Monthly Archives: March 2014

Continuing our look at the mid-century buildings of Olympia. According to the Olympia walking tour guide, this Sears branch was designed by George Ekvall, who was a former employee of the firm who designed the department store in our last entry. … Continue reading →

              Continuing our look at the Mid-Century Mundane of the Pacific Northwest and specifically the buildings featured in the Olympia Modernism self-guided walking tour brochure. While we don’t have much to add beyond what the … Continue reading →

Unlike the design of our last entry, which lacked a relationship to existing neighboring buildings, the Suzzallo Library addition is a strong response to its historic parent. While unmistakably modern, this addition from 1961-63 uses Gothic elements to harmonize with the grand … Continue reading →

Of all the buildings on the University of Washington campus this is probably the most Miesian. That honor may have gone to the neighboring Balmer Hall, but it was demolished in 2010. Both buildings were designed by Decker & Christenson and Paul Hayden … Continue reading →

On Mid-Century Mundane we tend to focus on small-scale commercial architecture, one of the most overlooked typologies. But sometimes there are residential buildings that we are drawn to and La Mirada is one of them. La Mirada is an apartment … Continue reading →

The City Church is next door to Seattle Labor Temple, featured in our last post. It is fitting because this building was originally the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 Union Hall. It was renovated in 2005 for City … Continue reading →

The Seattle Labor Temple in the Belltown neighborhood is an early modern structure, accommodating numerous functions for union organizing including office space, an auditorium, and meeting rooms. This area of Belltown has several union-affiliated structures including some that will be … Continue reading →

Today’s entry is the Olympia Branch of the Seattle First National Bank from 1959 and located at 210 5th Street W; earlier this week we covered a similar branch in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The architects were McClelland & Osterman, a Seattle-based … Continue reading →

This bank at 2010 Market Street NW in Ballard dates from 1951. The bank represents a typology from the late 1940s and early 1950s when classical design was morphing into a more modern appearance. Banks, especially in urban areas, sometimes exhibit … Continue reading →