That Handsome Building
This week I was on the other side of my office building, looking South toward the International District. My eye was caught by a really handsome bit of architecture and I asked a co-worker what it was. Nobody knew. So this morning on the bus I made sure to keep an eye out for it as we traveled North on 3rd Avenue. And sure enough we drove right past it.
“That handsome building” turns out to be the King County Courthouse! I’ve driven past it countless times but never really looked up at it. The architecture is classic; the original building dates to 1916 and sits on a plat of land originally occupied by the mansion of Seattle forefather Henry Yesler.
Seattle has a lovely skyline and it’s easy to focus on the impressive shiny towers. But my favorite buildings are those classic examples of masonry. Until starting this job last month I had never worked in the downtown core; there are a lot of really beautiful and interesting buildings here. Most of them are easy to miss from the street level because there is so much visual distraction (and the ever-present generic awning). Looking up at them I have realized how much variety and style is present here. It definitely warrants a photographic expedition to capture some of these views.
Wikipedia has a pretty cool article about the building – did you know the original construction was in 1916? Find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_County_Courthouse
Oh – and there is a detailed history on the county website – but it’s much more difficult to find… if you’d like to know the full history, go here: http://www.metrokc.gov/history.html