Alaska Trade Building
Encyclopedia
The Alaska Trade Building, also known as the Union Record Building and the Steele Building, is a historic building in Seattle, Washington
located on First Avenue near the Pike Place Market
. Built in 1909, it was one of the first reinforced steel, concrete and brick buildings in the area and was advertised as being completely fireproof. The building is historically associated with the country's only Union-owned daily newspaper, The Seattle Union Record and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
. It was designed by Seattle architect J.C. Taft in a very utilitarian style with almost no ornamentation. Original plans for the building published in the Seattle Times called for an eight story building trimmed in Granite and Terra cotta
that would cost $135,000 to build but only the first four floors were ever built. In late 1910, the unfinished building was purchased from Steele by Portland, Oregon
developers J.O. Storey and Thomas Lavake. The building was purchased by the Central Labor Council and the local Trade Union
in 1915.
The Seattle Union Record was established as a weekly paper in 1910 by the Central Labor Council. The council's secretary, E.B. "Harry" Ault
, became editor in 1912 and would expand the paper to a daily in 1918. Under Ault's leadership, the paper grew from a circulation of 3,000 to 50,000 to over 112,000 in 1919. Seeking larger quarters, the paper was moved into the Alaska Trade Building in 1921.
When Dave Beck
took control of the Central Labor Council, he sold the paper to Ault in 1924. The paper ceased publication in 1928 but would see a brief resurrection during the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer
strikes in 2000.
The building's upper floors are currently home to the local offices of The Nature Conservancy
.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
located on First Avenue near the Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States. It is a place of business for many small farmers,...
. Built in 1909, it was one of the first reinforced steel, concrete and brick buildings in the area and was advertised as being completely fireproof. The building is historically associated with the country's only Union-owned daily newspaper, The Seattle Union Record and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
The Alaska Trade Building was built by contractor James Steele in 1909 replacing a two-story wooden building known as the 'Rose Block' that pre-dated the Great Seattle fireGreat Seattle Fire
The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, USA, on June 6, 1889.-Early Seattle:In the fall of 1851, the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point in what is now the state of Washington...
. It was designed by Seattle architect J.C. Taft in a very utilitarian style with almost no ornamentation. Original plans for the building published in the Seattle Times called for an eight story building trimmed in Granite and Terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
that would cost $135,000 to build but only the first four floors were ever built. In late 1910, the unfinished building was purchased from Steele by Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
developers J.O. Storey and Thomas Lavake. The building was purchased by the Central Labor Council and the local Trade Union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in 1915.
The Seattle Union Record was established as a weekly paper in 1910 by the Central Labor Council. The council's secretary, E.B. "Harry" Ault
E.B. "Harry" Ault
Erwin Bratton "Harry" Ault was an American socialist and trade union activist. He is best remembered as the editor of the Seattle Union Record, the long-running labor weekly published from 1912 to 1928. After termination of the Union Record, Ault worked as a commercial printer for a number of...
, became editor in 1912 and would expand the paper to a daily in 1918. Under Ault's leadership, the paper grew from a circulation of 3,000 to 50,000 to over 112,000 in 1919. Seeking larger quarters, the paper was moved into the Alaska Trade Building in 1921.
When Dave Beck
Dave Beck
Dave Beck was an American labor leader, and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1952 to 1957...
took control of the Central Labor Council, he sold the paper to Ault in 1924. The paper ceased publication in 1928 but would see a brief resurrection during the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
strikes in 2000.
The building's upper floors are currently home to the local offices of The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
.
External links
- Alaska Trade Building Nomination form for The National Register of Historic Places, 1968.