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47-680: The Lyon Building is a historic building located at 607 Third Avenue in Downtown Seattle , Washington , United States . It was built in 1910 by the Yukon Investment Company and was named after the city in France of the same name , reflecting the French heritage of the company's owners. It was designed by the firm of Graham & Myers in the Chicago school style of architecture and was built by

94-466: A fire trap. "We had planned a skyscraper for this corner costing $ 400,000 or more but we will not build until we know what move the city of Seattle will make next. When we improved this property 16 months ago the city officials informed us that the street line would remain as it then was. Since then the city has widened the street and we are now tearing down the work constructed less than two years ago." - R. Auzias Turenne, June 1908 In February 1910 during

141-581: A new mansion after returning from a vacation to Europe but Gatzert would die on the boat before making it back home in April 1893. That property would eventually be donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle who would construct the St. James Cathedral on the site. After Gatzert's passing, his widow moved out of the house and later out of the city all together. Their old home was turned into lodgings and

188-506: A passing street car, in a two-block radius, sending shards of glass raining to the sidewalks. The Lyon Building's windows had not yet been installed so the explosion vented freely. The wooden floors had recently been installed though and had all been blown loose. After the dust had settled it was discovered by the police that several 6-inch deep holes had been bored into the basement wall of the elevator shaft and surrounding columns where Nitroglycerin had been placed. Though over $ 5,000 in damage

235-494: A point of contention amongst national labor unions that would make them a target of union activists. Demolition of the old Gatzert House and the warren of surrounding shops began in March and the building was begun the following month. On the night of August 31, 1910, an explosion shook the unfinished building just as nearby theaters were letting out, throwing pedestrians to the ground and shattering nearly every window, including those of

282-450: A reward now reaching $ 5,000 but revelations in the ensuing inquisition would soon prove them correct. California authorities revealed through questioning that James B. McNamara had confessed to being in Seattle on the night of the explosion, having checked into a cottage in the rear of 1020 6th Ave on August 19 under the alias of J.B. Bryce but referring to himself as "Petervitch". He would spend

329-553: A short-lived satellite office of his father's firm in New York City in 1937, and took over the main office in 1946. Renaming the firm to John Graham & Company, the firm expanded a relatively modest regional practice to an office with national presence. It was ultimately responsible for over a thousand commissions. Their primary focus was commercial projects. Many were straightforward mid-century modernist office towers, such as San Francisco's 1967 44 Montgomery tower. But Graham

376-404: A whirlwind of new construction in the city, the Yukon Investment Company announced that they were finally ready to build; proposing a substantial $ 500,000 building on the site. They commissioned architects Graham & Myers to design a 6-story reinforced concrete office building clad in brick and terracotta , which would be shorter than the previous buildings planned there. The resulting design

423-471: A working title of "The New Hotel Seattle" and elaborate perspective drawings were published in local newspapers, but because of the odd slope of Third Avenue at the site and the city's constant delays in regrading it, the project stalled before the hotel could even get an official name. After having refused several offers, in May 1905 W.E. Stevens' syndicate sold the property to capitalist Raymond Auzias de Turenne, then

470-639: Is connected to Seattle Center by a monorail . Downtown Seattle's Columbia Center has 76 floors, a greater number than any other building west of the Mississippi River (although there are taller buildings in Texas and California ). Smith Tower , in the Pioneer Square area, once held the title of tallest American building west of the Mississippi. Other notable buildings are the 1201 Third Avenue (formerly

517-594: Is the largest employment center in the Puget Sound region , with an estimated employee population of 243,995 in 2013, accounting for half of the city's jobs and 21 percent of King County jobs. Several Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Downtown Seattle include Amazon , Nordstrom , and Expeditors International . The United States Postal Service operates the Seattle Main Post Office (also known as

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564-662: The DLR Group on May 19, 1986, and the name saw full deletion in 1998. John Graham was born in Liverpool, England , in 1873. He apprenticed as an architect in England as a young man. First visiting Seattle, Washington , in 1896, he immigrated to the United States in 1900, starting a one-man architectural practice in Seattle. He started off modestly, designing mainly industrial-related buildings and private residences. His first notable project

611-514: The Denny Party moved across the then-named Duwamish Bay in April 1852 to a low level marsh situated with a safe deep water harbor, located roughly in the city's Pioneer Square district. They named this new frontier "Duwamps". In the late 1850s, present day downtown Seattle became the main residential outskirts of the city. After the Great Seattle Fire , the business district was moved to

658-727: The King County Courthouse . It was the founding location of many foreign consuls, social and political clubs as well as the City University of Seattle . The building's basement now serves as an entrance the Pioneer Square station of the Seattle Transit Tunnel . The Lyon Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 30, 1995 and was designated a Seattle landmark on August 16, 1996. In 1997 it

705-583: The Stone & Webster engineering firm, whose use of non-union labor would make the yet unfinished building the target of a bombing by notorious union activist James B. McNamara , who would commit the deadly Los Angeles Times bombing only 1 month after. The Lyon Building was luckily not destroyed due to its substantial construction, and after little delay, it was completed in 1911 and soon became one of Seattle's most popular office addresses for lawyers and judges due to its proximity to Seattle's public safety complex and

752-704: The 1920s and 30s, he would design hundreds of commercial and public buildings in the Seattle area including the Frederick & Nelson store (now Nordstrom ) in 1916. He also helped found the Seattle Yacht Club and designed all of their original facilities. He retired from architecture in 1945 and died on March 20, 1955, while on tour in Hong Kong . John Graham Jr. (1908–91) was born and raised in Seattle, Washington . After graduating from Yale University , he established

799-558: The 1980s the Lyon Building was chosen as a site for one of the entrances to the Pioneer Square Station of the Seattle Transit Tunnel . Instead of demolishing the building, the basement level at James Street, previously used for retail, was rebuilt to accommodate the station facilities. By the 1990s the building was owned by King County at which time it was nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and it

846-592: The 19th century as a partner in the Schwabacher Brothers hardware company. Gatzert had his home constructed in 1875 during his term as mayor and it was one of the most elegant houses in the city at the time. The Gatzerts would play host to president Rutherford B. Hayes at the home during his visit to the city in the Fall of 1880. In 1892, following the lead of other wealthy Seattleites, Gatzert and his wife Barbetta purchased an entire block on First Hill with plans to build

893-514: The French Vice-consul at Dawson, YT for $ 150,000. Turenne soon formed the Yukon Investment Company that would be in charge of developing new buildings and properties around the city. Due to continuing uncertainty about the regrading and widening of Third Avenue, the Third and James property remained unimproved and the increasingly ramshackle corner was beginning to be seen as a public nuisance and

940-565: The L'alliance Nationale, the strongest French-Canadian fraternal society on the continent, opened their first Pacific Coast cercle in the building, Cercle Tobiac No. 301. Building owner Auzias-Turenne, with strong French-Canadian connections, became its president. Another club opened in the building relevant to its owner was the Alaskan Square Deal League, a place where "All Alaskans were invited to call and make this office their headquarters". Architect Graham would locate his office in

987-558: The Lyon Building bombing was the infamous Los Angeles Times bombing of October 1, 1910, which killed 20 non-union newspaper employees and raised questions among local law enforcement of whether the two bombings were related and whether the suspects hadn't fled the city immediately. By the time the McNamara Brothers were arrested for the LA bombings in April 1911, the Lyon case was still unsolved with

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1034-546: The Lyon Building was passed to his son Leon. During this time the corner was occupied by the Hi-Hat Waffle bar, a popular breakfast spot for courthouse employees and lawyers. Leon died in 1957 but the company continued to operate into the late 1980s and the Lyon Building was always kept up to date with modern office space needs. City University of Seattle was founded on the building's fourth floor in 1973 by Dr. Michael A. Pastore to provide higher education for working adults. In

1081-700: The Midtown Post Office ) at 301 Union Street at Third Avenue. Seattle City Hall is located at 600 4th Ave, adjacent to the King County Courthouse . Downtown is serviced by the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel , which carries Link light rail trains between Westlake and Chinatown–International District. The terminus for the Seattle Center Monorail is located at Westlake Center. A large number of bus lines also run through; those operated by Metro were previously free of charge while in

1128-408: The Seattle and LA bombings: that he had witnessed much suspicious behavior from the man, him returning from the scene of the explosion as well as the discovery of an alarm clock (of the type used in other bombings) stashed behind a wall in his room after he had left on September 18. McNamara and his accomplices would plead guilty to all charges by the end of 1911, but the investigation into higher-ups in

1175-644: The Seattle architect Victor Steinbrueck , a consultant on the project, claimed design credit; the design was also influenced by the Century 21 Exposition design standards and aerospace theme established by supervising architect Paul Thiry . Clearly the revolving restaurant , the "Eye of the Needle", was Graham's conception. He'd already devised " La Ronde " for the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu in 1961, and

1222-600: The Washington Mutual Tower), Two Union Square , Nordstrom 's flagship store , Benaroya Hall , the Seattle Central Library designed by Rem Koolhaas , and the main building of the Seattle Art Museum (built 1991, expanded 2007), the main facade of which was designed by Robert Venturi . Downtown parks include Westlake Park , Freeway Park , and Victor Steinbrueck Park . The Olympic Sculpture Park

1269-402: The area. Several of the city's hills around downtown were regraded starting around 1876. With about 65,000 people living in Seattle's core neighborhoods as of 2015, the downtown area's population is growing. Downtown saw a 10 percent increase in the number of occupied housing units and an 8 percent increase in population between 2010 and 2014, outpacing growth in the city as a whole. As of

1316-507: The bombing, despite evidence that he was being shadowed by an accomplice and had support from local iron workers union leadership; the motive being retaliation against Stone & Webster's non-union labor policies. At the nation-wide bombing conspiracy trial in Indianapolis , J.H. McCormick, the keeper of the lodge McNamara had stayed at under an alias, offered damning testimony of his comings and goings from his room that coordinated with both

1363-503: The building not long after completion, the first of several architects who would over the years including William Mallis, Joseph Cote and Stoddard & Son. Seattle's stock exchange was located in the building for about a year and the local headquarters of the Democratic Party were located in the building throughout the 1910s. R. Auzias de Turenne died in 1941 and ownership of the Yukon Investment Company and its properties including

1410-527: The building. Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington . It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills , on the west by Elliott Bay , and on the south by reclaimed land that was once tidal flats . It is bounded on the north by Denny Way, beyond which are Lower Queen Anne (sometimes known as "Uptown"), Seattle Center , and South Lake Union ; on

1457-569: The conspiracy continued and several Seattle union leaders would eventually face charges. The Lyon Building was finally completed in March 1911. Among the first tenants to move in was the Brown-Powell Liquor Company's restaurant and the Seattle Patricians Club. The upstairs offices became a popular address for lawyers even before the King County Courthouse was built across the intersection of James Street. In September 1911

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1504-453: The culprits, with Stone & Webster contributing an additional $ 2,500 soon after. About a week after the explosion a civilian thwarted an alleged bombing attempt on a Chinese-owned business in Pioneer Square by several men matching the description of the Lyons buildings suspects but they were able to escape before police arrived. This incident was later found to be unrelated. Exactly 30 days after

1551-457: The east by Interstate 5 , beyond which is Capitol Hill to the northeast and Central District to the east; on the south by S Dearborn Street, beyond which is Sodo ; and on the west by Elliott Bay, a part of Puget Sound . Belltown , Denny Triangle , the retail district, the West Edge, the financial district, the government district, Pioneer Square , Chinatown , Japantown, Little Saigon, and

1598-472: The end of 2014, there were 32 apartment and 2 condominium projects under construction, representing over 5,000 units. In 1989, building heights in Downtown and adjoining Seattle suburbs were tightly restricted following a voter initiative. These restrictions were dramatically loosened in 2006, leading to the increase in high-rise construction. This policy change has divided commentators between those who support

1645-481: The following week in the city buying supplies and building a bomb that could be detonated by electric spark and while posing as an amateur miner, attended explosive classes and even took pieces of his device to an electric shop directly across the street from the Lyon Building for repairs. He would use the knowledge gained in Seattle to carry out the bombings in Los Angeles. McNamara also confessed to having acted alone in

1692-681: The grounds around it would gradually be filled in with a hodgepodge of small brick buildings, rendering the old house unrecognizable. The property was purchased from the Gatzert Estate for $ 70,000 in September 1901 by a syndicate headed by William E. Stevens of the Stevens Hotel Company (which managed the Hotel Seattle , among others), who intended to build a 10-story fireproof hotel on the site. Plans were prepared by Saunders and Lawton with

1739-631: The increased density and those who criticize it as " Manhattanization ." As of 2018 , Downtown Seattle has 82,000 residents and 300,000 jobs, including 48,000 added since 2010 in the Denny Triangle area. The downtown area has 71 million square feet (6,600,000 m ) of office space, representing 79 percent of citywide inventory and 55 percent of commercial properties in the city. Office construction continues apace in Downtown Seattle, with 6.4 million square feet (590,000 m ) planned to open in 2019, along with 161 projects. Downtown Seattle

1786-517: The now-defunct Ride Free Area . Other buses from the suburbs operated by Sound Transit Express and Community Transit also terminate in downtown. John Graham, Sr. The firm was responsible for many Seattle landmarks and a number of significant structures nationwide, including the Space Needle , Chase Tower of Rochester, New York , and the Westin Seattle . The firm was merged into

1833-412: The plumbing that had been mangled in the explosion. A police investigation was immediately begun but there was little physical evidence found. A disgruntled laborer was suspected in the attack and according to Police chief Charles Wappenstein there were reports of at least 5 "roughly dressed" men seen near the building the evening of the explosion. Governor Marion E. Hay offered a reward of $ 250 to catch

1880-539: The western flank of First Hill west of Broadway make up downtown Seattle's chief neighborhoods. Near the center of downtown is the Metropolitan Tract which is owned by the University of Washington ; prior to 1895 it served as the location of the university's campus. Downtown is Seattle's financial and commercial maritime hub as well as its center of nightlife and shopping. The downtown shopping mall Westlake Center

1927-498: Was a mixture of Chicago school and Beaux-arts styles. A special feature of the building would be an interior court as wide as Third Avenue. Turenne named the building after Lyon, France in honor of the French heritage he and many others involved in his investment company shared. The contract for construction was soon awarded to the nationally renowned Stone & Webster engineering corporation who were known as an "open shop" firm, meaning they used non-union labor on all their jobs;

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1974-461: Was also responsible for early development of the enclosed shopping mall genre, notably Seattle's Northgate Shopping Center , which opened April 21, 1950, which anticipates the better-known Northland Center in Detroit by four years. The firm would go on to design seventy malls nationwide. The authorship of Graham's single most prominent work, the Space Needle , is disputed. Both Graham's office and

2021-408: Was caused by the explosion there were no deaths, no fire was caused by the explosion, and the location of the bomb in a non-vulnerable area in the building prevented any major structural damage and was confined to the basement. The building's construction, which had already been delayed by two months due to material shortages, had to be delayed further to completely rebuild the elevator shaft and most of

2068-569: Was completed on the Belltown waterfront in January 2007. Downtown is also home to the landmark Pike Place Market , the oldest continually operating farmers' market in the United States and the core of activity in the area. The neighborhood had dozens of street clocks in the early 20th century to advertise businesses; by 1950, only 24 were left in the entire city. As of 2024 , downtown has four remaining street clocks. After abandoning " New York Alki ",

2115-466: Was converted to residential use as a shelter and services center for the homeless and at-risk by the non-profit Downtown Emergency Service Center , who are the current owners of the building. The double lot at the Northwest corner of Third Avenue and James Street was originally the site of the home of Bailey Gatzert (1829-1893), 8th mayor of Seattle (1875–76) and one of the city's leading businessmen in

2162-561: Was designing the reconstruction of the Trinity Parish Church at Eight Avenue and James Street in 1902 after it had been damaged by fire. After a brief partnership with Alfred Bodley in 1904, Graham founded the firm of Graham & Myers with David J. Myers in 1906. He would work with Myers until 1910. As architect for the Ford Motor Company , he designed more than 30 of Ford's assembly plants between 1912 and 1940. Throughout

2209-652: Was officially listed on June 30, 1995 and one year later became a city of Seattle landmark. During this time the building was converted into housing and a center for services for the homeless by the Downtown Emergency Service Center . It was sold in November 1995 for $ 1,500,000 to the Lyon Building Limited Partnership who transferred it to the DESC in 2012, who are the current owners and tenants of

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