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Diamonds & Gold
A Review by Elana Chan
Seattle may be a relatively "young" city compared to New York and Chicago, but it is also home to several stunning Art Deco skyscrapers.
The Seattle Architecture Foundation's walking tour to explore several beautifully crafted and functionally designed buildings,
which showcase the Roaring 20's, northwest style.
The volunteer tour guide, Kelly, directed my attention to buildings that I have passed by numerous times — some of which I had thought were "pretty", others I had given even less attention. Kelly explained the functional and aesthetic rationales behind the designs of these 1920s' structures. He shared with the tour group how setback ordinance allowed more lights onto the streets, and how Seattleites preserved buildings of historical significance.
He really brought home to me the idea that architecture, while it fits nicely in the skyline, is just problem solving: how to design the space to support the functions of users.
Art Deco style is visually distinctive in building designs, with slender exterior ornamented by low relief parallel lines and geometric shapes.
In Seattle, the natural scenes of the northwest also influenced this style.
For example, the brick facade of the 27-story Seattle Tower was constructed with darker color bricks on the lower floors.
The brick colors gradually lightened towards the top to create a visual effect of added height.
With vertical piers and tapered setbacks, the Seattle Tower mimicked the majestic mountains of the northwest.
The charming exteriors of these structures are often matched by lavishly decorated interiors. A splendid example is the 1929 Exchange Building. Designer John Graham Sr. paid attention to the smallest details, such as matching marble patterns and harvest motifs reflecting the name of the building
While risking sounding cliché, to me the tour was a journey to a by-gone era. Like the bright, blinking marquis lights in the movie
Chicago, Seattle's Art Deco skyscrapers evoke a sense of grandeur, with their svelte exterior design and opulent marble and gold interiors.
Even though I had not lived in the era of vaudeville and radio, standing in the buildings can nevertheless evoke nostalgia like a Fred Astaire
musical.
And in addition of being a workout for the mind, the tour was simply a great way to (re)visit the city and exercise the body. It was pleasant to be reminded that Seattle downtown has more to celebrate other than a collection of shopping centers, and that it has plenty of unique architecture in addition to the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market.
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