Seattle Times Building

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The Seattle Times Building in 2007

The Seattle Times Building is the vacant former headquarters of the Seattle Times . The three-story building was built for the newspaper in 1931 and was later expanded to provide more office space and space for the printing press .

The facade and roof of the Seattle Times Building were classified as a City Landmark in 1996 . The structure was designed by Robert C. Reamer and incorporates elements of Art Deco and Modernism , and the reinforced concrete structure is representative of the architecture of the early 20th century in Seattle.

The newspaper moved out in 2011 and sold the building in 2013 to the Onni Group , a Canadian construction company that plans to erect four skyscrapers for residential purposes on the site and the adjacent parking lot. Onni plans to preserve the facade of the building and to integrate it into the podium of an 82 m high building and to provide it with a roof terrace. The demolition of the structure began in October 2016 after incidents with squatters .

Architecture and design

The main entrance of the building, photo from 2007

The Seattle Times Building occupies an entire block between John Street to the south, Boren Avenue North to the west, Thomas Street to the north, and Fairview Avenue North to the east in the South Lake Union neighborhood north of Denny Way . The complex consists of six buildings including the 1931 office building and printing house, as well as the various additions. Most of the buildings are made of reinforced concrete built of limestone from Indiana was used in the facades of the oldest buildings.

The original building is 41 meters long, 21 meters wide, and 7.5 meters high, and was designed in 1930 by Robert C. Reamer, known for his work on Seattle's Metropolitan Tract and Yellowstone National Park . The building is an Art Deco structure that uses elements that were later used in modern architecture. The symmetrical columns and solid walls are borrowed from Beaux-Arts architecture, with some elements of minimalism; Reamer was influenced by Paul Philippe Cret and his calls for a "stunted classicism".

The front entrance of the office building, built in 1931, on the southeast corner of the block, faces south on John Street and downtown Seattle , and has the newspaper's name carved into the stone above the entrance; For several decades, this was accompanied by an ornate gold-colored sign with the headline of the newspaper, which was mounted above the main entrance. The exterior of the office building has subtle details, including etched columns and aluminum latticework on the windows, the lack of a more complicated design underlines its mass. The main entrance is behind a carefully crafted aluminum gate decorated with octagons, spirals and floral designs. On the side of the entrance there are limestone slabs in which flower reliefs have been engraved.

Inside the building's public lobby, the walls and floors are made of slightly tinted Botticino marble. Green and brown rubber tiles were used in the rest of the building.

The print shop attached to the office building and the later extensions are designed more simply, made entirely of reinforced concrete.

history

The Times Building on John Street, shot in the 1970s with the gold Times logo installed in 1947

From 1916 onwards, the Blethen Building near modern McGraw Square was the headquarters and home of the printing house for The Seattle Times , one of two Seattle daily newspapers . The newspaper was founded in 1896 and had moved twice before, each time a little north from the historic central business district . In 1930 the newspaper had a circulation of 100,000 copies printed daily and the steady growth of the newspaper caused office space to become scarce and material delivery and delivery of the printed newspapers increasing logistical problems as Stewart Street, used by the delivery trucks, became a major thoroughfare for them developed car traffic.

In the summer of 1929, The Seattle Times Company announced plans to build a new complex of buildings along Fairview Avenue in the Cascade neighborhood to house their new offices and printing facilities. The old building was built so that it could easily be converted into a traditional office building; previous plans included an increase to nine floors. On September 26, 1929, the foundation stone was laid with the participation of members of the newspaper and the Metropolitan Building Company . The foundation of the building was designed to support a 20-30 story skyscraper over the original three story building if necessary. That $ 1.25 million ( $ 20.95 million in today's prices) was partially funded by the bonds offered in the newspaper. Construction began on June 9, 1930; The general contractor was the construction company Teufel & Carlson.

In preparation for the move of the printing presses and offices, The Times began publishing shorter editions of its daily newspapers in December 1930. The newspaper began printing daily editions in the new building on March 2, 1931, using a printing press that could produce 40,000 copies an hour. The new operation was praised by CB Blethen as "the finest system that has been built for an American newspaper to date"; other Washington state newspapers congratulated the Times on moving to the new premises and on the modern and functional facility. The location of the building on Fairview Avenue led to the nickname "Fairview Fanny" coined by Teamster columnist Ed Donohoe to allude to the newspaper's reputation as a cumbersome and slow newspaper.

Extensions and renovations

The first major addition to the building was a three-story office building with 7,500 square feet of usable space for the advertising department, completed in 1947 on the west side. The $ 125,000 project had been postponed due to a lack of material during World War II . This led to cramped conditions because in the 16 years since its completion the circulation had more than doubled to more than 175,000 copies on weekdays and 225,000 on Sundays. A gold neon sign with the Times logo in six foot (180 cm) letters was posted over the entrance to the building on John Street. In 1950, 150,000 square feet were added to the north side building to create a larger mailroom and new news room, as well as offices for the Associated Press and Sunday edition departments. A clock and temperature gauge were installed in the southeast corner of the building in December 1959. The text " Today's News Today " was also displayed; this triggered comparisons with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's globe installed in 1948 , since both were symbols of the respective newspapers' philosophy.

The growth after World War II triggered an even bigger expansion in 1964. A new three-story pressroom was built on the west side of the print shop for 3.5 million US dollars. Four years later, a new two-story news room was built on the last available area of ​​the block for six million US dollars, the casing of which was made of reinforced concrete instead of the limestone used in 1931; a skybridge was built over a passageway to connect with the older office building. In 1979 the new news room was renovated and modernized and a passage was fenced off and closed.

On May 23, 1983, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Times began their Joint Operating Agreement , which resulted in both newspapers printing their respective weekday editions and the joint Sunday edition in the Seattle Times Building. The Times acquired additional land for future expansion, including the Troy Laundry Building north, totaling 14 acres in the South Lake Union neighborhood as a result of the agreement . Both newspapers were later also printed in a 1992 branch in Bothell , and there were alleged plans to build additional plants in Renton and downtown Seattle. This cooperation between the two newspapers lasted until 2009, when the PI stopped printing and from then on published it exclusively as an online medium.

Projected new use

On March 11, 1996, the Seattle City Council classified the exterior and roof of the buildings erected in 1931 as Seattle City Landmarks , following a recommendation by the Landmarks Preservation Board . The move comes because The Seattle Times Company developed plans to redevelop their properties in South Lake Union at a cost of $ 150 million while preserving the historic character of the buildings. The plans included two ten-story office towers, a larger printing plant and a multi-story parking garage .

The Seattle Times Company began selling parcels of its South Lake Union property to construction companies in 2004 to avoid layoffs and to fund a lawsuit with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . In January 2011, the Seattle Times Company announced plans to exit the Seattle Times Building and move to the 1000 Denny Building one block away, giving the old building a new use. The following year, the company launched the two remaining blocks it owned, including the Seattle Times Building and the parking garage on the south side, for which the newspaper company wanted to raise $ 80 million. The City Council of Seattle decided in May 2013 to change the development plan for South Lake Union, which made it possible to develop buildings up to 240 feet (73 m) high.

On July 31, 2013 de Seattle Times Company announced that the two properties for 62.5 million US dollars in Vancouver seated Onni Group was sold. In November, the construction company released its design to build four high-rise apartment buildings on the two blocks, including two 73-meter towers on top of the original Seattle Times Building. According to these plans, the listed facade is to be preserved and renewed and to serve as a retail podium with a roof terrace. Historical newspaper headlines are to be engraved in parts of the side facades of this base.

Squatters

The building in 2016, scaffolded for demolition

Since the property was sold to the Onni Group in 2013, a series of incidents involving squatters and vandals have drawn attention to security issues with the vacant building. In October 2014, the city administration took action against Onni because the company had failed to adequately secure the vacant building; KIRO-TV reported that at least 10 squatters were in the building, the first floor of which was boarded up.

On September 30, 2015, the Seattle Police Department cleared the building of approximately 50 to 200 squatters after Inni had previously failed to secure his property. Previously, the city had received several complaints and emergency medical calls about drug abuse .

A series of fires in November 2015, December 2015 and July 2016 led to the city council's proposal to speed up the approval process for the demolition. After the fire in July 2016, a Seattle Fire Department official called the building a "death trap" and said 10-12 squatters lived in the building.

demolition

The demolition of the north side of the building began in October 2016.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Report on Designation: Seattle Times Building ( English , PDF) City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board . August 15, 1995. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ The New Homes of The Seattle Times (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Sept. 21, 1930, p. 2. 
  3. ↑ Lawrence Kreisman: Mountain Magic: In lodges, a Seattle architect honors the adventurous spirit (English) . In: The Seattle Times , February 27, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2016. 
  4. ^ A b Robert C. Reamer : The "Seattle Times" Building . In: The Architect and Engineer , June 1931, pp. 19-26. Retrieved September 6, 2016. 
  5. ^ A b Times in New Building Tomorrow . In: The Seattle Times , March 1, 1931, p. 1. 
  6. ↑ Seattle Times To Build (English) . In: The Spokesman-Review , Aug. 30, 1929, p. 2. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  7. ↑ Times Plans New Home On Fairview (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Aug 29, 1929, pp. 1-2. 
  8. ↑ Work Begins On Times' New Home (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Sept. 26, 1929, pp. 1-2. 
  9. ↑ Building in Seattle Due For Big Gain (English) . In: The Seattle Times , December 29, 1929, p. 12. 
  10. ↑ $ 600,000 Bonds Issued For New Times Building (English) . In: The Seattle Times , June 9, 1930, p. 26. 
  11. ↑ Construction of New Home Began on June 9, 1930 (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 15, 1931, pp. HC-7. 
  12. ↑ CB Blethen: An Explanation (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Dec. 9, 1930, p. 1. 
  13. ↑ Moving of Times to New Home Gigantic Task (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 1, 1931, p. 16. 
  14. ↑ Times' New Plant Without Newspaper peers (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 15, 1931, pp. HC-2. 
  15. ↑ What the State Thinks: Moving Times (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 15, 1931, pp. HC-6. 
  16. ↑ Don Duncan: Ed Donohoe: A Don Quixote who rarely misses (English) . In: The Spokesman-Review , October 21, 1980, p. 7. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  17. ↑ Rick Anderson: For Sale: The Seattle Times - Its Historic Headquarters, Anyway, for Twice Its Value (English) . In: Seattle Weekly , February 22, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  18. ↑ Times Matches City's Progress: Work Is Begun on Three-Story Addition (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 4, 1947, p. 3. 
  19. ↑ The Times Strides Forward with Seattle (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Dec. 14, 1947, pp. 8-9. 
  20. ↑ a b Business Gain Forced Times To Construct New Plants (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Apr. 7, 1963, p. 23. 
  21. ↑ Don Duncan: Global issue: What about P.-I. landmark? (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Jan. 14, 1981, p. A7. 
  22. ↑ ' The Times' Time (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Jan 3, 1960, p. 7. 
  23. ↑ expansion, New Equipment Bring Later News Home Sooner (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Jul 16, 1964, p. 16. 
  24. ↑ Each New Press Can Run 60,000 papers an Hour (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 26, 1967, p. 39. 
  25. ↑ $ 6 Million Times Expansion Nears Finishing Stages (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Apr 21, 1968, p. 34. 
  26. ↑ The Johnson Partnership: Seattle Times Building Complex Printing Plant Landmark Nomination ( English , PDF) City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board. October 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  27. ↑ Don Brazier: Start to finish: The JOA begins and a career ends (English) . In: The Seattle Times , May 22, 1983, p. A28. 
  28. ↑ Polly Lane: Expansion Cited in Times Purchase (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 6, 1985, p. B5. 
  29. ↑ Karen Alexander: The Times' North Creek Presses Debut In A Smooth Run (English) . In: The Seattle Times , May 22, 1992. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  30. ^ Patrick Oppmann: Seattle Post-Intelligencer prints final edition in online transition (English) , CNN . March 17, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  31. ^ Peter Lewis: Landmarks Board Rejects Times' Request (English) . In: The Seattle Times , Aug 3, 1995, p. B3. 
  32. ↑ The Times Wins Zoning For New Plant (English) . In: The Seattle Times , March 12, 1996, p. B2. 
  33. ^ Barbara A. Serrano: South Lake Union Changing, Commons Or No Commons (English) . In: The Seattle Times , May 16, 1996. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  34. ^ J. Martin McOmber: Vulcan to buy land from Times (English) . In: The Seattle Times , June 15, 2004. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  35. ↑ Times sells building to California real-estate investors (English) . In: The Seattle Times , January 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  36. ^ Aubrey Cohen: Seattle Times moving out of historic headquarters (Seattle Times) (English) . In: Seattle Post-Intelligencer , January 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  37. ↑ Eric Pryne: Seattle Times Co. explores sale of two blocks in South Lake Union (English) . In: The Seattle Times , February 21, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  38. ↑ Seattle City Council passes South Lake Union rezone ( English ) Seattle City Council . May 6, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  39. ↑ Sanjay Bhatt: Seattle Times Co. reaches $ 62.5M deal for SLU parcels (English) . In: The Seattle Times , July 31, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  40. ↑ Marc Stiles: Canadian developer pays $ 29 million for Seattle Times' old HQ (English) . In: Puget Sound Business Journal , November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  41. ^ Sanjay Bhatt: Developer proposes 4 residential towers in SLU (English) . In: The Seattle Times , November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  42. ↑ Marc Stiles: Condos or apartments? Canadian developer shares details of mega project in Seattle (English) . In: Puget Sound Business Journal , May 16, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  43. ↑ 1120 John Street ( English ) In: Shaping Seattle: Buildings . Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections . Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  44. ↑ Read all about it: Onni tweaks the design for huge development SLU (English) . In: Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce , May 12, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  45. ^ Maria Guerrero: City threatens legal action against owner of building with squatters (English) , KIRO 7 News . October 14, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  46. ↑ Christine Clarridge: Former Seattle Times building now home to thieves, squatters (English) . In: The Seattle Times , September 30, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  47. ↑ Mark Miller: Cops clear dozens of squatters out of old Seattle Times building (English) , KOMO 4 News . September 29, 2015. Accessed November 27, 2016. 
  48. ^ Evan Bush: Fire at old Seattle Times building forces squatters to leave building again (English) . In: The Seattle Times , November 12, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2016. 
  49. ^ Crews battle another fire at old Seattle Times building (English) , KOMO 4 News. December 10, 2015. Accessed September 6, 2016. 
  50. ↑ squatters to hasten demolition of old Seattle Times building (English) . In: The Seattle Times , February 23, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  51. ↑ Jessica Lee: Officials preparing to issue demolition permit for old Seattle Times building (English) . In: The Seattle Times , July 15, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  52. ↑ Jessica Lee: Fire quickly put out in vacant old Seattle Times building (English) . In: The Seattle Times , July 13, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 
  53. ^ Greg Gilbert: Demolition started on Old Seattle Times building (English) . In: The Seattle Times , October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016. 

Web links

Commons : Seattle Times Building  - collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 37 '12.8 "  N , 122 ° 20' 6.5"  W.