Smith Tower

Smith Tower
Smith Tower as seen from the Pacific Building.
Smith Tower is located in Seattle WA Downtown
Smith Tower
Location within downtown Seattle
Alternative namesL.C. Smith Building (1914–1929)
Record height
Tallest in Seattle and Washington from 1914 to 1962[1][I]
Preceded byHoge Building (Seattle)
Key Bank Center (Tacoma/statewide)
Surpassed bySpace Needle
General information
TypeCommercial offices
Residential
Location500 Second Avenue
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°36′08″N 122°19′54″W / 47.602092°N 122.331803°W / 47.602092; -122.331803
Construction started1911
Completed1914
CostUS$1.5 million
OwnerUnico Properties
Height
Antenna spire484 ft (148 m)
Roof462 ft (141 m)
Technical details
Floor count38[2]
Floor area28,275 m2 (304,350 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators7
Design and construction
Architect(s)Gaggin & Gaggin
Main contractorE.E. Davis Company
DesignatedJune 12, 1984
References
[2][1][3][4][5][6]

Smith Tower is a skyscraper in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Completed in 1914, the 38-story, 462 ft (141 m) tower was among the tallest skyscrapers outside New York City at the time of its completion.[7] It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until the completion of the Kansas City Power & Light Building in 1931.[7] It remained the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast for nearly half a century, until the Space Needle overtook it in 1962.[8]

The tower is named after its builder, the firearm and typewriter magnate Lyman Cornelius Smith (unrelated to Horace Smith of Smith & Wesson), but its construction was largely overseen by his son Burns Lyman Smith after his father's 1910 death and would remain under the ownership of the Smith family into the 1940s. It was originally known as the L.C. Smith Building until the Smith Tower became its official name in 1929.[9] It was designated as a Seattle landmark in 1984.[10][11]

  1. ^ a b "Emporis building ID 119474". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b "Smith Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  3. ^ Smith Tower at Glass Steel and Stone (archived)
  4. ^ "Smith Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  5. ^ Smith Tower at Structurae
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pryne Sale was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Woodridge, Sally B.; Roger Montgomery (1980). A Guide to Architecture in Washington State. University of Washington Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-2959-5779-1.
  8. ^ "Smith Tower Now Name of Our Tallest". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 1, 1929. p. 9.
  9. ^ "Report on Designation: L.C. Smith Building" (PDF). Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board. June 12, 1984.
  10. ^ "Individual Landmarks Alphabetical Listing for S". Department of Neighborhoods. City of Seattle. 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.