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The L. C. Smith Tower
The Smith Tower opened on July 4, 1914. At the time, it was the fourth tallest building in the world and weighed 48,650 tons. It remained the tallest building west of the Mississippi River for almost 50 years.
Cost of original construction: $1.5 million
Construction Period: 1910 to July 4, 1914.
Height: 42 floors: 522 feet from curbside to the top of the tower finial.
Originally Configured as: 540 offices, 6 retail stores, two telegraph offices, a public telephone station, the Chinese Room, and Observation Deck.
Original amenities:
- 1,432 doors, 2,314 windows, 800 borrowed light openings (interior hallway windows which allowed light from outer-wall windows to continue inward toward the inner core of the building).
- Each office contained two telephone outlets, two telegraph outlets (which ran directly to the telegraph company's distributing center), and 660 watts of electricity. Each office was also provided with its own vacuum cleaner.
Construction Materials:
- 1,500,000 feet of lumber (Washington fir), provided by Seattle Saw Mill Co.
- Steel frame: The E.E. Davis Company of Seattle erected the steel frame of the building using 7,970,000
pounds of steel and three construction derricks. The building contains 50 main support columns, the largest of which is 29'6"
long and weighs 13 tons.
- The structural steel was fabricated by the American Bridge Company at a plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and shipped to Seattle in 164 railroad cars, each with an average load of 28 tons.
- Page-McKenney Co. of Seattle provided the 150,000 pounds of electrical wiring and conduit. If placed end to end the wiring is 75 miles in length.
- The outer skin of the building is Washington granite on the first and second floors, white terra cotta on the remaining floors.
- Interior walls: Constructed of 12" x 12" x 4" brick, covered with two inches of plaster on both sides. All hallways, bathrooms, and public corridors are finished with a wainscot of Alaskan marble.
- The building's 2,314 windows are encased in bronze frames. Most contain their original 1914 safety glass. Unlike modern skyscrapers, Smith Tower windows can be opened and closed.
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