LPBCurrentNom KellySpringfieldMotors

Name (common, present, or historic):
Value Village or REI Building

(Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company)
Year Built:
1917
Street and Number:
1525 11th Avenue
Assessor's File No.
6003500420
Legal Description:
The east 80 feet of Lot 8, and all of Lots 9 and 10, Block 13, John H. Nagles
Second Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded
in Volume 5 of Plats, Page(s) 67, in King County, Washington.
Plat Name:
Nagles 2nd Addition
Block: 13
Present Owner:
JG Capital Hill LLC
Present Use: Retail store
Address:
Contact: Will Nelson

Legacy Commercial
400-112TH Avenue NE, Suite 230
Bellevue WA 98004
425-460-4368; [email protected]
Original Owner:
Original Use:
Oscar L. Willett
Truck sales and service, and tire sales and service
Architect:
Builder:
Julian F. Everett
Unknown
Submitted by:
David Peterson
Nicholson Kovalchick Architects
310 First Avenue S., Suite 4-S
Seattle WA 98104
Ph: 206-933-1150 / [email protected]
Reviewed by:
Date:
Date:
(Historic Preservation Officer)
Lot: 8-10
July 22, 2014
Value Village / REI Building 1525 11th Avenue

Seattle Landmark Nomination
July 22, 2014
This report was prepared by:

Nicholson Kovalchick Architects
310 First Avenue S., Suite 4-S
Seattle WA 98104
206-933-1150
www.nkarch.com
Value Village / REI Building

Seattle Landmark Nomination
INDEX
I. Introduction
II. Building information
III. Architectural description
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Adjacent neighborhood context

Site
Building exterior and structure
Building interior
Summary of primary alterations
IV. Historical context

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
The neighborhood and early development

The development of the Pike-Pine Auto Row in Seattle
Building owners and occupants
Development of the subject property
Oscar Lewis Willett
Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI)
The architect, Julian F. Everett
V. Bibliography
22
VI. List of figures

Illustrations
24-25
26-56
Site plan
Following
Selected architectural images
Following
Nicholson Kovalchick Architects Value Village/REI Building Seattle Landmark Nomination July 22, 2014
2
I. INTRODUCTION
This report was written at the request of the owners of the property, JG Capital Hill LLC, in order to
ascertain the historic nature of the building.
This report was written and researched by David Peterson of Nicholson Kovalchick Architects. Sources used
in this report include:
Records of permits and drawings from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD)
microfilm library.
King County current and historic tax records; the former accessed online, and the latter obtained
from the Puget Sound Regional Archives at Bellevue Community College.
Newspaper, book, city directories, and maps referencing the property (see bibliography).
Author's on-site photographs and building inspection, or by other NK Architects staff.
Historic photographs of the subject property from local archives and collections, to assess changes to
the exterior to the building.
Unless noted otherwise, all images are by NK Architects and date from February and March, 2014. The
abbreviations below are used in source citations for the figures and images:
SMA
MOHAI
UWSC
Seattle Municipal Archives

Museum of History and Industry
University of Washington Special Collections
3
II. BUILDING INFORMATION

Name (recent):
Value Village or REI Building
Name (original):
Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company
Year Built:
1917
Street & Number:
1525 11th Avenue
Assessors File No.:
6003500420
Original Owner:
Oscar L. Willett
Present Owner:
JG Capital Hill LLC

1525 11th Avenue
Seattle WA 98122
Contact: Will Nelson
Legacy Commercial
400-112TH Avenue NE, Suite 230
Bellevue WA 98004
425-460-4368
[email protected]
Present Use:
Retail store
Original Use:
Truck sales and service, and tire sales and service
Original Architect/Builder: Julian F. Everett

Plat/Block/Lot:
Nagles 2nd Addition / Block 13 / Lots 8-10
Legal Description:
The east 80 feet of Lot 8, and all of Lots 9 and 10, Block 13, John H. Nagles
Second Addition to the City of Seattle, according to the plat thereof recorded in
Volume 5 of Plats, Page(s) 67, in King County, Washington.
4
III. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

A. Adjacent neighborhood context
The building is located mid-block on 11th Avenue, between East Pike and East Pine Streets, at the south end of
the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The immediate area is also known as the Pike-Pine Corridor, following these
two streets westward towards downtown. [See Figs. 1-2 and 34-35 for current site maps and photos]
To the north, half a block from the subject site, is the Bobby Morris Playfield and Cal Anderson Park. Across
the park, to the west and northwest, is Seattle Central Community College. To the west is a one-story
masonry garage service building, constructed in 1926. To the south of the subject building is a surface parking
lot and loading dock area, which is part of the subject parcel. South of the surface parking lot is the Monique
Lofts Condominiums, a four-story masonry structure originally constructed in 1913 as an automobile
dealership.
To the east, across the street, are a series of one- and two-story masonry buildings from the Auto Row era,
which are currently being redeveloped into apartments. To the north is a three-story terra cotta building
(1021 East Pine Street) constructed in 1918 as the White Motor Company dealership, and is today occupied
by offices and a restaurant. This property is held by the owners of the subject building, and shares some
history with the subject building, as explained further in this report.
The immediate neighborhood is primarily a dense mix of commercial, mixed-use, institutional and civic
buildings, with many apartment buildings and some single-family houses nearby (the nearest areas characterized
by single-family homes are the blocks to the north and northeast of the site). While the neighborhood has
been continuously developed every decade from the 1880s to the present, the area was heavily developed in
the decades between 1900-1930. The immediate area derives considerable character from automobile-related
service buildings and showrooms built between about 1905 and 1925. The neighborhood is notable throughout
the city for a vibrant urban living, working, dining, and entertainment environment, particularly in recent
decades, and continues to undergo commercial and residential development.
The largest institutional presences in the immediate area are Seattle University, Seattle Central Community
College, and Swedish Hospital.
Seattle historic landmarks within about a four block radius include:
Cal Anderson Park, Lincoln Reservoir and Bobby Morris Playfield (Olmsted Brothers, 1901, altered), at
11th Avenue between E. Pine Street and Denny Way.
First African Methodist Episcopal Church (1912), at E. Pine Street & 14th Avenue.
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral (1937), at about E. Olive Street & 13th Avenue.
Seattle First Baptist Church (Ulysses G. Fay, 1911), at Seneca Street and Harvard Avenue.
Old Fire Station #25 (Somervell & Cote, 1909), at E. Union Street and Harvard Avenue.
Broadway Performance Hall (Edgar Blair, 1911), at Broadway and E. Pine Street.
Some notable nearby buildings that are not Seattle landmarks include:
Odd Fellows Temple (Carl Breitung, 1908-10), at 10th Avenue and E. Pine Street.
The former Egyptian Theater (and former Masonic Temple, by Saunders & Lawton, 1916), at Harvard
Avenue and E. Pine Street.
Garrand Building (John Parkinson, 1894, altered), at 10th Avenue and E. Marion Street on the Seattle
University campus.
5
Under city land use zoning, the subject site is located in NC3P-65 zone and within the Pike/Pine Urban Center
Village. The site is also located within Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District, and the Conservation Core
within this district.
A 1975 historic resources inventory of the neighborhood by Victor Steinbrueck and Folke Nyberg (part of
their citywide inventory project) describes three categories of historic building significance: significant to the
city, significant to the community, or of no significance. Their inventory called out the subject building as being
of significance to the community.1 (See following section The development of the Pike-Pine Auto Row in
Seattle later in this report for additional neighborhood historic inventories).
B. Site
The overall subject parcel is midblock and L-shaped, measuring 180 feet north-south along 11th Avenue, 128
feet east-west in depth, but with the northwesternmost 48 by 60 foot corner removed. The southernmost 60
by 128 feetcorresponding to one of the original platted lots of the parcelis occupied by an exterior paved
loading dock/parking lot area. The L-shaped rest of the site is almost entirely occupied by the subject building,
except for 7.5 feet at the westernmost lot line (part of a parking and access easement).
The paved loading dock/parking lot area is below the grade of the sidewalk, and accessed by a vehicle ramp at
the south side of the lot and concrete stairs adjacent to the building. The interior of the site slopes sharply
downward by approximately 13 feet, reflecting the original grade of the area prior to regrading the streets in
the early 1900s. A vehicle entry on the south wall, adjacent to the loading dock, allows direct access to the
basement level of the subject building.
C. Building exterior and structure
The subject building is a midblock, two-story structure with basement, designed in the Commercial or Chicago
School style. The building structure is a reinforced concrete frame, concrete floors and foundation. The
exterior is clad in red brick laid in running bond, and white stucco primarily at the parapet and window
spandrels. The interior supports, visible and exposed, include a heavy timber post and beam system, and wood
trusses. [See Figs. 34-63 for current and historic photos of the subject building]
The one primary faade faces east with 128 feet of street frontage, and is organized into six bays each
approximately 21 feet in width. Each bay consists of a large windows separated by narrow red brick piers, with
a modern storefront window system at street level, and modern sash second floor windows at all but one bay.
The second floor window at the fifth bay retains the original wood Chicago-style sash, organized as follows: A
central 24-light fixed portion is flanked by two narrow, vertically-oriented 8-light operable panels, which swivel
about a central axis; the opening is protected by an interior and exterior wood-frame screen. All of the other
second floor windows are modern replacements, with two large fixed panes occupying the central portion, and
swiveling side panels.
A brick and stucco parapet, with a simplified and projecting cornice, hides the flat roof. At the fourth window
bay, just right of center, the parapet is shaped into an arch with recessed green and yellow tiles in a net
pattern. When originally built, this arch served to emphasize the main vehicular entry for the service garage.
The rest of the parapet is enhanced with in-plane, simple but decorative brickwork, interspersed with slightly
projecting white square panels, all of which serves to reinforce the bay structure of the faade.
Stucco window spandrels at five of the six window bays feature a slightly raised, green tile horizontal band
centered with a larger circular tile. At the arched window bay, there is instead at the spandrel a raised, green
1
Nyberg and Steinbrueck, First Hill, 1975, unpaginated. In that survey, the site was considered not in Capitol Hill, but at
the northern extreme of the First Hill neighborhood.
6
tile horizontal band framed with yellow tiles. As evidenced by early images in newspaper articles, this frame
originally served as signage and the name Kelly-Springfield was painted within.
At present, a large green awning covers the central four window bays below the second-floor window sills,
obscuring the spandrels.
The south elevation is visible from the adjacent surface parking lot and from the sidewalk, including the
basement level due to the drop in grade from the sidewalk. The exterior is clad in horizontal metal siding of
recent vintage. At the west end of the basement level is a small covered loading dock and access door. At the
east end is another access door and an original steel sash, painted-over window, both at the basement level;
and an interior fire stair exit door at the first level adjacent to the sidewalk. The two door landings are
connected by a wooden stair.
The west elevation, and north elevation visible at the buildings re-entrant corner on the northwest, are
utilitarian in character. The board-formed concrete frame and tile infill walls remain visible, but the original
large window openings have been reduced in size. Current industrial sash windows on these elevations at the
first and second floors are not original, based on the 1937 tax photos of adjacent properties, but are of
indeterminate date. Original steel sash windows at the basement level, with wire glass panes, are covered on
the exterior but visible from the interior.
D. Building interior
The building is currently used as a retail shop for used clothing and used household goods. At the first level
main entry, the interior is outfitted with modern cashier and check-out lines, drop ceilings with fluorescent
lighting, vinyl flooring, and modern storefront windows. Beyond the entry area, however, the interior has been
relatively unaltered A small portion of the interior of the entry area walls near the storefront windows retains
original wood wainscoting, when the space was used as a sales floor for trucks. According to tax assessor
records, ceiling heights are 17 feet at the first floor, 13 feet at the basement, and 21 feet at the second floor.
The first level floor is largely wide open, with space for clothing racks and display of merchandise. Heavy
timber posts and beams, and flat wood trusses supporting the floor above, are exposed. The flooring at this
main level is composed of wood blocks treated with creosote, a somewhat unusual feature presumably dating
to the original construction. Directly across from the entry is the original freight elevator and a wood stair
leading to the basement and second floor.
Like the first level, the basement level is largely an open space used for merchandise display, with building
structure exposed. The northwest portion of this floor, adjacent to the loading dock, is used for receiving and
processing, and is separated from the sales floor by a partial-height wall. An unusual feature of the south
interior wall at the basement level is a granite stone wall, used to test climbing boots when the building was
occupied by Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI). Floors are concrete.
The second floor also features large display areas and exposed building structure. The north portion of this
floor is separated by a partial-height wall and includes business offices and operations, an employee break area,
and restrooms. Floors appear to be the original oak and fir.
E. Summary of primary alterations
The primary alterations to the building as it currently appears are as follows:
Replacement of all but one of the windows on the main building elevation, as well as most of the
windows on the utilitarian rear and side elevations.
7
Addition of corrugated metal siding on south elevation, facing surface parking lot, to protect vehicles
and pedestrians from the original and deteriorating hollow tile infill wall.
Addition of fabric canopy over storefront windows.
Interior alterations at entry, including cashier stands and drop ceilings.
The interior is relatively intact; only minor interior alterations have been made over the years to
accommodate tenant requirements, particularly since the use of the building as a retail space from the late
1960s onward. Since 1995, an employee break area and employee restrooms beyond the main sales floor have
been updated.
At some time before 1957, the subject buildings parcel and the building parcel to the north (1025 East Pine
Street) were combined, and permits on file become mixed between the two structures (in recent years, they
are again on separate parcels).
In 1966, these two buildings were physically connected on the interior with a doorway cut at the first and
second floors, at the direction of the building tenant, REI. In 1969, REIby then the building owner
constructed an enclosed ramp from the back of the subject building to the back of the structures located to
the southwest on the same block, and added a story to it in 1972. Those structures to which the ramp
connected were addressed as 1000 East Pike Street. However, even though connected to the subject building,
the 1000 East Pike Street buildings appear to have always been permitted separately.
Numerous drawings are on file at the Seattle Department of Planning and Development Microfilm Library,
most relating to interior alterations by REI, beginning in 1963. However, a faint incomplete set of original
drawings by J. F. Everett are on file, dating to 1916. Also on file are 1946 drawings by the Seattle architecture
firm NBBJ for minor alterations to the second floor and basement interior, to adapt the floor as a sewing area
for the United States Garment Company.
Below are permits on file; permits with references to a third story likely apply primarily to the 1025 East Pine
Street building:
372404
384331
377583
407054
456262
5xx993
510091
517756
526095
530593
534263
534611
5xxxxx
542440
547005
5xx4xx
546683
551515
572979
9605778
6368762
6374227
---------1951
1957
1963
1964
1966
1968
1969
1969
1969
1971
1971
1972
1972
1972
1974
1977
1996
2013
2013
------------$250
$2,500
$1,000
$200
$400
$100
$2,000
$600
$10,000
$1,000
$300
$1,100
$600
$2,700
$3,500
----$100,000
$35,000
$25,000
Alter
Boiler room
Alter 2nd floor
Install fire door
Construct balcony on ---d floor
Const. display area as per plans
Erect & maint 2 metal signs
Alter 1st & 2nd floors of bldg [construct opening in party wall]
Erect and maintain wall signs
Const. ramp connection between existing bldgs
Erect & maint. signs
Install sprinkler system
Alter por. 1st fl.
Erect & maint. sign
Construct partition & alter for office on 2nd & 3rd floor exis. bldg.
Alter portion 1st floor
Alter portion 3rd floor exit bldg
Alt. bsmt area exis. bldg, occupy for retail sales
Alter portion of interior of existing building
Interior non-structural alteration to 3 floors of retail for Value Village
Construct alterations/replace existing upper floor windows per plan
Replace storefront windows at ground floor of commercial bldg, per plan.
8
IV. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

A. The neighborhood and early development
The site is just at the southern edge of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and the northern edge of the First Hill
neighborhood, at the point where the neighborhoods meet in a saddle between low hills. Easy access to
downtown, and the intersection of residential/commercial/institutional development patterns, has long been an
important factor in the growth of this area. The subject property is located near the south end of Cal
Anderson Park and the Bobby Morris Playfield. [See Figs. 3-16 for historic maps and neighborhood photos]
Both Capitol Hill and First Hill are two of the oldest neighborhoods in the city (Seattles founders had settled
on Elliott Bay only in 1852, and incorporated in 1869). By about 1880-1900, both were established as
fashionable neighborhoods for the growing elite in the expanding city, with numerous mansions crowning their
slopes. Both neighborhoods were convenient to downtown, enjoyed water views and fresh air, and were some
of the earliest areas served by streetcar lines. A map of 1896 street railways shows two lines serving First Hill
via Yesler Way and James Street, while several lines were serving Capitol Hill via Pike, Union, Howell, Stewart,
and other streets. Dividing these neighborhoods, two blocks south of the subject property, Madison Street
sliced at a southwest to northeast angle, connecting downtown to what is now the Madison Park
neighborhood. A cable car installed in 1889-1891 along Madison Street was one of the earliest streetcar lines
in the city, and helped develop Madison Street into a major thoroughfare in later years.2
Cal Anderson Park, half a block north of the subject building, was established in 1901 as Lincoln Park and
was the first park in Seattle designed by the Olmsted Brothers. The large site was first and foremost the
location of Lincoln Reservoir, which was constructed after the Great Fire of 1889 and rapid population growth
prompted the need for establishing a municipal water system. Water from the Cedar River first flowed into
Lincoln and Volunteer Park reservoirs in January 1901.3 While the reservoir largely dominated the northern
portion of Lincoln Park (now located underground since 2005), the southern portion had one of the first
childrens playgrounds to be developed (1907), with the playground concept having been introduced to
Seattle by the Olmsteds. The southern portion of the park also included a baseball field. In 1922, the Park
Board renamed it Broadway Playfield to avoid confusion with a new major park in West Seattle which was
to be named Lincoln Park. (Later name changes in 1980 and 2003 resulted in the current nomenclature, Bobby
Morris Playfield and Cal Anderson Park).
By 1915, development in the area had attracted a refined class of residences and institutions several blocks
southwest of the subject site, particularly west of Broadway and south of East Union Street. Prominent late
19th-century First Hill mansions were just a few blocks away, as were impressive buildings such as St. Marks
Episcopal Church (1897, demolished, the forerunner of St. Marks Episcopal Cathedral) at Seneca and Harvard;
the Academy of the Holy Name near Broadway and Union (c.1900, demolished); Fire House No. 25, at
Harvard and Union (1909); Minor Hospital at Harvard and Spring (1910); First Baptist Church (1912); and an
imposing Scottish Rite Cathedral at Broadway and Harvard Avenue (c.1912, demolished). The Garrand Building
(1894), on the south side of Union at Broadway, represented the beginnings of Seattle University, an institution
which would eventually become a dominant presence in the neighborhood just a few blocks south of the
subject site.
Closer in, just two or three blocks west of the site, several institutions had built significant structures by the
mid-1910s, including the Seattle or Broadway High School at Broadway and Pine (1902, demolished except for
the Auditorium portion of 1911, now known as Broadway Performance Hall); First Christian Church (1902,
2
Seattle Neighborhoods: Madison Park Thumbnail History, HistoryLink.com Essay #2808, by Junius Rochester,
November 16, 2000. Horse-drawn streetcars had been introduced in Seattle in 1884, cable cars in 1887, and electric
streetcars in 1889. By 1892, Seattle had 48 miles of streetcar lines and 22 miles of cable car lines.
3
History, Seattle Public Utilities, www.seattle.gov.
9
demolished and rebuilt in 1923, then demolished again); the Odd Fellows Temple (1910) at 10th and Pine;
Bonney-Watson Funeral Home at Broadway and East Olive (1912, demolished); the Masonic Lodge (1916),
known in recent decades as the Egyptian Theater; and the original Cornish School at Broadway and Pine (1916,
altered), now known as the Booth Building.
On the interior of the hills and on lower slopes of Capitol Hill and First Hillfor example, the areas north and
east of the Lincoln Park and playfield, near the subject sitemiddle-class homes and small apartment buildings
had been built, with scattered churches and commercial buildings, by the 1910s. The dense neighborhood at
that time is apparent in period photographs.
However, the two or three blocks just south of the subject site, approximately between 10th, 11th, and 12th
Avenues along Pike and Union Streets, were located in a low depression and were seen as a hindrance to the
continuing growth of the neighborhood. These blocks, while dense, attracted modest wood-frame homes and
duplexes, and grittier commercial uses such as horse liveries and wagon works, such as the Broadway Livery
and Sale Stables, at Union Street and 10th Avenue. A Seattle Times news piece in 1908 described this area,
citing the need for improving the quality of development:
Some businesses has already developed along Pine, Pike and Madison from Broadway east, but
it is rather of a cheap sort and not such as adds greatly to property values. Taken as a whole,
the Twelfth Avenue district looms large in possible development, but shows small in actual
improvement. Portions of it have even taken a bad start backward, as for instance around the
narrow part of East Union Street, and show a tendency to run to shacks, stables and so forth
to the jeopardy of property values.4
In an attempt to improve these blocks, the streets in that immediate area were regraded around 1910.5
Because the area was a saddle or low depression between hills, the regrade work in the vicinity consisted
primarily of fill rather than cuts. While streets were raised to the new, improved elevations, property owners
along the streets were left with existing buildings several feet below sidewalk level. Particularly in the area
around 11th Avenue between E. Pike and E. Union Streets, a block south of the subject site, the interior of lots
were left considerably below the grade of the adjoining streetsan undesirable situation for existing
residential and commercial structures. In some locations, this lower grade is still apparent, such as at the midblock parking lot just south of the subject building.
Coinciding with this regrading, the character of the immediate neighborhood had been significantly affected by
the growing popularity of the automobile. Numerous factors led the blocks along Pike and Pine Streets
towards downtown, and the blocks around the subject site, to be developed with automobile sales and service
buildings. This area came to be known as Seattles Auto Row.
B. The development of the Pike-Pine Auto Row in Seattle
Pike Street, because of its grade, was one of the first streets as one departed the downtown area that could be
easily improved to reach Capitol Hill. Gently-sloped Pine was also improved as a roadway and more streetcar
lines, parallel to Pike, connected up to Broadway from downtown by 1891 and upgraded in 1901. Nearly flat
Broadway was also an early paved street, and had one of the few north-south streetcar lines that did not go
through downtown, but rather connected Capitol Hill and First Hill. [See Figs. 3-16 for historic maps and
neighborhood photos]
Regraders to fill a valleyexplanation of the Twelfth Avenue improvement plan and some of the benefits to be gained
thereby, Seattle Times, June 28, 1908, p.65.
5
Ketcherside, Rob, The tunnel from Capitol Hill to downtown that never happened, CHS Re:Take, January 29, 2012.
10
Where streetcar lines went, automobiles soon followed. The first sold in 1904 or 1905, but to a city still used
to streetcars, horse transportation, or walking, the new automobiles were primarily limited to a wealthy
clientele. Because Pike and Pine were the easiest connection to Broadway, and Broadway connected the
wealthy First Hill and Capitol Hill enclaves, the Pike-Pine-Broadway area began to develop into an early Auto
Row, characterized by numerous dealerships, auto repair shops, parts suppliers, paint shops, parking garages,
used car dealers, and the like.6 This district largely followed the blocks along Pike and Pine Streets from
Melrose Avenue to Madison Street, and in the triangle formed by Broadway, Madison, and Pine.
Automobile dealerships would have been the most prominent buildings in the Auto Row area, usually located
at the most visible locations and in ornate, architect-designed buildings. The early examples of these buildings
were generally fire-resistive construction of concrete or brick, two to four stories tall, with large showroom
or garage spaces on the first floor, and service areas or parking or offices on upper floors. All floors were
connected by ramps or large automobile-sized elevators. At the beginning of the 20th century in Seattle,
automobiles were purchased from local distributors after selecting a model from an auto show, a showroom,
or from literature. The vehicle would be delivered months later. Unlike today, there were a wide range of
manufacturers competing for market sharenot only Ford and Chrysler, but now-departed brands like Paige,
Federal, Menominee, Chalmers, Saxon, REO, Willys-Overland, Peerless, Packard, Studebaker, and many
others.7
Seattles population in this period was growing exponentially, and automobile purchases grew with it, due to
increased familiarity with the new technology, and increasingly moderate prices. From 1890 to 1900 the Seattle
population had nearly doubled over the decade, to 80,761. City boundaries expanded through several 1907
annexations, such that by 1910 the population had nearly tripled to 237,194, and to approximately 327,000 in
1920.8
The growth of vehicle ownership resulted in large numbers of secondary businesses springing up to provide
support and services. Automobile-related listings in the Seattle Polks Directory had grown substantially; for
example, by 1915, there were 55 businesses listed under Automobile Manufacturers and Dealers, but there
were 102nearly twice as manylisted under Automobile Repairs and Supplies.
Unlike the automobile dealerships, auto services were often likely to be located in more utilitarian structures,
and often on the side streets of the Auto Row area. Garages and some service buildings were built of masonry
or concrete fire-resistive construction like the auto dealerships, but less ornate. Between these masonry
structures were also found simple wood-frame shop or service buildings, often only one story in height at the
sidewalk.
Beginning around the 1920s, other auto rows began to appear over the decades in other parts of Seattle,
outside of the Pike-Pine-Broadway area. In the Depression years of the 1930s, many auto businesses closed
and some dealerships moved to selling used cars. In the postwar years of the late 1940s, dealerships moved to
expansive outdoor lots and new buildings as they followed suburban development. In the Pike-Pine area during
the past several decades, many former automotive-related concrete, masonry, and heavy-timber structures
were adapted to residential, retail, entertainment, and institutional uses.
Today, the Pike-Pine area has several former auto dealership buildings and automobile service buildings that
have been cited in city surveys as having a high degree of integrity. Automobile-related buildings cited in a 1999
Sound Transit environmental impact statement for the neighborhood concluded that some Auto Row buildings
may be eligible for National Register or city landmark status, including:
1000 E. Pike, the former Seattle Automobile Company.
6
Today also referred to as the Pike-Pine Corridor.

Sheridan, p.27; BOLA, p.5.
8
Ochsner, Shaping Seattle Architecture, pp. xviii-xxxii.
7
11
1101 E. Pike, once the Lieback Garage.
A 2002 Historic Property Survey Report for Seattles Neighborhood Commercial Districts, written for the
Department of Neighborhoods, states that the Pike/Pine corridor has one of the citys most extraordinary
collections of historic buildings, many of which retain a high degree of architectural integrity and represent a
new and unique building type. The report then lists the following buildings as the most notable, although the
subject building is not included in this list:
1021 E. Pine, the structure directly adjacent to the subject building of this report. 9
1120 Pike, a former Packard dealership, until recently occupied by Utrecht Art Supplies.
1600 Broadway, now AEI Music, a former Packard dealership.
901 E. Pine, which was the former Tyson Automobile Company.
915 E. Pike, originally built for Graham Motor Cars.
C. Building owners and occupants

The list of owners below was derived from title abstracts and tax records (the building has been variously
addressed as 1523, 1525, 1527, and 1529 11th Avenue). The following list of occupants (and approximate dates
of occupancy) was derived from city directories, newspaper advertisements, and historic photographs.
Owners
1914
1916
1922
1926
1939
1940
1942
1946
1950
1968
1996
Occupants
1917-26
1926-27
1932
1937
1937
1939-1962
1940
1942
1942-44
1942-44
1944
1948
1951-63
9
G. M. Lauridsen (Port Angeles), Mary F. Duffy, Frank J. Palmer, et al. (partial lots)
Oscar Lewis Willett, Everett Improvement Company, et al. (partial lots)
E. C. Neville, N. Anches, Harry and Edna Simon, Acme Securities Co., et al. (partial lots)
C. Edwin Davis (Axel and Agnes Hansen, Gus Barg, et al., partial lots)
Augusta Bright Davis (Amanda Brookshire, et al., partial lots).
Robinson Logging Company, et al. (partial lots)
Treasurer of King County (all lots of parcel) tax deed
Fifteen Twenty Seven Eleventh Avenue Inc. (all lots of parcel)
National Bank of Commerce, Seattle, trustee for Leon M. Bocker (all lots of parcel)
JG Capital Hill LLC
Kelly-Springfield Truck Company, Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, Tire Sales & Service Co.
(Henry E. Schmidt and later George Gunn, manager)
Sands Motor Company used cars
Unemployed Citizens League (UCL) Commissary
Sunset Electric Company home radio sales and service, annex to main store across street
Deweys Auto Service
Thompson Products Inc. wholesale auto parts
Moroloy Bearing Service Co. parts exchange
Parts Exchange Company wholesale auto parts
A& W Bearing Service wholesaler
Snow Sales Company wholesale auto parts
Industrial Tape Corp gummed products
Doreme Inc. womens clothing manufacturers
Foster-Hochberg Manufacturing Co. Inc. womens clothing manufacturer/plant
Sheridan, p.27-29.
12
1961-63
1963-1996
1996
Pacific Footwear Inc. shoes

Value Village
D. Development of the subject property

On the 1905 Sanborn map, the subject site is shown as several parcels occupied by wood-frame houses and
outbuildings. Within a few years, the neighborhood would be developed as Seattles Auto Row, with
automobile sales- and service-oriented businesses and structures in the surrounding blocks. As evidenced by
the title abstracts listing the numerous owners of the individual parcels, and later the numerous owners of the
subject building, the site was apparently developed as an investment property by a group of shareholders.
None of the owners had any apparent relationship to the occupants of the building, until the late 1960s, when
the owner and occupant were both REI. [See Figs. 3-16 for historic maps and neighborhood photos]
The c.1900 wood frame buildings on site were probably demolished when the adjacent streets were regraded
around 1910. In 1917, the subject building was constructed. Incomplete drawings on file, dated August 1916,
show that the structure was designed by Julian F. Everett for O. L. Willett. One of the investors at the time of
construction was the Everett Improvement Company, which was led by J.T. McChesney; it was not associated
with architect Julian Everett. The Everett Improvement Company was created in the late 1890s and controlled
by Great Northern Railway magnate James J. Hill, for the development of the port and city of Everett,
Washington.10 Willetts relationship to the Everett Improvement Company is not clear; he may have been a
partner in the group, or acted as their agent.
The first occupant of the building was the local factory branch and service station of the Kelly-Springfield Truck
Company, a nationwide truck sales and service firm. The company moved to this location from their first office
in Seattle, which opened in 1913 and located downtown at 511-513 East Pike Street (an associated business
was the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company, which was located at 515 East Pike Street). This was one of fourteen
factory branches and service stations that Kelly-Springfield opened in 1913; other cities included New York,
Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Birmingham, New Haven, Boston, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Worcester, and Providence. Each region was overseen by a branch manager, with distribution in
smaller cities represented by agents.11 [See Figs. 17-21 for photos of Kelly-Springfield]
The Seattle branch of Kelly-Springfield Trucks was managed in 1913 by Henry E. Schmidt, who was recognized
as one of the first in Seattle to be involved in the automobile trade.12 The branchs territory by 1914 was
enlarged to include all of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. Sales for the Seattle
branch in 1913 totaled almost fifty trucks, and clients included the Grote-Rankin Company department store,
Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, Ernst Hardware Company, J.G. Fox & Company, and the Asphaltum
Products Company. A news article from that period stated that Kelly trucks are being used in numerous lines
of business here ranging from bill posters to bread makers. The Seattle branch received an orderfor a oneton truck from the Woodhouse & Platt Furniture Companyit is the first motor equipment to be acquired by
the firm, and it is probable that the horse-drawn vehicles will be discarded in favor of trucks in the near
10
Riddle, Margaret. Port of Everett is created by special election.., HistoryLink essay #9407, May 4, 2010.
Auto truck builders believe in service, The Seattle Times, April 20, 1913, p. 5.
12
In 1903, Fred and C.D. Stimson brought in two gasoline cars from California, and that made six cars owned in
[Seattle]. In 1904, H.P. Grant incorporated the Seattle Automobile Company with Henry E. Schmidt and Dr. Frank Bryant
as partners. His was the only company engaged in selling automobiles in Seattle that year. (Early days tryingfirst
automobile dealer recalls pioneer times, The Seattle Times, February 25, 1923, p. 12).
11
13
future.13 The branch offered truck models in one, two, three and a half, and five tons in size.14 Other news
articles prior to 1917 note that Kelly-Springfield trucks were used for mail delivery and stage lines.15
The subject building was constructed at a reported cost of approximately $70,000.16 A 1917 news article
described the building: In planning the structure, Manager Schmidt arranged for a driveway dividing it into two
sections, permitting trucks to drive directly in from the street and to the elevator for hoisting to the service
and shop department, occupying the entire second floor. The entire basement was given over to storage
facilities, leaving the first open for display rooms, offices, and surplus storage and minor service. The second
floor shop area was purposely arranged by Schmidt with room for big trucks to swing around in a complete
circle as they were being serviced. The south half of the first floor, entire second floor, and part of the
basement was for the Kelly-Springfield Trucks, while the north part of the first floor was occupied by KellySpringfield Tires. 17
Under Henry Schmidts management, Kelly-Springfield moved into the subject building in January 1917.
Advertisements and news features for the office after 1917 indicate that the firm focused on selling a variety of
new and used Kelly commercial trucks to the local market, and used trucks of a variety of brands. Target
markets appeared to include logging, stages (small buses), and general commercial delivery vehicles. Kelly
trucks were particularly used in the logging industry; a 1917 advertisement stated that fifty percent of the
logging trucks and trailers in the Northwest were Kellys.18
By 1919, Schmidt took over management of the Kelly-Springfield Tire sales and service component, and
incorporated under the name Tire Sales & Service Company, which remained as occupant of the northern
portion of the subject building. The Kelly-Springfield Truck component was then managed by George Gunn Jr.,
who remained in that capacity for four years, at which time he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to work as a vice
president for The White Motor Company (White was a major automobile and truck company, which built the
building next door at 1021 East Pine Street, and operated a regional office there).19 Under other managers, the
Kelly-Springfield Truck Company branch remained the occupant of the subject building until closing in late
1925 or early 1926, following the bankruptcy and slow buyout of the national Kelly-Springfield Truck Company
in 1924.
In 1925, a devastating fire on October 31 destroyed three Auto Row buildings across 11th Avenue from the
property, and some of those automobile-related companies may have temporarily occupied space in the
subject building for a time afterwards. The fire was fueled by gasoline explosions and large stocks of
automobile tires warehoused at the Firestone Tire sales and service firm, and at other automobile companies
with branches on the block. The heat was so intense that the damage to the windows of the subject building,
and damage to tires within, was valued at $2,750.20
In 1926, the subject property was sold by the Everett Improvement Company (by then, presumably the
primary owner of the group of investors) to C. Edwin Davis, a heavy investor in Seattle. Title abstracts
suggest that other investors were involved in the transaction as well. The purchase price was $100,000 and
included two additional buildings across the street, 1512-16 and 1518-20 11th Avenue.21 Later in 1926, the
13
Seattle praised in factory organ, The Seattle Times, January 18, 1914, p. 2.
Big Kelly truck reaches Seattle, The Seattle Times, March 22, 1914, p. 2.
15
Stage operators buy Kelly truck, The Seattle Times, July 12, 1914.
16
Kelly home among the best on West Coast, The Seattle Times, February 8, 1917.
17
Kelly home among the best on West Coast, The Seattle Times, February 8, 1917.
18
Move trucks to new Kelly home, The Seattle Times, December 31, 1916; and New home of Kelly-Springfield Tires,
The Seattle Times, December 9, 1917.
19
Gunn, George E., Jr., HistoryLink essay 7700, by David Wilma, March 22, 2006, www.historylink.org.
20
Front page, The Seattle Times, November 1, 1925; and Water shortage at big Seattle fire investigated, The Seattle
Times, November 2, 1925, p. 5.
21
Auto Row buildings bought by investor, The Seattle Times, May 30, 1926, p. 20.
14
14
building was leased to the Sands Motor Company, a Studebaker dealer with their main store located at East
Pike and 11th Avenue, for use as their service department.22
It is not clear who occupied the building from the late 1920s through the Depression years of the mid-1930s.
The subject building was originally designed with storefronts to be occupied by at least two businesses. No
listings in city directories or newspaper advertisements could identify building tenants, although Sands Motor
Company presumably continued to use it as their service department for some time.
One news article from the Depression year of 1932 mentions that the building had been used for some period
until that time as the Unemployed Citizens League (UCL) commissary.23 The UCL was founded somewhat
spontaneously in 1931, by a group of [jobless] Seattle residents organized to demand that government officials
create jobs and increase relief assistance to unemployed. They also established cooperative self-help
enterprises, declaring that the unemployed would produce some of what they needed on their ownFor the
next two years, until New Deal programs took effect, the UCL would be a major force in Seattle and
beyond.24 The UCL had approximately two dozen branches operating in Seattle, as well as several in Tacoma,
Bellingham, and Spokane. Members worked at cooperative enterprises housed at the branches. Commissaries
were used to distribute food grown and harvested by members, or received through charitable or government
agencies. According to the 1932 newspaper article, although the UCL commissary located at the subject
building was being closed because the county was withdrawing their food support and instead establishing a
county-run commissary, the UCL branch would maintain its cooperative shoe repair shop, housing program
for the neighborhood, work plan, fuel distribution plan, and would continue to distribute fresh fruits and
vegetables collected by their work crews. All of these activities presumably occurred in the subject building,
but it is unknown how long it was occupied by the UCL.
By 1937, tax assessor photos show that the building was occupied by Deweys Auto Service, and the Sunset
Electric Company, a home radio sales and service company, as an annex to their main store across the street.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Sunset had specialized in automobile batteries. Another 1937 tax assessor photo
shows a utilitarian wood-frame structure located on the adjacent property to the northwest of the subject
building. Historical maps and photos show that it served as a re-tinning shop for the Pacific Coast Retinning
Company until at least the early 1950s, and was accessed from the west side of the subject building (although it
was addressed as 1011 East Pine Street).
Beginning in 1939, the subject building was primarily occupied by Thompson Products Inc., a wholesale
automobile parts store, which previously had been located at 1726 Broadway but moved to the subject
building because it offered more space. Thompson Products in 1939 was based in Cleveland, Ohio, and had
twenty-one branches throughout the United States. The company at that time specialized in valves, pistons,
brakes, and brake rod assemblies.25 The company would occupy the subject building until 1962, when they
moved to a new warehouse/office building at 1126 12th Avenue. The company had also maintained a plant at
3314 4th Avenue South since at least the mid-1950s.26
From the the mid-1940s through the early 1960s, a number of clothing manufacturers are listed in city
directories as occupying the upper floor and basement of the subject building. These included Doreme Inc. and
Foster-Hochberg Manufacturing Company, both womens clothing manufacturers; and Pacific Footwear Inc., a
22
Four large leases in Automobile Row announced by firm, The Seattle Times, August 8, 1926, p. 24. The Sands motto,
The Envelope Tells the Truth, is visible in some historic photographs of adjacent buildings.
23
UCL refuses to surrender relief roster, The Seattle Times, October 5, 1932, p. 9.
24
Kelly, Summer. Self-help activists, the Seattle branches of the UCL. The Great Depression in Washington State,
Pacific Northwest Labor & Civil Rights Projects of the University of Washington. Online multimedia project, Prof. James
Gregory, project director. Accessed June 2014.
25
Concern leases Auto Row space, The Seattle Times, April 30, 1939, p. 19.
26
New plant for supply firm, The Seattle Times, November 12, 1961, p. 26.
15
shoe manufacturer. Foster-Hochberg was founded in 1950 by Harry Hochberg and Larry Foster, with the
original factory in the subject building. The firm specialized in womens sportswear, maternity clothes, wool
shirts and jackets, and childrens clothes, with several product lines marketed nationally. They eventually
occupied several other buildings in the area, including a main manufactory at 500 East Pike after 1956. That
year, the company employed 150 persons and was described as one of the largest manufacturers of its kind on
the Pacific Coast.27 The firm expanded, purchasing another clothing firm in Tacoma, and remained regionally
prominent through the early 1970s.
In 1963, after the building was vacated by Thompson Products Inc., the space was leased by Recreational
Equipment Incorporated, or REI. The company was founded in 1938, and had previously been located
downtown. REI purchased the building in 1968. The company occupied the space for over 30 years, eventually
expanding into the 1021 East Pine building next door, and into two additional former Auto Row buildings
located at the opposite corner of the same block, at 10th Avenue and Pike Street. An enclosed, ramped arcade
was constructed in 1969 to connect the buildings (it was expanded to two stories in 1972, but has since been
removed, after new building ownership in 1996). Collectively, the buildings served as REIs flagship store. REI
moved to a new, custom-built headquarters in South Lake Union in 1996. [See section elsewhere in this report
for a full history of REI].
In 1996, the subject property was purchased by the current owner, JG Capital Hill LLC, and the facility has
housed a Value Village thrift store since that time. Value Village (known as Savers in some locations) is
headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and has more than 300 stores in the US, Canada, and Australia. The
for-profit company acts as a merchandiser for non-profit groups, purchasing from them used clothing and
household goods which were received through donations, and then selling the items to the general public.
E. Oscar Lewis Willett
Notes on the architectural drawings indicate that the subject building was designed by the architect Julian
Everett for O. L. Willett, apparently as an investment property. Willett was a noted attorney in Seattle in the
first decades of the 20th century, who was later associated with real estate development of the cities of
Atascadero, Palos Verdes Estates, Torrance, and Redondo Beach, California. [See Figs. 22-24 for images
related to Oscar Willett]
Oscar Willett was born in 1881, in southwest Effingham County in rural south-central Illinois.28 Willetts
father had been a miner and rancher in California in the 1860s, and served in the Civil War, before moving
back to the Midwest. Willetts father died in 1898, leaving his widow and ten children.
For a year between 1898 and 1899, at age 17, Oscar Willett served in Cuba as part of the Illinois Volunteer
Infantry during the Spanish-American War. In 1899, he attended Hayward College in Fairfield, Illinois, then
studied law and philosophy at the National Normal University in Lebanon, Ohio, until February 1903. During
that time he also pursued postgraduate work in higher mathematics at Chicago University, and was also
admitted to the Illinois bar.
In March 1903, he moved to Seattle to join one of his brothers, where they established the well-regarded law
office of Willett & Willett. The firm occupied offices downtown in the Epler Block, then the Washington Block,
and finally the Central Building. In 1911, Willett formed the law firm of Willett & Oleson with Frank Oleson,
who had previously been the prosecuting attorney for Wahkiakum County. By 1916, the firm had handled a
number of high-profile cases in local federal and circuit courts.
27
Firm leases building on East Pike, The Seattle Times, July 17, 1955, p. 23; Apparel firm opens second factory here,
The Seattle Times, January 1, 1956, p. 7.
28
Information on Willett before 1916 is largely drawn from Bagley, Oscar Louis [sic] Willett, pp. 575-576.
16
Willett married in 1905, eventually had two children, and lived at 515 12th Avenue North. He had a wide
variety of business and personal interests: By 1916 when he was age 35, Willett had owned and operated the
schooner Fortuna for a time; was president of the Northern Cod Fish Company; was president of the Sugar
Loaf Banana Company, a venture which owned 5,000 acres in Central America; and owned an antimony mine
in Okanagan County. He was also active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows fraternity, the Masons, and
the Spanish-American War Veterans association in Seattle. In 1916, he was an automobile district
representative before the Chamber of Commerce.
Willett invested in Seattle real estate, and had platted in 1908 the Willetts Alder Grove Addition in West
Seattle near 48th Avenue Southwest and Graham Street, and the O. L. Willetts Addition on the lower eastern
slope of Beacon Hill near Graham Street and 35th Avenue South. He owned several pieces of property in the
Auto Row area, including 1512 11th Avenue, across the street from the subject site.29 On that property in 1915
he constructed a two-story concrete building, still extant, which was occupied by the Broadway Auto
Company, which was the Detroit Electric automobile distributor, and the J. C. Garner Auto Company, which
was the Chalmers automobile dealership for western Washington. Two years later, Willett himself took over
the active management of the Broadway Auto Company. 30
In 1922 or 1923, Willett and his wife moved to southern California, and eventually became involved in the
unusual settlement of Atascadero, California. The town, located inland along the central coast near San Luis
Obispo, was founded by Edward Gardner Lewis in 1912. Lewis was an eccentric and flamboyant promoter and
magazine publisher who lived in St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1890s, where he had established the popular and
high-circulation Womens Magazine, Womens Farm Journal, and the newspaper Womens National Daily. In 1902,
he purchased 85 acres near the construction site of the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair, and established the
nucleus of the town of University City, Missouri. He built as his publishing headquarters an unusual and
elaborate Beaux-Arts style domed octagonal tower, which today serves as the city hall of University City.
Lewis attempted to develop his property as a model city, based on City Beautiful Movement principals, and
eventually constructed ornate and eclectic residential, commercial, and civic structures there. During this time
he served as mayor, and founded societies such as the American Womens League, and the pro-suffrage
communal group, the American Womens Republic. He also established organizations such as the Peoples
University, and the U.S. Peoples Bank, which operated entirely by mail. Lewis was indicted several times on
federal charges, including mail fraud. In 1912, he purchased acreage in Atascadero in order to establish a
colony or planned community for his American Womens Republic, which by then had more than one hundred
thousand members. Each member of the community could vote (a right not afforded to women in the United
States until 1920). An ornate city hall was constructed, fashioned after the 15th c. Pazzi Chapel in Florence,
Italy, as well as a Beaux-Arts campus of other civic and commercial buildings, including a printery and a hotel.
Colonists moved and began to build homes; during World War I, the community made money by selling
dehydrated food products to the government.31
For reasons that are unclear, the Atascadero colony attracted numerous Seattle investors. By the early 1920s,
the organization was collapsing financially. In late 1924, Lewis was arrested by federal marshals on the petition
of five disgruntled Seattle creditors who were owed money. A few months later, Oscar Willett was installed as
the court-appointed receiver and placed in charge of the Atascadero corporate holding company. Willet
served in this capacity for six years and was referred to as the Father of Atascadero, eventually stabilizing the
colony and erasing debt, and establishing new industries and businesses.32 To that end, Frank Moran of
Seattleson of shipbuilder and former mayor Robert Moranpurchased the Atascadero city administration
29
Realty transfers set years record, The Seattle Times, December 5, 1909, p. 9.
Business realty active again, The Seattle Times, September 13, 1915, p. 13; and New Seattle sales company formed,
Electric Vehicles, Volume X, Number 5, May 1917, p. 176.
31
Sutton, pp. 7-8.
32
Petry, pp. 84-91.
30
17
building, printery, and hospital building, and established a boys prep school.33 Moran had already established the
Moran School for Boys on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1914, and had established the Moran Lakeside
School in Seattle in 1919 (the precursor to todays Lakeside School in north Seattle). The Moran School of
California operated in Atascadero until at least 1933, but eventually closed for unknown reasons.
Willetts wife died in Atascadero in 1928. In the early 1930s, with his work completed there, Oscar Willett
moved to the Los Angeles/Long Beach vicinity. There he was closely involved with the development of
oceanside neighborhoods in the Torrance and Redondo Beach areas. Willett served as manager of the Palos
Verdes Trust, and was involved in the development of Palos Verdes Estates, which had been founded in 1913
as a totally planned community and was laid out by the Olmsted Brothers. Edward Lewis, the developer of
Atascadero, was also associated with the development of the site, in the early 1920s. The exclusive community
was platted and developed in the 1920s with often ornate residential and civic buildings and parks, but financial
difficulties after 1929 resulted in the Trust deeding parkland to the county, and the community voting to
incorporate as a city in 1939.34 Willett remained an active member of the Illinois, Washington, and California
State bar associations, the National Realty Association, the state and national Chambers of Commerce, and
several veteran and fraternal groups. Willett died in 1945 at age 64, at his home in the Hollywood Riviera
neighborhood (which he had developed in the mid-1930s) of Redondo Beach, California.35
F. Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI)
Recreational Equipment Incorporated had its origins as a co-operative mountaineering equipment sideline
business called The Co-op, begun in 1938 by Lloyd and Mary Anderson and a group of about twenty members
of The Mountaineers Club, an outdoors organization founded in Seattle in 1906.36 Members of The Co-op
pooled their money to buy specialty climbing equipment from Europe that was not otherwise available in the
larger Seattle sporting goods stores at the time. Members paid a small membership fee and were issued
numbered membership cards. Some aspects of The Co-op (such as warehousing and storage) operated out of
the Andersons basement, but the first retail location was the Seattle co-operative grocery store at 2129
Western Avenue in 1938. By 1939, pre-ordered goods were picked up by customers at a Richfield gas station
at 2121 Western Avenue.37 [See Figs. 25-27 for images related to REI]
In 1944, The Co-op moved to a 20 by 30 foot space on the second floor of a walk-up building downtown at
523 Pike Street. Space was used for display, sales, and inventory. Across the hall was the offices of The
Mountaineers Club, which ensured a steady stream of clientele. By the mid-1940s, membership numbered over
600, and the group hired its first part-time employee. In 1948, REI issued its first mail-order catalog. By the
mid-1950s, membership had reached more than 6,000. At that time, The Co-op had been managed by one of
the founders, Lloyd Anderson, as a side interest, but it had grown too large and was interfering with his fulltime job as an engineer with the Seattle Transit System.38
33
Allan, Lon, Colony Days pays homage to Atascadero vision, The Tribune (San Luis Obispo), October 14, 2013.
Palos Verdes realtor tells how to make south bay district boom, The Torrance Herald (Torrance, California),
November 10, 1938, p. 5-B.
35
O.L. Willett dies, The Independent (Long Beach, California), April 26, 1945, p. 8.
36
The Mountaineers was initially an auxiliary of the Mazamas, a mountain climbing club based in Oregon. The 150 charter
members of the Mountaineers included Bertha Landes, Edmond Meany, and Asahel Curtis. In 2000, the club had 15,000
members and was the third largest such organization in the United States. The Mountaineers formed in Seattle in 1906,
HistoryLink Essay 2903, by Priscilla Long, December 25, 2000, corrected and expanded February 4, 2013,
www.historylink.org.
37
REI history from Celebrating 75 years of adventure, REI website, http://reihistory.com. Additional information from
Whittaker, pp. 67-73, although some information from that source does not exactly match that found in the corporate
website.
38
Whittaker, p. 67.
34
18
In 1955, Anderson hired his friend and mountain-climber Jim Whittaker (then in his twenties) to run the
business and be its first full-time paid employee. In the fall of 1955, Whittaker started a ski department. Sales
and membership increased, and later that year they were able to hire a second employee. By 1957,
membership had increased to 9,500. The company was one of the earliest largely self-service retailers, and was
also known for certain trade-in discounts on new merchandise. 39
In 1959, The Co-op was able to secure one thousand feet of warehouse space a block away at Sixth Avenue
and Pine Street, for excess inventory. By 1960, sales had tripled over the past five years, allowing Lloyd
Anderson to become the full-time general manager of the company, and Whittaker retained as the store
manager. Also that year, the company name was changed to Recreational Equipment Incorporated, or REI.40
In 1963, as store manager at REI and with their support during the four month absence, Whittaker became the
first American to summit Mt. Everest, with considerable accompanying publicity.
Later in 1963, REI established what was intended to be their main store, in the subject building. Whittaker
described the new building: At last we had a street-level storefront. The interior of the warehouse perfectly
suited REIs rugged image: high ceilings, massive old fir beams, concrete and brick walls, and a worn, creosotehardened industrial wood floor.41 The new offered considerably more space than before, but even so, REIs
mail-order business alone occupied the entire second floor.
Growth continued at a rapid pace. 1965 was the first year that sales exceeded $1 million, and membership
numbered 50,000. In 1966, REI expanded into the adjacent building to the north (1021 East Pine Street),
which required cutting an opening through the party wall at the first and second floors. In 1967, REI closed the
523 Pike Street store, leaving their Mountaineers Club neighbors, and moved a block away to the basement of
423 Pike Street, which offered slightly more floor space. This smaller store downtown at 423 Pike Street
operated in tandem with the main store until 1972.42
In 1971, Anderson retired, and Whittaker became president and chief executive officer of REI. That year, sales
reached $10 million and membership numbered 250,000.
In 1972, after continued growth, REI expanded into two additional buildings located at the opposite corner of
the same block, at 10th Avenue and Pike Street. These two additional buildings, which together are addressed
as 1000 East Pike Street, were constructed in 1912 as an automobile showroom and its attached service
garage. An enclosed, two-story ramped arcade was constructed to connect them to the buildings at 11th
Avenue and Pine Street.
In 1974, the company began opening additional retail stores, rather than relying exclusively on mail order sales
to reach its out-of-town customers. Early branch stores were established in Berkeley and Los Angeles,
California; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska. By the end of 1975, this expansion had resulted in total
sales of $20 million, or double the sales figure only four years before. In response to this growth, REI built in
1977 an 85,000 square foot warehouse facility in Tukwila, Washington for its mail-order and administrative
offices, which freed up more retail space at the main store connected buildings on Capitol Hill.43 In 1979, after
several additional highly publicized mountain climbing expeditions, Whittaker retired from REI.
Growth continued in the 1980s. In 1992 the company built a new distribution center in Sumner, Washington.
In 1996, REI opened a new flagship store at 222 Yale Avenue North on the edge of downtown Seattle, which
39
Whittaker, p. 69, 73.

Whittaker, p. 73.
41
Whittaker, p. 167.
42
Celebrating 75 years of adventure, (1967), REI corporate website, http://reihistory.com/1960.
43
Whittaker, p. 229-233.
40
19
prominently features a 65-foot glass-enclosed climbing wall. The 98,000 square foot building was designed by
Mithun Architects of Seattle, and won multiple local and national design and sustainability awards.
As of 2010, REI had 10 million members and 114 retail stores across the United States. In 2013, former REI
chief executive officer Sally Jewell was sworn in as the United States Secretary of the Interior, and that year
the company celebrated its 75th anniversary.
G. The architect, Julian F. Everett
Julian Franklin Everett was born in 1869 into a wealthy farming family in Leeds, Wisconsin. Information about
his early years is sparse, but documents indicate that he studied architecture at Syracuse University in upstate
New York, but it is not clear if he received a formal degree. In 1899, he married his wife Edith. In 1902 they
moved to Bozeman, Montana, from Boston, Massachusetts. He designed the J. R. Toole house in Missoula,
Montana, which was completed in 1903 and is today the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house at the University
of Montana. Everett moved to Butte, Montana in 1903, and then to Seattle in 1904.44 [See Figs. 28-33 for
images related to Julian Everett]
He quickly received several large institutional commissions in Seattle, including the Third United Presbyterian
Church, now known as Queen Anne Presbyterian Church (1905); Temple de Hirsch Sinai (1906, demolished);
and Pilgrim Congregational Church at Broadway Avenue and Republican Street on Capitol Hill (1906).45 One
of Everetts most enduring and well-known designs is the Pioneer Square iron pergola, which featured an
extensive underground comfort station (1909), located at First Avenue and Yesler Way.
Other projects before the design of the subject building include the George A. Smith house at 718 E. Aloha on
Capitol Hill (1905, now incorporated into the Merrill Place Condominiums); Fire Station 23 in the Central
District (1908); the elaborate Julius Redelsheimer house in the Denny Blaine neighborhood (1914, altered); and
the Leamington Hotel and Apartments downtown (with W.R.B. Willcox, 1916), which features two different
terra cotta stylistic treatments to each half of the structure (Neoclassical and Gothic Revival). In 1912-13, he
prepared designs for two three-story Elk Lodge buildings in Port Angeles and Port Townsend, Washington, but
it is not clear if these were actually constructed.
In August 1916, Everett completed drawings for the subject building. In December 1917, Everett and W. R.
Kelley completed drawings for the White Motor Company building next door at 1021 East Pine Street, which
was constructed the following year. That structure is three stories, is completely clad in white terracotta, and
features large windows on two prominent street-facing elevations.
As reflected in his works before 1917, Everett was a skilled designer, and favored classically-derived modes
such as Neoclassical, Georgian, or Beaux-Arts styles for structures which appear to have primarily been
residences, churches, or institutional buildings. Fewer examples of Everetts work could be found after the
subject building. Most of his works appear to be clad in brick, with some cast stone or terracotta ornament.
Few commercial buildings by Everett, besides the subject building and the building next door to it, could be
located for this report. One example was a factory for the Seattle Cracker & Candy Company (1912), located
at Sixth Avenue South and Connecticut Street (todays Royal Brougham Way), which was a relatively utilitarian
masonry factory building, four stories in height, mill construction, and measured 90 by 170 feet in plan.
Another, the Pathe Building in the Denny Regrade neighborhood (1922), was completed after the subject
building but is a comparatively modest, one-story, midblock structure ornamented with eclectic cast stone
44
Information on Everett largely derived from Julian F. Everett 1869-1955, Architect biographies, Washington State
Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, by Michael Houser, State Architectural Historian, December 2011.
45
Some good sales in realty, third column, The Seattle Times, July 23, 1905, p. 21.
20
details. One reference in 1912 cited Everett designing a one-story brick garage for T. M. Jeffery, valued at
$15,000, but this building could not be located and no person named T. M. Jeffery or a Jeffery garage could be
found in the Seattle city directory at that time.46 While some sources have indicated that Everett designed a
number of garages between 1912 and 1919, no additional buildings besides these could be found for this
report.
Everett was apparently active in professional associations. He served as the Vice-President of the Washington
State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1914, and was chairman of the Legislation Committee
that year.47 In 1916, he is noted as the president of the Washington Park Improvement Association, and in
1919 he is listed as a new member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.48
In the early 1920s, Everett formed a partnership in Seattle with E. J. Hancock, but no work appears to have
come from it. By 1924, Everett had moved to the Los Angeles, California area, and he may have retired a few
years thereafter. In later years, he and his wife owned a ranch in San Diego County from the mid-1930s to the
1950s.49 Everett died in Los Angeles in 1955, at age 85.
46
Pacific Coast Architect, November, 1912.

The other officers of the chapter that year were James Stephen, President; Andrew Willatzen, Treasurer; and Arthur
Loveless, Secretary. American Art Directory or American Art Annual, Vol. 11, American Federation of Arts, New York (1914),
p. 344.
48
Forty clubs will attend big meeting, The Seattle Times, July 20, 1916, p. 5; and Pool efforts to get more ships, The
Seattle Times, October 22, 1919, p. 23.
49
Hancock and San Diego information from BOLA, Landmark nomination, Pathe Building, p. 9.
47
21
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bagley, Clarence. History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 3. Chicago: The S. J.
Clarke Publishing Company, 1916.
Berner, Richard C. Seattle 1900-1920: From Boomtown, Urban Turbulence, to Restoration.
Seattle: Charles Press, 1991.
City of Seattle:
Department of Neighborhoods, Historic Resources Survey database,
www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/historicresources
Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Library, permit records and drawings.
Department Of Planning and Development Parcel Data, 2010. www.seattle.gov.
D.A. Sanborn. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Seattle, Washington (various dates) maps accessed from Seattle
Public Libraries, online. www.spl.org.
HistoryLink, the Online Encyclopedia to Washington State History. www.historylink.org.
Kelly, Summer. Self-help activists, the Seattle branches of the UCL. The Great Depression in Washington
State, Pacific Northwest Labor & Civil Rights Projects of the University of Washington. Online multimedia
project, Prof. James Gregory, project director. http://depts.washington.edu/depress/UCL_branches.shtml.
King County Assessors Records, at Puget Sound Regional Archives, at Bellevue Community College, Bellevue,
WA.
King County Parcel Viewer website. www.metrokc.gov/gis/mapportal/PViewer_main.
Kroll Map Company Inc., "Kroll Map of Seattle," various dates.
Nyberg, Folke, and Victor Steinbrueck, for the Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority.
Capitol Hill: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources. Seattle: Historic Seattle, 1975.
Nyberg, Folke, and Victor Steinbrueck, for the Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority.
First Hill: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources. Seattle: Historic Seattle, 1975.
Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 1994.
Petry, David. The Puritan Ice Companies: The Ice Empire of California's Central Coast. Charleston, SC: The History
Press, 2012. Print.
R.L. Polk and Company. Polks Directory to the City of Seattle. Seattle: various dates.
The Seattle Times newspaper. Seattle, Washington. Includes previous incarnations as The Seattle Press Times, The
Seattle Daily Times, and The Seattle Sunday Times.
Sheridan, Mimi. Historic Property Survey Report: Seattles Commercial Districts. City of Seattle,
Department of Neighborhoods, 2002.
Sutton, Robert P. Modern American Communes: A Dictionary. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2005.
Washington State Division of Archives and Record Management. Historic Photo and Assessor Documentation.
22
Whittaker, Jim. A Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond. Seattle, WA: The Mountaineers Books, 2013.
Wong, Rose, and Marilyn Sullivan, Consultants. Redelsheimer-Ostrander House, National Register for
Historic Places Registration Form, December 4, 1989.
23
VI. LIST OF FIGURES

Current site maps and photos
Fig. 1 Map of the neighborhood in 2014.
Fig. 2 Aerial photograph of the site in 2014. Subject building located by arrow.
26
26
Historic site maps and neighborhood photos

Fig. 3 1905 Sanborn map, showing the early residential character of the neighborhood.
Fig. 4 1951 Sanborn map, showing the Auto Row development of the neighborhood.
Fig. 5 1909 view northeast of the Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) baseball diamond. (SMA 76255)
Fig. 6 Circa 1912 view northwest across Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) towards Nagle Place.
Fig. 7 Circa 1911 view southward from Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) towards the subject site.
Fig. 8 1937 photo of the wood-frame apartment building which was behind the subject property.
Fig. 9 1937 tax photo of Pacific Coast Retinning Company, showing the rear of the subject building.
Fig. 10 The neighborhood just south of the site, in 1905.
Fig. 11 Broadway Livery and Sale Stables, at Union and 10th, in 1910. (UW Special Collections LEE124)
Fig. 12 The neighborhood in 1920; view from 12th and Madison looking west, two blocks south of the site.
Fig. 13 1920 view north at 12th & Union, two blocks south of the site, showing Auto Row. (SMA 12839)
Fig. 14 View north at 11th & Pike in 1937. Subject building indicated by arrow. (UWSC SEA2472)
Fig. 15 Image of the adjacent building and neighborhood in 1970.
Fig. 16 Examples of other c.1910-1920 Auto Row automobile dealerships.
27
28
29
29
30
30
31
31
32
32
32
33
33
34
The Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company

Fig. 17 This page: Examples of Kelly-Springfield trucks sold at the Seattle branch.
Fig. 18 Kelly-Springfield logging truck in Washington state in 1918. (Asahel Curtis photo, UWSC IND0260)
Fig. 19 Kelly-Springfield logging truck in Washington state in 1925. (MOHAI WS Coll. 1983-10-3675-10)
Fig. 20 Early image of the exterior and interior of the building (Seattle Times, February 18, 1917)
Fig. 21 Early image of the building, with Henry E. Schmidt, manager of the Kelly-Springfield Truck sales
35
36
36
37
37
Oscar Lewis Willett

Fig. 22 Oscar Lewis Willett; and 1512 11th Avenue, another property developed by Willett.
Fig. 23 1920 view of Atascadero, California, showing the city administration building at right.
Fig. 24 Other Moran School of California buildings in Atascadero, undated but c.1930.
38
38
38

Fig. 25 (Left) Jim Whittaker and REI founder Lloyd Anderson around 1964; (Right) REI employees c. 1963.
Fig. 26 REI members waiting in line for a sale, c.1970. Subject building visible at far right. (Seattle P-I)
Fig. 27 Interior of REI store in subject building, c.1980. Note granite climbing wall.
39
39
39
Other work by architect Julian F. Everett

Fig. 28 Other work by J.F. Everett: J.R. Toole residence (1903) and Temple de Hirsch (1906, demolished).
Fig. 29 Other work by J.F. Everett: Pilgrim Congregational Church (1906); Pioneer Square Pergola (1909).
Fig. 30 Other work by J.F. Everett: Seattle Firehouse #23 (1908); and Seattle Cracker & Candy Co. (1912).
Fig. 31 Other work by J.F. Everett: Julius Redelsheimer House (1914) (Mike Siegel, Seattle Times, 2012)
Fig. 32 Other work by J.F. Everett: Hotel Leamington & Apartments (1916, with W.R.B. Willcox) (Joe Mabel)
Fig. 33 Other work by J.F. Everett: White Motor Company at left (1917); Pathe Building at right (1922)
40
40
40
41
41
41
Current and historic images of the subject building

Fig. 34 Context: View south on 11th Avenue. Subject building is behind the viewer (not visible).
Fig. 35 Context: View north on 11th Avenue. Subject building indicated by arrow.
Fig. 36 The subject building in 1937. (Tax assessor photo)
Fig. 37 East elevation in 2011, before replacement of second-floor windows. (Tax assessor photo)
Fig. 38 East elevation.
Fig. 40 South elevation, and view of adjacent loading area/surface parking lot, located on the same parcel.
Fig. 41 South elevation and sidewalk.
Fig. 42 Former enclosed ramp connection between buildings in 1969 (left) and 1972 (right);
Fig. 43 West elevation, at right. White building at left is the adjacent 1021 East Pine Street.
Fig. 44 West and north elevations (re-entrant corner of building).
Fig. 45 East elevation, detail of arched parapet.
42
42
43
43
44
44
45
45
45
46
46
47
24
Fig. 46 East elevation, detail of remaining original window.

Fig. 47 East elevation, detail of framed tile band under awning.
Fig. 48 East elevation, detail of tile band detail, replacement windows, and brick.
Fig. 49 East elevation, detail of main entry under awning.
Fig. 50 East elevation, detail of window bulkhead.
Fig. 51 Interior, first floor, entry and cashier area.
Fig. 52 Interior, first floor, showing freight elevator.
Fig. 53 Interior, first floor, merchandise area.
Fig. 55 Interior, first floor detail: Original wainscoting at entrance; creosote block flooring.
Fig. 56 Interior, first floor detail: Floor truss at exterior wall.
Fig. 57 Interior, basement details: Central wood staircase; floor beam support at exterior wall.
Fig. 58 Interior, basement, merchandise area and freight elevator.
Fig. 59 Interior, basement, merchandise area.
Fig. 60 Interior, basement, receiving and processing area, showing original steel sash windows.
Fig. 61 Interior, second floor, merchandise area (three photos above).
Fig. 62 Interior, second floor, merchandise area.
Fig. 63 Interior, second floor, hallway and employee break room.
Fig. 64 Interior, second floor, truss detail and freight elevator.
25
47
48
48
49
49
50
50
51
51
52
52
53
53
54
54
55
56
56
56
Fig. 1 Map of the neighborhood in 2014.

North is up. Subject property indicated by red box. (Google Maps)
Fig. 2 Aerial photograph of the site in 2014. Subject building located by arrow.
The parcel includes adjacent parking lot. North is to the right. (Google Maps)
26
Fig. 3 1905 Sanborn map, showing the early residential character of the neighborhood.
North is up. Subject site indicated by red box.
27
Fig. 4 1951 Sanborn map, showing the Auto Row development of the neighborhood.
North is up. Subject site indicated by red box; note this includes the current building and parking lot.
28
Fig. 5 1909 view northeast of the Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) baseball diamond. (SMA 76255)
Fig. 6 Circa 1912 view northwest across Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) towards Nagle Place.
This viewpoint is located at approximately 11th and Pine, near the subject site; the arcaded building in the
distance is the back of the old Bonney Watson Funeral Home. (www.vintageseattle.org)
29
Fig. 7 Circa 1911 view southward from Lincoln Park (todays Cal Anderson Park) towards the subject site.
In a few years, the subject building will be constructed behind the gabled building indicated by arrow (compare
to Fig. 8). The building in the distance is Providence Hospital, under construction. (Paul Dorpat)
Fig. 8 1937 photo of the wood-frame apartment building which was behind the subject property.
This building, whose gabled roof is visible in Fig. 7, reflects the kind of residential structures in the surrounding
blocks which were replaced with Auto Row buildings. It was demolished in the 1960s. Note the steep drop at
the alley, a result of regrading and raising East Pine Street in the early 1900s. (Tax assessor photo)
30
Fig. 9 1937 tax photo of Pacific Coast Retinning Company, showing the rear of the subject building.
This structure was also behind the house shown in the previous photo, visible at far left.
Fig. 10 The neighborhood just south of the site, in 1905.

The image is a view eastward from the roof of a building at Broadway and Madison; the latter street is visible
at the upper right. The wooden fence with widely spaced posts at lower center left is located along the north
side of Union Street, which intersects with Madison at far right. The subject site would have been out of the
frame, on the far left. (Photo by Asahel Curtis, UW Special Collections, CUR283).
31
Fig. 11 Broadway Livery and Sale Stables, at Union and 10th, in 1910. (UW Special Collections LEE124)
Fig. 12 The neighborhood in 1920; view from 12th and Madison looking west, two blocks south of the site.
Madison is indicated by the streetcar tracks; the steeple is First Baptist Church at Harvard and Union.
Fig. 13 1920 view north at 12th & Union, two blocks south of the site, showing Auto Row. (SMA 12839)
32
Fig. 14 View north at 11th & Pike in 1937. Subject building indicated by arrow. (UWSC SEA2472)
Fig. 15 Image of the adjacent building and neighborhood in 1970.

Subject building indicated by arrow. (detail, SMA 77620)
33
(Left) Packard dealership (Charles Haynes, 1911) at 12th & Pike in 1937, by then no longer a dealership.
(Right) Packard dealership (Louis Svarz, 1920) at Pike & Melrose.
(Left) The Tyson Building (Charles Haynes, 1912), at Pine & Broadway, which housed many dealerships over
time; and (Right) The Seattle Automobile Company at 10th & Pike.
(Left) The Lieback Garage Building at 11th & Pike, which housed the Seattle Automobile Sales Company.
(Right) Showroom of the Lieback Garage Building, in 1918 (University of Oregon Archives #pna-21656).
Fig. 16 Examples of other c.1910-1920 Auto Row automobile dealerships.
Automobile dealerships were frequently ornate and in prominent locations.
(All images tax assessor photos, unless noted otherwise)
34
Fig. 17 This page: Examples of Kelly-Springfield trucks sold at the Seattle branch.
All images from Seattle Times news pieces 1914-1917 regarding the local branch. Kelly trucks were
distinguishable by the angled shape of their hoods.
35
Fig. 18 Kelly-Springfield logging truck in Washington state in 1918. (Asahel Curtis photo, UWSC IND0260)
Fig. 19 Kelly-Springfield logging truck in Washington state in 1925. (MOHAI WS Coll. 1983-10-3675-10)
36
Fig. 20 Early image of the exterior and interior of the building (Seattle Times, February 18, 1917)
Fig. 21 Early image of the building, with Henry E. Schmidt, manager of the Kelly-Springfield Truck sales
and service, and later Kelly-Springfield Tires. (Seattle Times, May 11, 1919)
37
Fig. 22 Oscar Lewis Willett; and 1512 11th Avenue, another property developed by Willett.
Fig. 23 1920 view of Atascadero, California, showing the city administration building at right.
Later, it served as the main building of the Moran School of California. (www.atascaderochamber.org)
Fig. 24 Other Moran School of California buildings in Atascadero, undated but c.1930.
(www.atascaderochamber.org)
38
Fig. 25 (Left) Jim Whittaker and REI founder Lloyd Anderson around 1964; (Right) REI employees c. 1963.
(Left photo by Frank Denman from www.jimwhittaker.com; right photo from REI Archives)
Fig. 26 REI members waiting in line for a sale, c.1970. Subject building visible at far right. (Seattle P-I)
Fig. 27 Interior of REI store in subject building, c.1980. Note granite climbing wall.
(www.capitolhilltimes.com)
39
Fig. 28 Other work by J.F. Everett: J.R. Toole residence (1903) and Temple de Hirsch (1906, demolished).
(Left image from University of Montana-Missoula Archives and Special Collections 84-0313)
Fig. 29 Other work by J.F. Everett: Pilgrim Congregational Church (1906); Pioneer Square Pergola (1909).
(UWSC WAR0235, and SMA111184)
Fig. 30 Other work by J.F. Everett: Seattle Firehouse #23 (1908); and Seattle Cracker & Candy Co. (1912).
(Joe Mabel; and tax assessor photo)
40
Fig. 31 Other work by J.F. Everett: Julius Redelsheimer House (1914) (Mike Siegel, Seattle Times, 2012)
Fig. 32 Other work by J.F. Everett: Hotel Leamington & Apartments (1916, with W.R.B. Willcox) (Joe Mabel)
Fig. 33 Other work by J.F. Everett: White Motor Company at left (1918); Pathe Building at right (1922).
The building at left is next door to the subject building. (Tax assessor photo, and Joe Mabel)
41
Fig. 34 Context: View south on 11th Avenue. Subject building is behind the viewer (not visible).
Fig. 35 Context: View north on 11th Avenue. Subject building indicated by arrow.
42
Fig. 36 The subject building in 1937. (Tax assessor photo)
Fig. 37 East elevation in 2011, before replacement of second-floor windows. (Tax assessor photo)
43
44
Fig. 40 South elevation, and view of adjacent loading area/surface parking lot, located on the same parcel.
Fig. 41 South elevation and sidewalk.
Fig. 42 Former enclosed ramp connection between other buildings on the block, 1969 (left) and 1972 (right);
removed after 1996 and now the location of the loading dock. (Tax assessor photos)
45
Fig. 43 West elevation, at right. White building at left is the adjacent 1021 East Pine Street.
Fig. 44 West and north elevations (re-entrant corner of building).
46
Fig. 45 East elevation, detail of arched parapet.
Fig. 46 East elevation, detail of remaining original window.
47
Fig. 47 East elevation, detail of framed tile band under awning.
Fig. 48 East elevation, detail of tile band detail, replacement windows, and brick.
48
Fig. 49 East elevation, detail of main entry under awning.
Fig. 50 East elevation, detail of window bulkhead.

49
Fig. 51 Interior, first floor, entry and cashier area.
Fig. 52 Interior, first floor, showing freight elevator.
50
51
Fig. 55 Interior, first floor detail: Original wainscoting at entrance; creosote block flooring.
Fig. 56 Interior, first floor detail: Floor truss at exterior wall.
52
Fig. 57 Interior, basement details: Central wood staircase; floor beam support at exterior wall.
Fig. 58 Interior, basement, merchandise area and freight elevator.

The loading dock and receiving and processing area is behind wall at left, accessed through the double doors.
53
Fig. 59 Interior, basement, merchandise area.
Fig. 60 Interior, basement, receiving and processing area, showing original steel sash windows.
54
Fig. 61 Interior, second floor, merchandise area (three photos above).

55
Fig. 62 Interior, second floor, merchandise area.
Fig. 63 Interior, second floor, hallway and employee break room.
Fig. 64 Interior, second floor, truss detail and freight elevator.

56
Subject parcel
indicated by
red box
Subject building
indicated by
yellow shading

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Name (common, present, or historic):

Value Village or REI Building

Street and Number:

1525 11th Avenue

Assessor's File No.

Nagles 2nd Addition

JG Capital Hill LLC

Present Use: Retail store

Contact: Will Nelson

July 22, 2014

Value Village / REI Building 1525 11th Avenue

July 22, 2014

This report was prepared by:

Value Village / REI Building

II. Building information

III. Architectural description

Adjacent neighborhood context

IV. Historical context

The neighborhood and early development

VI. List of figures

Selected architectural images

Author's on-site photographs and building inspection, or by other NK Architects staff.

Seattle Municipal Archives

II. BUILDING INFORMATION

Value Village or REI Building

Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company

Street & Number:

1525 11th Avenue

Assessors File No.:

JG Capital Hill LLC

Truck sales and service, and tire sales and service

Original Architect/Builder: Julian F. Everett

Nagles 2nd Addition / Block 13 / Lots 8-10

III. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION

IV. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Today also referred to as the Pike-Pine Corridor.

1101 E. Pike, once the Lieback Garage.

C. Building owners and occupants

Pacific Footwear Inc. shoes

D. Development of the subject property

Whittaker, p. 69, 73.

Pacific Coast Architect, November, 1912.

VI. LIST OF FIGURES

Historic site maps and neighborhood photos

The Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company

Oscar Lewis Willett

Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI)

Other work by architect Julian F. Everett

Current and historic images of the subject building

Fig. 46 East elevation, detail of remaining original window.

Fig. 1 Map of the neighborhood in 2014.

Fig. 10 The neighborhood just south of the site, in 1905.

Fig. 15 Image of the adjacent building and neighborhood in 1970.

Fig. 36 The subject building in 1937. (Tax assessor photo)

Fig. 38 East elevation.

Fig. 39 East elevation.

Fig. 41 South elevation and sidewalk.

Fig. 44 West and north elevations (re-entrant corner of building).

Fig. 45 East elevation, detail of arched parapet.