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Arctic Building
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Cherry Street Club entrance showing Walrus heads.
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| Location: | Seattle, Washington |
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| Built: | 1916 |
| Architect: | A. Warren Gould |
| Architectural style: | Beaux-Arts |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: |
78002749 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | November 28, 1978 |
The Arctic Building is a nine story building in Seattle, Washington located at the Northeast corner of Third Avenue and Cherry Street. The building was built for the Arctic Club in 1916 and was occupied by them from construction until the club's dissolution in 1971. It is entirely faced with cream white terra cotta with submarine blue and orange-brown accents. It is particularly noted for the terra cotta walrus-heads lining the third floor of the building. The building was recently restored and exists today as a luxury hotel[2] and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
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The site of the Arctic building was originally owned by Joseph R. Lewis, the Chief Justice of Washington Territory and a direct descendant of George Washington's sister Betty. The home he built on the site in 1875 was considered one of the finest in Seattle at the time. The house was replaced in 1892 by The three-story brick Seattle Theatre designed by the firm of Saunders and Lawton. The newly formed Rainier Club occupied the office portion of the building until it and the theater were replaced by the Arctic Club Building in 1916.
The Arctic Club was formed in 1908 by successful veterans of the Klondike Gold Rush. The existing Alaska Club was also merged into the Arctic Club in 1908. The Arctic Club was a fraternal men's club for businessmen with Gold Rush or Alaska connections.[3] The Arctic Club was initially located in 1909, on 3rd Avenue and Jefferson Street in the Morrison Hotel, also known as the Arctic Club Building.[4]
In 1914, after a dispute with the owner that building, the Arctic Construction Company, it was decided to relocate. In 1916, the members commissioned noted Seattle architect A. Warren Gould to design the Arctic Building in downtown Seattle at Third and Cherry as the group's headquarters. James Moses was the builder. During the move, members surreptitiously removed the bar from the original location by hoisting it out one of the windows. The 128 ft. Arctic Club building's most striking feature is the walrus heads, indicative of the club's name, which adorn the third floor.
Washington Congressman Marion Zioncheck died in 1936 when he apparently jumped out of the window of his office located on the building's fifth floor. However, others have theorized that he was murdered by being pushed out of the window.
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