| Pacific Medical Center | |
|---|---|
The Pacific Medical Center |
|
| Alternative names | US Marine Hospital PacMed Building |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | Seattle, Washington |
| Address | 1200 12th Avenue South |
| Elevation | 350 ft (110 m) |
| Height | 239 ft (73 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 16 |
| Floor area | 259,703 sq ft (24,127.2 m2) |
The Pacific Medical Center is a 16-story building on Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. It is located at 1200 12th Avenue South. The building is of a Art Deco style. It was completed in 1932 and opened in 1933 as a hospital for the Marines. It continues to function as a medical center. Amazon.com had its headquarters at the building for several years.
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The building was opened in 1933 by the U.S. government as a Marine hospital.[1] Replacing a facility in Port Townsend, it opened with 312 beds in 1933. The hospital originally served veterans, merchant seamen, the US Coast Guard, the US Light House Service, and poor and indigent people defined as “federal compensation cases”. In 1951, it was redesignated as US Public Health Service facility along with all US marine hospitals. The federal government ceased operation of the hospital in 1981. Control was shifted to Seattle as the city chartered the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PHPDA).
A $9.3 million county bond paid for seismic improvements that took place between 1991 and 1994. A new tower was constructed on the north side of the building to create a buttress for the original structure. The addition was designed by architects Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, and the innovation received an honor from the American Institute of Architects.[2] The project created 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2) of additional space that was not initially occupied.[3] As the medical organization struggled financially, attempts to lease at least 155,000 sq ft (14,400 m2) of the building failed over the course of several years. In 1998 and with medical facilities continuing to occupy the bottom two floors of the building, Amazon.com signed a sublease through 2010.[3] The interior was extensively renovated.[1][4]
The exterior of the building suffered substantial damage during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. On the top three floors, 80 percent the perimeter walls were damaged. A brick pinnacle on the upper roof roof fell through a roof on the 10th floor. An elevator shaft and five floors were flooded when a mechanical water line ruptured.[1] There were no injuries but it was estimated that the repairs would cost $6 million.[5] In 2003, the clinical group practice of the PHPDA officially split off to form a 501(c)3 health care organization, PacMed Clinics (doing business as Pacific Medical Centers or PMC).
In 2010, Amazon.com began the move of its headquarters to a new campus in the city's South Lake Union neighborhood.[6][7] The Seattle development firm Wright Runstad and Company has a long-term lease agreement with PacMed, which continues to operate on the first two levels. As of August 2011, the county is considering the building as a new location of its youth detention center.[8]
Architectural firm Bebb and Gould, assisted by the John Graham Company, designed the original structure. Carl Frelinghuysen Gould designed it in an Art Deco style.[9] Construction began in 1930.[2] Located 350 ft (110 m) above sea level at the northern edge of Beacon Hill, the 239 ft (73 m) tower overlooks downtown Seattle and Elliot Bay. The 259,703 sq ft (24,127.2 m2) building sits on a 9.5-acre (3.8 ha) property. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1] In 1992, the building received landmark status from the city. It received the Award for Excellence in 2000 from the Urban Land Institute.[2]
Amazon.com's former space features high ceilings, conference and meeting facilities, stable concrete, and high-capacity electrical power.[10] The facility also has an MRI imaging center.[11]