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Smith Tower
The Smith Tower is situated in Pioneer Square, is known as a very old skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. It is known for its constructer, Lyman Cornelius Smith.
Once, it was recorded as the highest building on the West Coast after it was completed until 1962, the year when Space Needle overtook it. But, still, it was the tallest office building in the west of the Mississippi River. In subsequent years, the Kansas City Power & Light Building came up and it was overtaken again in 1931. The Tower contains 42 floors.
The story of this tower starts with the event when Smith tried to construct a 14 story structure in Seattle. His son convinced him to make a much taller building than it was planned to be made. That time, Tacoma's National Real Estate Building was known as the tallest building, and the basic motive for making such a tall skyscraper structure was to overtake the crown of being the tallest one. So, the construction was started in 1910.
It was ranked fourth tallest in the world after it was made. In subsequent years, The Samis Foundation took the possession of the tower in 1996. In 2006, the structure was owned by Walton Street Capital. The building was renovated twice since than.
The Smith Tower is a fine illustration of neoclassical type architecture. The outer skin of tower is made of granite on the first two floors, and terra cotta is used on the rest. It was washed only in 1976, as it does not require much cleaning and remains clean even without washing.
- Address:
506 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
- Telephone: (206) 622-4004
- Website: www.smithtower.com
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