totem poles are etched on elevator doors, while feather headdresses are a part of the upper door frame pattern. A pagoda, a Mayan pyramid and the Great Wall of China are depicted. Designed by architect Abraham Horace Albertson with Joseph Wade Wilson and Paul David Richardson, and constructed primarily by local contractors, it cost about $2 million and took a year to build, reports HistoryLink.
Washington Athletic Club
Photo: Wikipedia
This athletic club comes with a built-in Art Deco-style pool used in the 1930s by Seattle native Helene Madison. Madison trained in the Washington Athletic Club pool for her record-breaking Olympic performances. The building’s exterior features unique eagles watching passersby.
The Seattle Asian Art Museum
Photo: Wikimedia
The Seattle Asian Art Museum in Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park is an Art Deco-style building that houses a large collection of ancient and contemporary art. Designed by Seattle firm Bebb and Gould and built in 1933, it originally held the Seattle Art Museum’s entire collection. Aluminum figures prominently throughout the space — the metal’s manufacturing costs were significantly reduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, making it more readily available and common in Art Deco buildings.
