Alaska Building

The Alaska Building is a historic 15-floor building in Seattle, Washington, completed in 1904 during the period when the city was expanding rapidly as a commercial gateway to Alaska and the Klondike region. It is associated with Seattle’s Gold Rush-era growth and was conceived to support business and social connections between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The building occupies the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Cherry Street, at the northern edge of Seattle’s Pioneer Square area. The project developed from the activities of Scandinavian-American Bank. In 1903, the bank’s shareholders acquired the site from the Amos Brown estate with the intention of constructing a bank building. J. C. Marmaduke of St. Louis subsequently proposed a larger development, and the bank’s shareholders approved the more ambitious Alaska Building. The building was designed by the St. Louis firm Eames and Young, under the supervision of Seattle architects Saunders and Lawton, and constructed by James Black Masonry Construction. Work lasted approximately eleven months. Architecturally, the Alaska Building is notable for being the first steel-frame building of substantial height in the Pacific Northwest and for its Beaux-Arts-inspired terra-cotta exterior. It was Seattle’s first skyscraper and the tallest building in the city and the state of Washington when completed. It retained the Seattle height record until the construction of taller buildings elsewhere, including Spokane’s Old National Bank Building, completed in 1910. The structure helped establish Second Avenue as an important commercial corridor, later characterized as the city’s “Second Avenue canyon.” The building’s original functions reflected its commercial and regional identity. Scandinavian-American Bank occupied the main-floor banking hall, while the Alaska Club used the penthouse and maintained a reading room containing Alaska newspapers and mineral exhibits. The club’s presence connected the building to Seattle’s promotional identity as the “Gateway to the Klondike,” a civic and commercial campaign that followed the arrival of Alaska prospectors in Seattle in 1897. The Alaska Building remains significant for its engineering, architectural style, and connection to Seattle’s early twentieth-century economic development. It stands within the Pioneer Square Historic District, established by Seattle ordinance in 1970 and recognized as a National Register historic district in the same year. The building was rehabilitated in 1982 by Stickney/Murphy. In 2007, American Life, Inc. purchased the property for $38.7 million. A subsequent renovation preserved important historic elements, including the exterior, marble lobby, original crown molding, window framing, and wood pillars. The renovated building reopened in June 2010 as the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel, giving the historic structure a contemporary hospitality use while retaining much of its architectural character.

The Alaska Building emerged from Seattle’s transformation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. After prospectors returning from Alaska arrived at a Seattle wharf in 1897 with a large quantity of gold, Seattle promoted itself as the “Gateway to the Klondike.” The campaign strengthened the city’s commercial relationship with Alaska and encouraged population growth, investment, transportation development, and construction. The Alaska Building was conceived within this boom and became a physical expression of Seattle’s ambitions as the principal Pacific Northwest center for Alaska-related trade. In 1903, Scandinavian-American Bank acquired the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Cherry Street from the Amos Brown estate. The initial plan was to build a new bank structure. J. C. Marmaduke of St. Louis then proposed a larger project, and the bank’s shareholders supported the development of the Alaska Building. The project was intended not only to provide commercial space but also to encourage business relationships between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and to serve as a social center for people connected with the region. The building was designed by Eames and Young, an architectural firm based in St. Louis, with local supervision by Saunders and Lawton. James Black Masonry Construction served as contractor. Construction took approximately eleven months, and the fourteen-story building was completed in 1904. Its steel-frame construction was a major technical milestone: it was described as the first steel-frame building of substantial height in the Pacific Northwest and became Seattle’s first skyscraper. At completion, it was the tallest building in Washington and held Seattle’s height record for several years, until newer buildings surpassed it around 1910–1911. The Alaska Building used terra-cotta ornament and a Beaux-Arts-influenced design, a style relatively uncommon among Seattle’s historic buildings. Its height and decorative treatment made it a prominent element of the city’s developing commercial core. The building helped establish the visual scale of Second Avenue, which later became known for its concentration of substantial commercial structures. Its upper-level porthole windows provided views toward the waterfront and the shipping, shipbuilding, and railroad activity stimulated by Seattle’s Alaska trade. The building’s interior uses reinforced its regional role. Scandinavian-American Bank occupied the principal banking hall on the ground floor. The Alaska Club convened in the penthouse and operated a reading room stocked with Alaska newspapers and mineral specimens. These facilities linked finance, civic networking, and popular interest in the Far North. Historical accounts also associate the entrance with a gold nugget embedded in the front door, a symbolic reminder of the Gold Rush connection, although the present condition of that feature is not established here. The Alaska Building later became part of the Pioneer Square historic environment. Seattle created the Pioneer Square Historic District by ordinance in 1970, and the Pioneer Square–Skid Road area was listed as a National Register historic district that year. The building underwent rehabilitation in 1982 under the direction of Stickney/Murphy. In the early twenty-first century, its use shifted toward hospitality. American Life, Inc. purchased the property on December 6, 2007, for $38.7 million. Renovation preserved the historic exterior and selected interior elements, including the marble lobby, crown molding, window framing, and wood pillars. In June 2010, the renovated property opened as the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel. The adaptive-reuse project allowed the structure to continue operating while retaining substantial evidence of its original architectural character.

1. 2010Adaptive reuse as a Courtyard hotel

   After renovation and preservation work, the building began operating as the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel in June.

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2. 2007American Life acquires the property

   American Life, Inc. purchased the Alaska Building for $38.7 million on December 6.

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3. 1982Building rehabilitated

   The Alaska Building underwent rehabilitation associated with the architectural firm Stickney/Murphy.

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4. 1970Pioneer Square receives historic-district recognition

   Seattle established the Pioneer Square Historic District by ordinance, and the broader Pioneer Square–Skid Road area received National Register historic-district recognition.

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5. 1910Washington height record begins to change

   Spokane’s Old National Bank Building was completed, marking the period when the Alaska Building’s statewide height distinction was surpassed.

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6. 1904Alaska Building completed

   The fourteen-story building was completed after approximately eleven months of construction. It became Seattle’s first skyscraper and the tallest building in Washington at the time.

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7. 1903Scandinavian-American Bank acquires the building site

   The bank purchased the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Cherry Street, initially intending to construct a bank building before the larger Alaska Building proposal emerged.

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8. 1897Seattle promotes itself as the Gateway to the Klondike

   The arrival of Alaska prospectors and gold in Seattle helped drive a promotional and commercial boom that created the economic setting for projects such as the Alaska Building.

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A Seattle historic landmark and adaptive-reuse hospitality property whose identity is rooted in the city’s Klondike-era commercial expansion, early skyscraper development, and preserved Beaux-Arts architecture.

• Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer SquareHotel2010

  The Alaska Building’s current documented hospitality use is the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel. The conversion followed the 2007 acquisition by American Life, Inc. and renovation completed for a June 2010 opening. The project retained the historic exterior and several notable interior features, including the marble lobby, original crown molding, window framing, and wood pillars. It represents an adaptive-reuse model in which a landmark commercial building continues to serve a modern lodging function.

• 1897Gateway to the Klondike

  Seattle · Alaska · Pacific Northwest

  Seattle promoted itself as the principal gateway for people, goods, and investment connected with the Klondike and Alaska Gold Rush. The civic-commercial campaign contributed to population growth and infrastructure investment and helped create the environment in which the Alaska Building was planned.

  Outcome. The campaign strengthened Seattle’s regional commercial identity and encouraged development of major buildings and institutions associated with Alaska trade.

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• 2010Adaptive reuse as a Courtyard by Marriott hotelStrategy

  Following acquisition, the historic structure required a contemporary operating use compatible with preservation of its landmark character.

  What changed. The building was renovated and reopened as the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel in June 2010.

  Aftermath. The conversion created an active hospitality use while retaining the original exterior, marble lobby, crown molding, window framing, and wood pillars.

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• 2007Acquisition by American Life, Inc.M&A

  The historic building was repositioned for continued use during the redevelopment of Seattle’s Pioneer Square area.

  What changed. American Life, Inc. purchased the property for $38.7 million on December 6, 2007.

  Aftermath. The property was renovated and converted into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel while preserving significant exterior and interior historic features.

  Purchase price. $38.7 million (December 6, 2007)

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• 1903Expand a planned bank building into the Alaska BuildingStrategy

  Scandinavian-American Bank had acquired the site for a new bank building during Seattle’s Alaska-related economic boom. J. C. Marmaduke of St. Louis proposed a more ambitious project.

  What changed. The bank’s shareholders endorsed development of the larger Alaska Building, intended to support commercial ties with Alaska and function as a social and business center.

  Aftermath. The resulting structure became Seattle’s first skyscraper and a landmark of the city’s early twentieth-century commercial expansion.

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• 2010Historic Alaska Building renovated for Courtyard hotel conversion

  Following renovation work that retained major historic features, the building began a new life as the Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square hotel in June 2010.

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• 2007American Life purchases the Alaska Building

  American Life, Inc. acquired the historic Seattle building on December 6, 2007, for $38.7 million.

  M&A
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1. Alaska Building