Smith Tower

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Smith Tower
Smith Tower
Basic data
Place: Seattle , WA ( USA )
Construction time : 1910-1914
Status : Built
Architect : Gaggin & Gaggin
Technical specifications
Height : 147.5 m
Floors : 42
Elevators : 7th
Usable area : 79964 m²

The Smith Tower is the oldest skyscraper in the city of Seattle in the US state of Washington . From its completion in 1914 to the construction of the Space Needle in 1962, the 147.5 meter high building was the tallest free-standing structure on the west coast of the United States . It has 42 floors.

history

The building was named after its builder, the former firearms and later typewriter manufacturer Lyman Cornelius Smith (1834-1910). In 1909, he planned to build a fourteen-story building in Seattle. His son Burns Lyman Smith was able to convince the manufacturer to have a significantly taller building than the National Real Estate Building in nearby Tacoma in terms of its overall height. At the time, this was the tallest building west of the Mississippi . By the time the Smith Tower opened on July 3, 1914, Lyman Cornelius Smith was no longer alive. The building was now the fourth tallest in the world and the tallest outside of Manhattan . When the Space Needle opened in 1962, it was no longer the tallest structure in the city.

Ivar Haglund, musician and owner of the restaurant chain Ivar's , bought the Smith Tower in 1976 for 1.8 million dollars . The Samis Foundation acquired the building, which is mainly used for office space, twenty years later. In 2006 it was bought by Walton Street Capital . Renovations were made in 1986 and 1999.

Building

The Smith Tower is an example of neoclassical architecture. The facade of the two lowest floors is made of granite , that of the rest of terracotta . The outside of the building has only been cleaned once since it was built, in 1976, as the facade remained remarkably clean for a long time, even without the building being cleaned.

The skyscraper is the only one on the west coast of the United States whose elevators are still operated by elevator operators. The brass ornate elevators were manufactured by the Otis Elevator Company . Lattice doors give passengers a view into all corridors and through the glass walls into every office. The Chinese Room is located on the 35th floor, that of the viewing platform. The furnishings of the room and the ceiling decoration come from China . The Chinese room is considered one of the main attractions of the building.

In the early 1990s, a tank formerly used to store over 10,000 gallons (approximately 38,000 liters) of water was removed from the top of the building. The work gained considerable space. Today these top three floors are used as a penthouse apartment, the only apartment in Smith Tower.

photos

  • View from the Pacific Building, in the background

  • View from Columbia Center

  • View from Smith Tower over Seattle city center, Puget Sound and Columbia Center

Web links

Commons : Smith Tower  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sally B. Woodridge, Roger Montgomery: A Guide to Architecture in Washington State . University of Washington Press, 1980, p. 116, ISBN 0-295-95779-4 .

Coordinates: 47 ° 36 ′ 7.5 ″  N , 122 ° 19 ′ 54.5 ″  W.