Seattle Tower
- Architect
- Abraham H. Albertson
- Year
- 1928
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Seattle, WA
- Collection
- seattle deco
Seattle Tower, originally the Northern Life Tower, was built in 1928 for D.B. Morgan, who resolved to construct a headquarters 'finer than anything on the Pacific Coast' for the insurance company he and T.M. Morgan had founded from a 12-by-12-foot office in the Colman Building. Designed by Abraham H. Albertson at a cost of $1.5 million, it was Seattle's first Art Deco tower.
the building
33 shades of brick. The tower's ziggurat exterior is clad in 33 shades of brick, graduated to lighten from the base to the top, a gradient said to have been inspired by local rock formations.
Outgrowing the Smith Tower. Announced in April 1927 as a 24-story building, the design grew to 27 stories during planning, finishing one floor higher above sea level than the Smith Tower, which had been known as the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
the style
As Seattle's first Art Deco tower, the building traded historicist ornament for a setback ziggurat profile and graduated brick coloring that became hallmarks of the style downtown.
More on Art Decosignificance
Seattle Tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Fairmont Olympic Hotel
- Cobb Building
- IBM Building
- Rainier Tower
- YWCA Building
- 1411 Fourth Avenue Building