Smith Tower construction, February 1913

The Smith Tower, located in Pioneer Square, is the oldest skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. It is named after its builder, firearm and typewriter magnate Lyman Cornelius Smith. It was the tallest building on the West Coast from its completion in 1914 until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962. It remained the tallest office building west of the Mississippi River until the Kansas City Power & Light Building was built in 1931. The Smith Tower contains 42 floors. Download high resolution version (507x700, 59 KB)To replace the GIF version (smaller filesize, larger image) From Smithtower. ... Download high resolution version (507x700, 59 KB)To replace the GIF version (smaller filesize, larger image) From Smithtower. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Pioneer Square Pioneer Square is the neighborhood where Seattle, Washington was founded in 1853. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Nickname: Location of Seattle in King County and Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County King County Incorporated December 2 1869 Government  - Type Mayor-council  - Mayor Greg Nickels (NP) Area  - City  142. ... Lyman Cornelius Smith (1834-1910) was an inventor and industrialist. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Space Needle from Downtown Seattle. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

In 1909, Smith planned to build a 14-story building in Seattle. His son, Burns Lyman Smith, convinced him to build instead a much taller skyscraper to steal the crown from rival city Tacoma's National Real Estate Building as the tallest west of the Mississippi. Construction began in 1910. Although Smith did not live to see it, the building was completed in 1914 to a height of 159 m (522 feet) from curbside to top of tower finial. At its ribbon cutting July 3, 1914, it was the 4th tallest building in the world and the tallest in the world outside Manhattan. Ivar Haglund of Ivar's restaurant fame bought the tower for $1.8 million in 1976. The Samis Foundation acquired the tower in 1996. In 2006, the building was purchased by Walton Street Capital. The building has been renovated twice, in 1986 and in 1999. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Tacoma, with Mount Rainier in background You may be looking for Takoma or Tacoma class frigate. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Orders of magnitude (length) 1 E-13 m 1 E-12 m 1 E-11 m 1 E-10 m 1 E-9 m 1 E-8 m 1 E-7 m 1 E-6 m 1 E-5 m 1 E-4 m 1 E-3 m 1 E... Ivar Haglund (1905 – 30 January 1985) was a Seattle folk singer and the flounder of Ivars restaurants. ... Ivars Acres of Clams Ivars is a seafood restaurant chain based in Seattle, Washington, with operations in the Puget Sound region; in Spokane, Washington; and in Santa Clara, California. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...

High-tech companies flocked to the classy atmosphere of the Smith Tower, which sports fiber-optic wiring, in recent years. The burst of the dot-com bubble hurt the Smith Tower by raising its vacancy rate to 26.1%, twice Seattle's commercial vacancy rate, as of December 21, 2001. The Walt Disney Internet Group, for example, now occupies four floors instead of seven. By 2007, the occupancy rate had rebounded to about 90%. Dot-com (also dotcom or redundantly dot. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ...

Following the announced departure of the building's two largest occupants, Walton Street Capital filed an application to convert the building into condominiums.[1] This article refers to a form of housing. ...

Description

Smith Tower as seen from Seattle's current tallest building, Columbia Center

The Smith Tower is an example of neoclassical architecture. Its outer skin is granite on the first and second floors, and terra cotta on the rest. It has been washed only once since its construction, in 1976, because it remains remarkably clean without regular washing. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 1600 pixel, file size: 630 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 1600 pixel, file size: 630 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Columbia Center (formerly the Bank of America Tower, Columbia Center and the Columbia Seafirst Center) is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline. ... Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ...

The building is the last on the West Coast to have live elevator operators. The Otis Elevator Company provided the elevators, which have brass surfaces. The doors are latticed, so a rider can see into each hallway and through the glass walls in front of each office. The Otis Elevator Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems, principally elevators and escalators. ...

The Chinese Room is on the 35th floor of the tower, the same level as the observatory. The furniture and the handcarved ceiling were gifts from the Empress of China. They include the famous Wishing Chair. It is said that a single woman who sits in the chair will marry within a year. The legend came true for Smith's daughter, who married in the Chinese Room itself. Emperor is also a Norwegian black metal band; see Emperor (band). ...

After the restoration in the early nineties, workers removed a thousand-gallon water tank in the very top of the tower. This resulted in much new space, and what was formerly a small maintenance man's apartment became a three-story penthouse, the only residence in the building.

The very top of the building is crowned by an eight-foot wide glass dome which is illuminated by blue light, except for the month of December, when it is changed to green.

External links

• The Chinese Room at Smith Tower
• The Smith Tower