Bank of California Building (Seattle)

Last updated
Bank of California Building
Bank of California Building - Seattle (2014).jpg
The Bank of California Building in 2014
Location Seattle, Washington
Coordinates 47°36′15″N122°20′4″W / 47.60417°N 122.33444°W / 47.60417; -122.33444 Coordinates: 47°36′15″N122°20′4″W / 47.60417°N 122.33444°W / 47.60417; -122.33444
DesignatedSeptember 8, 1987 [1]
Seattle, WA - Downtown - OpenStreetMap.png
Red pog.svg
Location of Bank of California Building in Seattle WA Downtown

The Bank of California Building is a landmark building located at 815 2nd Avenue in Seattle, Washington. It is located mid-block adjoining the Exchange Building. It was built by the Bank of California (predecessor to the Union Bank of California) in 1924 and has been continually used as a bank ever since. It housed the offices for the Bank of California until 1973 when a new building, the Union Bank of California Center was built at the corner of 4th and Madison Streets. Ironically, this newer, larger building is no longer used as a bank and instead is occupied by a Bartell Drugs store. The original Bank of California Building was retained as a branch office until being sold to the Puget Sound Mutual Savings Bank in 1982 which was headquartered in the building until 1993 when through a series of mergers and acquisitions the bank became a branch of Key Bank, which it remains to present day.

Contents

The Building is a rectangular two Story plus basement Reinforced concrete building faced with terra cotta meant to imitate stone. It features a sky-lit banking room that spans all floors and includes a mezzanine. It was designed in a "strict Italian Renaissance" style typical of many banks in the 1920s by John Graham & Company, one of Seattle's most prominent architectural firms. Graham's firm under his predecessor, John Graham, Jr., would also design the building's aforementioned replacement in 1973.

The Bank of California Building was designated a City of Seattle Landmark in 1987. [2]

History

The Bank of California, organized in San Francisco in 1864, came to Seattle in 1905 with the acquisition of the London and San Francisco Bank who had branches in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland, Oregon. The Bank of California became a national bank in 1910 and soon was one of the biggest banks west of the Mississippi River. By the early 1920s the bank had outgrown its small office at the Northwest corner of 2nd Avenue and Columbia Street. In May 1923 the bank purchased the Epler Block located two doors north of their own from the Epler Estate for $160,000 with the intention of building a new bank building on the site. [3] The property had been purchased in 1882 by W.F. Epler who, following the Great Seattle fire, built a substantial four story brick and stone building on the lot that was completed in 1890. [4]

The bank chose the John Graham firm to design a two-story plus mezzanine concrete structure with a terra cotta facade that would cost around $200,000 but would actually cost $50,000 more. A completed architectural sketch of the building was published in the Seattle Times on September 25, 1923. [5] A preliminary and apparently innovative concept hatched during the building's designing was to incorporate customer parking in the building's basement. It is unknown whether this idea was actually implemented. [6] Demolition of the Epler Block began in November 1923 and lasted for several months. [7] Construction began in early 1924 and by May of that year, the concrete structure was complete. The building officially opened to the public on August 25, 1924. [8]

The bank continued to expand by opening offices in the adjoining Exchange Building and constructing a parking garage to the south. By the late 1960s, they were ready to expand and set out to construct the Union Bank of California Center, which covered an entire city block bound by Madison, Marion, Fourth and Fifth Avenues and would contain over 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of space for the bank, much more than the old building had. [9] When the new bank opened in early 1974, the original building was retained as a branch office which prompted local banks to file suit claiming unfair competition, which was later overturned. [10] [11] By 1983, Bank of California had left the building and it became the main office of the Savings Bank of Puget Sound, formerly the Puget Sound Mutual Savings Bank. [12] The savings bank was purchased by Puget Sound Bancorp of Tacoma in 1986 which in turn was acquired by KeyCorp in 1993. [13] The building has housed a Key Bank branch ever since.

Description

The building in 2008, before the modern entrance canopy was removed Seattle - 815 Second Ave 02.jpg
The building in 2008, before the modern entrance canopy was removed

Exterior

The 60-foot (18 m) wide Second Avenue facade of the Bank is clad in gray glazed terra cotta meant to imitate stone. The facade is composed of large windows framed by four free standing Roman ionic columns with two related pilasters, the center space being slightly spread to allow for the entrance doors, capped with a large arched pediment. The entablature is crowned by an attic forming the fourth floor. The design follows the Ionic order and includes an architrave and frieze which once bore the name of the bank but is now bare. Above the fourth floor is a smaller cornice topped with a pediment bearing the building's date of construction. [8]

Interior

The main feature of the bank was the 60 by 70-foot (21 m) main banking room with a 40-foot (12 m) high rotunda ceiling. The interior was described by The Seattle Times in an August, 1924 article:

The high ceiling is semi-pompeian in design with polychromatic with an overall octagon motif. The pilasters are adorned with magnificent bronze torch lights. The columns are bronzed and the metal work surrounding the columns is old bronze to blend in its entirety with the marble counters, the walnut woodwork and the genuine bronze grill work. [8]

The marble used for the counters and floors was variegated Escolette imported from France while woodwork was made of polished black walnut. Large clocks, with dials of escolette were centered in balcony grill work at each end of the main lobby. Offices were located on each balcony. [8] The basement housed the vaults and recreation rooms for employees while the fourth floor contained offices and a large club room for employees. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrigley Building</span> Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located at 400–410 North Michigan Avenue on Chicago's Near North Side. It is located on the Magnificent Mile directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower. Its two towers in an elaborate style were built between 1920 and 1924 to house the corporate headquarters of the Wrigley Company. Its bright white facade is covered in terra cotta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneer Building (Seattle)</span> Historic building in Seattle, Washington, USA

The Pioneer Building is a Richardsonian Romanesque stone, red brick, terra cotta, and cast iron building located on the northeast corner of First Avenue and James Street, in Seattle's Pioneer Square District. Completed in 1892, the Pioneer Building was designed by architect Elmer Fisher, who designed several of the historic district's new buildings following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of Italy Building (San Francisco)</span> United States historic place

The Bank of Italy Building, also known as the Clay-Montgomery Building, is a building in San Francisco, California. This eight-story building became the headquarters of A. P. Giannini's Bank of Italy in 1908 after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed the original bank building on Montgomery Avenue in the nearby neighborhood of North Beach. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978 for its association with Giannini, who revolutionized retail banking in the early 20th century.

The Studebaker Building is a former structure at 1600 Broadway on the northeast corner at 48th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It was erected by the Juilliard Estate, in 1902, between Broadway and 7th Avenue, in the area north of Times Square. It was demolished in 2004 to make room for an apartment tower, a twenty- five story, 136 unit, luxury condominium designed by architect Einhorn Yaffee Prescott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Street (Los Angeles)</span> Historic district in Downtown Los Angeles

Spring Street in Los Angeles is one of the oldest streets in the city. Along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Street is the NRHP-listed Spring Street Financial District, nicknamed Wall Street of the West, lined with Beaux Arts buildings and currently experiencing gentrification. This section forms part of the Historic Core district of Downtown, together with portions of Hill, Broadway, Main and Los Angeles streets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Office Building (Seattle)</span> Historic building in Seattle, Washington, United States

The Federal Office Building, Seattle, Washington is a historic federal office building located at Seattle in King County, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Financial District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Detroit Financial District is a United States historic district in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2009, and was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of December 24, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pershing Square Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Pershing Square Building, also known as 125 Park Avenue or 100 East 42nd Street, is a 25-story office building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, across from Grand Central Terminal to the north and adjacent to 110 East 42nd Street to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colman Building</span> Historic building in Seattle, Washington

The Colman Building is a historic office building on First Avenue in downtown Seattle, Washington. It occupies a half of a block in proximity to Pioneer Square, and is bound by First Avenue, Marion, and Columbia Streets. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a City of Seattle landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Shopping Tower</span> United States historic place

The Olympic Tower, originally known as the United Shopping Tower, then the Northwestern Mutual Insurance Building, and later, the Olympic Savings Tower, is a historic 12-story office tower located in Seattle, Washington and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally built in 1929 at the Southwest corner of Third Avenue and Pine Street for the United Pacific Corporation under the control of Seattle investment firm Drumheller, Ehrlichman and White. It was designed by Henry Bittman who would also design additions to the building in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holyoke Building</span> Historic building in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Holyoke Building is a historic building located in downtown Seattle, Washington. It is a substantial five story brick structure with stone trimmings. Construction began at the corner of First Avenue and Spring Streets just before the Great Seattle fire of 1889. Completed in early 1890, it was among the first permanent buildings completed and ready for occupancy in downtown Seattle following the fire. Today the Holyoke Building is one of the very few such buildings still standing in Seattle outside of the Pioneer Square district and is a historic remnant of the northward expansion of Seattle's business district between the time of the great fire and the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States National Bank Building</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The United States National Bank Building in downtown Portland, Oregon was designed by A. E. Doyle in a Roman classical style, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The four-story building's first section, facing Sixth Avenue, was completed and opened in 1917. The building features a four-story Corinthian colonnade at its eastern end and makes extensive use of glazed terracotta. The interior is also decorated extensively with highly textured materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Reserve Bank Building (Seattle)</span> Historic bank building in Seattle, Washington

The Federal Reserve Bank Building, also known as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Seattle Branch, served as the offices of the Seattle branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for over 50 years, from 1951 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Center Commercial Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The New Center Commercial Historic District is a commercial historic district located on Woodward Avenue between Baltimore Street and Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eitel Building</span>

The Eitel Building is an eight-story hotel building at the corner of Pike Street and 2nd Avenue in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Originally built by the Eitel Brothers in 1904 to house medical offices, the building had been mostly vacant since the 1970s and described as an eyesore. In 2016, after several attempted purchases by local developers, the Eitel Building was sold to a development company that announced its intent to convert the building into a boutique hotel. The hotel renovation, which also added the eighth floor, cost $16 million and was completed in early 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">110 East 42nd Street</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

110 East 42nd Street, also known as the Bowery Savings Bank Building, is an 18-story office building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The structure was designed in the Italian Romanesque Revival style by York and Sawyer, with William Louis Ayres as the partner in charge. It is on the south side of 42nd Street, across from Grand Central Terminal to the north and between the Pershing Square Building to the west and the Chanin Building to the east. 110 East 42nd Street is named for the Bowery Savings Bank, which had erected the building as a new branch structure to supplement its original building at 130 Bowery. The building was erected within "Terminal City", a collection of buildings above the underground tracks surrounding Grand Central, and makes use of real-estate air rights above the tracks. The building is directly above the New York City Subway's Grand Central–42nd Street station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interurban Building (Seattle)</span> United States historic place

The Interurban Building, formerly known as the Seattle National Bank Building (1890–1899), the Pacific Block (1899–1930) and the Smith Tower Annex (1930–1977), is a historic office building located at Yesler Way and Occidental Way S in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Built from 1890 to 1891 for the newly formed Seattle National Bank, it is one of the finest examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the Pacific Northwest and has been cited by local architects as one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Seattle. It was the breakthrough project of young architect John Parkinson, who would go on to design many notable buildings in the Los Angeles area in the late 19th and early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwich Savings Bank Building</span> Historic bank building in Manhattan, New York

The Greenwich Savings Bank Building, also known as the Haier Building and 1356 Broadway, is an office building at 1352–1362 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Constructed as the headquarters of the Greenwich Savings Bank from 1922 to 1924, it occupies a trapezoidal parcel bounded by 36th Street to the south, Sixth Avenue to the east, and Broadway to the west. The Greenwich Savings Bank Building was designed in the Classical Revival style by York and Sawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building (175 Broadway)</span> Historic bank building in Brooklyn, New York

The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, also known as the Weylin and 175 Broadway, is a former bank building at 175 Broadway in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Constructed as the headquarters of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank in 1875 and subsequently expanded several times, it occupies the northwest corner of Broadway and Driggs Avenue, just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building was designed in the Classical Revival style by George B. Post, with interiors by Peter B. Wight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Bank Building</span> Bank and apartment building in Manhattan, New York

The Apple Bank Building, also known as the Central Savings Bank Building and 2100 Broadway, is a bank and residential building at 2100–2114 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Constructed as a branch of the Central Savings Bank from 1926 to 1928, it occupies a trapezoidal city block bounded by 73rd Street to the south, Amsterdam Avenue to the east, 74th Street to the north, and Broadway to the west. The Apple Bank Building was designed by York and Sawyer in the Renaissance Revival and palazzo styles, patterned after an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo.

References

  1. "Landmarks and Designation". City of Seattle. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  2. Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for B Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine , Individual Landmarks, Department of Neighborhoods, City of Seattle. Accessed 6 December 2010.
  3. "New Bank Building to Go Up - Epler Block Changes Hands" Seattle Times 8 May 1923. Pg. 9.
  4. "An Old Landmark to Be Replaced by Modern Bank Building [Advertisement]" Seattle Times 10 May 1923. Pg. 8.
  5. "Graphic-Fiction Page" Seattle Times 25 Sept. 1923.
  6. "Bank to Build Home" Seattle Times 9 May 1923. Pg. 23.
  7. "Modern Building to Replace Epler Block" Seattle Times 14 Oct. 1923. Pg. 18.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Bank of California to Occupy New Home" Seattle Times 24 Aug. 1924. Pg.4
  9. Lane, Polly "Bank of California to Build Downtown Office Building." Seattle Times 1 Jul. 1970. Pg. B3.
  10. Gay, Jerry "New Bank Building Opens" Seattle Times 7 Jan. 1974. Pg. A6.
  11. Laurence, Erwin [Editor] "Bank's Right to Two Offices Upheld By U.S. Appeals Court" Seattle Times 7 Feb. 1974. Pg. G6.
  12. "Savings Bank's Income Increases" Seattle Times 16 Jul. 1982. Pg. C11.
  13. Lim, Paul J. "Building - And Buying - A Name For Itself -- Key Bank Strives To Boost Visibility In Northwest" Seattle Times 2 Mar. 1995. Retrieved December 8, 2010
  14. "Bank Builds New Home" Seattle Times 6 Jul. 1924. Pg. B8.