National Building, Historic warehouse building in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States.
The National Building is a six-story brick warehouse with a basement on Western Avenue between Spring and Madison Streets in downtown Seattle. Its dark red brick facade is divided into eight bays by nine pilasters topped with small Ionic capitals and a reproduction cornice. Kingsley & Anderson of Seattle designed it, and the Seattle Weekly now occupies it.
The Northern Pacific Railway built the National Building from late 1904 to mid 1905 as part of a plan to replace ramshackle tin warehouses with permanent brick ones in Seattle's produce district. The National Grocery Company, formed in 1902 by Portland grocer Julius C. Lang, leased the southern 40% and later occupied the whole building until 1930, giving it its name. After 1930 architect Robert C. Reamer remodeled the upper floors for offices, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 29, 1982.
The building's name comes from the National Grocery Company, a wholesale grocer led by Julius C. Lang that leased the southern 40% before construction and occupied the whole building until 1930. It now houses the offices of Seattle Weekly, so visitors see a working newsroom rather than exhibitions.
The National Building stands on the east side of Western Avenue between Spring and Madison Streets, in the block once known as Seattle's commission district. Its main facade faces Western Avenue, while the plainer Post Avenue elevation at the rear has a ground-level loading dock with large freight doors. Two of the Western Avenue bays carry fire escapes.
The National Building was designed by the Seattle firm of Kingsley & Anderson, and its dark red brick facade is capped by a reproduction of the original cornice. The Northern Pacific Railway built it from late 1904 to mid 1905, and the National Grocery Company, which gave the building its name, occupied it until 1930.
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