What do a former music school building and a former automotive dealership building have in common? Both are historically and architecturally significant buildings in Pike/Pine that will be considered for nomination as city landmarks this week! Specifically this Wednesday, February 19 starting at 3:30pm on floor L2 Room L2-80 inside Seattle City Hall 600 4th Avenue.
Please consider attending the board meeting to support these nominations or submit public comment by email to sarah.sodt@seattle.gov no later than 3pm Tuesday the 18th.
Links to the full nomination reports: 1101 E Pike St Report | Booth Building Report
Our official statements of support are as follows:
1101 E. Pike Street: Capitol Hill Historical Society enthusiastically supports the nomination of 1101 E. Pike Street as a Seattle landmark under criteria C, D, and E. 1101 E. Pike is significantly associated, in design and use, with Seattle’s Auto Row. It was built for one of the very earliest automobile retailers in Seattle. Auto Row was significant to the economic history of our community, and its impact lingers today with a scattering of businesses. Auto Row was an earlier name for the Pike/Pine part of our community. 1101 E. Pike embodies a 1910s commercial building, with its transom windows, mixed brown brick masonry, and glazed ceramic tiles. The large window openings make it clearly part of the automotive show rooms from the surrounding neighborhood. It is an outstanding work of notable and influential Seattle architect Sonke Sonnichsen. His unique and prolific work contributed greatly to the development of Seattle, Vancouver, and other cities. His work can still be seen in many neighborhoods today. 1101 E. Pike's curves, lines, contrasting colors, and massing would stand out in a catalog of neighborhood buildings, auto showrooms, or Sonnichsen's work. In addition to being a beautiful representation of its architectural style, 1101 E. Pike is an exceptionally well-maintained building that retains its original look and feel in both its interior and exterior components. It maintains integrity and easily conveys its significance.
(Prepared by Tamara Bunnell and Rob Ketcherside) Booth Building:
Capitol Hill Historical Society enthusiastically supports the nomination of the Booth Building as a Seattle landmark under criteria B, C, D, E, and F. The Booth Building is associated with Nellie Cornish, a prominent local musician, founder of the Cornish School, and a life-long patron of the Arts. Cornish is an important figure in the history of Seattle and Washington State, with a legacy that continues to have a significant impact on the city’s culture to this day through Cornish College of the Arts. Not only was the Booth Building the first location of the Cornish School (then called the Cornish School of Music), it was also her residence, making the building significantly associated with her and her lasting legacy. During her tenure here, she bolstered the city’s diverse and cosmopolitan character by inviting, hosting, and hiring artists from all over the world to work and perform in the space.
Both Nellie Cornish herself and the Cornish School, which operated in the Booth Building from 1914 to 1921, hold significant roles in the cultural heritage of Seattle and the region beyond. From its earliest years, the Cornish School has been a cornerstone of arts education and patronage in Seattle. As our city’s first notable art school, Cornish was a draw for artists from around the world, and they flourished here. In turn, the city flourished as a place known for innovation and creativity in the Arts. Cornish, and therefore the Booth Building, set the tone for numerous organizations and movements to follow, from the Seattle Arts Commission and the Chihuly School of Glass to grunge & indie rock, and all-ages music and arts spaces like Vera Project. The area near the Booth Building continues to thrive as a creative hub, no doubt in part because of the early tone set there by Cornish. The Booth Building, in our opinion, retains enough visible characteristics of the Mission Revival style to convey significance. This includes the square tower with pyramidal hipped roof, stucco exterior, arched windows, and the arched and flat window hoods.
The Booth Building is also an outstanding work of Thompson & Thompson.
It stands out as one of the last remaining and largest of the Mission Revival style buildings in the Pike/Pine area. Furthermore, it is one of the oldest and few remaining pre-1910 structures on Broadway and in Pike/Pine, making it an easily identifiable visual feature in the neighborhood. It also stands on an important and prominent corner that has long connected downtown to the Broadway district.
(Prepared by Tamara Bunnell, Tom Heuser, and Rob Ketcherside)
The meeting's official agenda is as follows: APPROVAL OF MINUTES - 5 minutes
November 20, 2019
NOMINATIONS
1101 E. Pike Street - 45 minutes
909 E. Pine Street - 45 minutes
Booth Building - 45 minutes
1534 Broadway
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
Magnolia Elementary School - 30 minutes
2418 28th Avenue West
Proposed building addition; Phase 2
CONTROLS & INCENTIVES - 10 minutes
The Showbox
1426 First Avenue
Request for extension
STAFF REPORT - 5 minutes
