Schoenfeld Building
- Architects
- William E. Boone Thompson & Thompson (architects)
- Year
- 1899
- Style
- Chicago School
- City
- Seattle, WA
The Schoenfeld Building at 1st Avenue in downtown Seattle began in 1891 as a commercial building for land, real estate, and interurban railway developer Fred E. Sander, then was expanded and remodeled into its current Chicago School form by 1899 for tenant Louis Schoenfeld, whose Standard Furniture Company would soon outgrow it. Also known over the years as the Standard Block, the Struve Building, and the Meves Building, it has held retail, manufacturing, and office tenants continuously since.
the building
Standard Furniture's outgrown home. Louis Schoenfeld remodeled the building in the late 1890s to house his rapidly expanding Standard Furniture Company, which within a decade outgrew both this building and a since-demolished neighbor, forcing the 1907 construction of the Broadacres Building at 2nd and Pine.
The pawn shop era. For the entire second half of the 20th century the building was owned by the Polishuk family, pawnbrokers who ran Central Loan out of the space -- the same pawn shop that appears in the 1974 John Wayne film McQ.
A building with four names. Over its history the building has been called the Standard Block, the Struve Building, and the Meves Building, reflecting a chain of owners from developer Fred E. Sander to the Struve family to restaurateur A.J. Meves, before the Polishuks and, after 2000, the Wehl family took over.
the style
The building's current Chicago School appearance dates to a remodel completed by 1899, designed by William E. Boone and Thompson & Thompson for tenant Louis Schoenfeld, replacing its original 1891 form.
More on Chicago Schoolsignificance
The building is an individually designated Seattle Landmark (#412).
nearby
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- Exchange Building
- Seattle Central Library
- Seattle Tower
- Cobb Building
- Rainier Club