![]() ![]() This is a self-guided tour celebrating the iconic building’s history and architecture. Built in 1914 it was one of the countries first and biggest skyscrapers, it is a fascinating historical monument and, at 522 feet, is plenty high enough for lofty cityscapes.Ĭonveniently in the centre of downtown, a tempting gift shop serves as the gateway to ‘ The Legends of Smith Tower’. The 62-story Seattle Municipal Tower also has restaurants located on its upper floors.īut while these no doubt have pretty impressive views, it is the Smith Tower that we find ourselves most drawn to. The public is allowed to enjoy the view from the Sky View Observatory on the 73rd floor. and the tallest building in all of Washington state. The tallest structures are pleasantly varied, and include a mix of modernist office towers, Art Deco blocks and recent glassy monoliths.Īs of 2013, the Columbia Center is the 20th tallest building in the U.S. ![]() The city’s skyline is probably best known for the Space Needle, but that’s hardly the tallest building, and inconvenient to reach whilst many of Seattle’s skyscrapers outrank it in height. On a hillside at the ocean edge the cities buildings actually seem to rise straight from the waters of Puget Sound. The Chinese Room & Observation Deck are still open daily from 10:00am to dusk and can also be rented out for private events.Downtown Seattle sits in a spectacular location right on the edge of the Pacific ocean, with a compact centre that is filled with more than its fair share of skyscrapers. Today Smith Tower remains an office building and is home to companies from a wide range of industries, including tech, law, marketing, and more. Over 4,000 people rode the elevators to the top that day, paying $0.25 in admission to enjoy the views. On Jthe Observation Deck was opened to the general public with great crowds forming at the building shortly after 9:00am. Smith Building, and so special arrangements were made by Mayor Gill for his visit. ![]() Kuroi was so impressed with Seattle that he would not be content until he had visited the top of the L.C. This included the visiting Vice-Admiral Teijiro Kuroi, commanding officer of the Japanese training squadron, which dropped anchor in Elliott Bay on June 27 for a ten-day sojourn. Smith did not live to see his tower completed, his son was there opening day, July 3, 1914, when nearly 1,500 people were carried to the Observation Deck from 1:30 to 10:00pm. Hence the chair came with the legend that any wishful unmarried woman who sits in it would be married within a year.Īlthough L.C. The chair incorporates a carved dragon and a phoenix, which, when combined, portends marriage. These furnishings include the famed Wishing Chair. Legend has it that the room was furnished by the last Empress of China as a gift to Mr. The room’s name derives from the carved teak ceiling and the carved Blackwood furniture that have adorned the room since its opening in 1914. The crown jewel of the Smith Tower is the legendary 35th-floor Chinese Room and Observation Deck. ![]() Doors were steel, hand-finished to resemble highly-grained mahogany. Window frames and sashes were fashioned of bronze. Davis Company of Seattle erected the steel frame of the building using 7,970,000 lbs of steel. With construction beginning less than 25 years after the Great Seattle Fire, little wood was used in the construction of the Smith Tower. It was to have a 21-story tower rising from a main 21-story structure, topped by a pyramid-shaped Gothic cap, a design influenced by the circa-1909 Metropolitan Life Tower young Smith had admired. The Syracuse, NY architectural firm of Gaggin & Gaggin, boldly rising above the fact that it had never designed a structure higher than a few floors, created plans for one of the world’s earliest skyscrapers. To an unsophisticated nation just being introduced to such 20th-century wonders as aspirin, crossword puzzles and neon signs, the newly minted skyscraper was another favorite of the Sunday supplements. Smith Tower was hailed as one of the tallest office buildings in the world outside New York City at the time of construction and remained the tallest building on the West Coast for almost 50 years. ![]()
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