Print
Email
In U.S. Federal court March 11, the Federal Reserve Bank and a group led by historic preservationist Art Skolnik will face off in a dispute over the Fed's pending sale of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Seattle Branch. The bank branch has moved to Renton, leaving its old downtown Seattle headquarters empty.
Skolnik's group, The Committee for the Preservation of the Seattle Federal Reserve Bank, is worried that the sale will mean the demolition of the historic bank building on Second Ave. between Spring and Madison downtown. The group is funded by big-money interests (Skolnik won't specify who) who are rumored to include at least one deep-pocketed nearby property owner who doesn't want a new high-rise to replace it. The Fed hasn't disclosed the name of the buyer either. Some believe the fight is more of an old fashioned dispute between developers than it is about preserving history.
Be that as it may, the Federal Reserve Bank is an important downtown structure, and key to the debate is whether or not the bank has followed proper federal law in assessing its potential historic value and the impact of the sale weighed against that value. The bank building has been deemed eligible for the National Historic Register, yet the city of Seattle declined to name it a landmark in 2008. The bank submitted a nomination and was hoping to have it rejected to clear the way for the sale.
However, new information has surfaced that could change how the building is viewed. It has long been believed that prominent Seattle architect William Bain, Sr. was the architect of the building, and he was. But Skolnik says his group recently received documents from the Federal Reserve in response to a Freedom of Information Act request that confirm that the bank's designer was actually one of the 20th century's most famous and honored modern architects, Pietro Belluschi, who designed many major buildings in the Pacific Northwest (including the Federal Reserve Bank branch in Portland and the Portland Art Museum).
Belluschi is considered an important influence in Northwest modernism, and is internationally famous for being a design consultant on structures such as New York's iconic 1963 Pan Am Building and is an AIA Gold Medal recipient. Documents indicate Belluschi was still being consulted about possible alterations to the bank as late as the 1980s (he died in Portland in 1994). Whether Belluschi's involvement will make any difference in the court case or what happens afterwards is unclear. Skolnik's group is seeking to nullify the sale.
The 1951 building was designed to contain money, lots of it. It features an enormous vault (5,000 square feet) and was not only an important modern building in Seattle during the post-war period (it's in the Moderne style), but it's also a Cold War survivor: It was built to withstand a nuclear attack. If you have never noticed it, it's no wonder. The squat, six-story structure was meant to be a kind of "strongbox" that did not call attention to itself, but rather exuded an aura of stability and safety. In other words, it's a potential landmark in part because it does not look like a landmark.
The Federal Reserve Branch was designed to withstand the atomic bomb, but there's no guarantee it will survive Seattle's downtown development pressures once the court untangles the issues raised in the case.
Like what you just read? Support high quality local journalism by becoming a member of Crosscut.com today!
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feeds
Comments:
Posted Wed, Mar 10, 9:33 p.m. Inappropriate
Fascinating!
Posted Thu, Mar 11, 9:24 a.m. Inappropriate
A landmark that doesn't look like a landmark, can be demolished...we'll never miss it, as if we keep it, we'll never notice it being a landmark!
As to why we need a squat 4 story building in the middle of a dense city that doesn't look like anything is poor land and building use. Keeping a church, which at least looks like a landmark seems worthwhile, but a bank vault? Better to let it be razed.
Posted Thu, Mar 11, 4:12 p.m. Inappropriate
I have fond memories of that building. I worked there while saving money for college. The FBI had the 3rd floor. They could choose to make any elevator an express for themselves to ferry a felon from the basement garage to their offices for questioning. Most of them looked like they had just stepped out of a Dick Tracy comic strip and were big on cigars. Most of the interior doors were metal with bullet-proof glass windows and electronic locks which were operated by the guards (who were mostly ex-Navy and had many stories to tell.) The vault was two stories high. Paper bills were occasionally burned in a furnace in the sub-basement and a lengthy procedure had to be followed. There was a practice firing range in the basement for the guards to use. There were heavy metal grates above the exterior doors which would automatically drop down if the silent alarm was activated (which a co-worker accidentally did once.) We were paid in brand new crisp bills (something like 85 cents/hr.)and everything was accounted for and balanced to the penny at the end of the day!
Posted Thu, Jun 2, 9:03 a.m. Inappropriate
Sometimes it seems as though the simplest buildings can draw attention. While living in a world of so much "wow factor" design it is often the simple buildings that can stand out.