HARD DRIVE TO THE KLONDIKE:
PROMOTING SEATTLE DURING THE GOLD RUSH

A Historic Resource Study for the Seattle Unit of the
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Seattle's Gold-Rush Era Properties Located Outside the Pioneer Square Historic District

Although most buildings associated with the gold rush in Seattle are located within the Pioneer Square Historic District, some properties lie outside the district's boundaries. This study involved the identification of gold-rush era resources that are located outside the district and which date from after the Seattle fire in 1889 until the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYP) in 1909. Seattle expanded rapidly during this period, in part due to the influx of miners and mining-related businesses. The study also includes properties associated with the AYP because it represents the culmination of Seattle's fascination with the Far North. The already familiar AYP properties located at the original fairgrounds on the University of Washington campus, however, have not been included in this study.

Historical Research Associates, Inc. (HRA) initiated the research for this project by contacting historical preservation agencies and organizations to inquire about their knowledge of gold rush resources located outside the Pioneer Square Historic District. Those contacted include the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Seattle Office of Urban Conservation, Allied Arts, and Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. The latter assisted in identifying the house of George Carmack, who filed the first claim for Klondike gold.

HRA historians obtained the addresses of additional properties through research in Seattle City Directories. Using key words such as "Alaska, Klondike, Miner, and Yukon," HRA identified addresses of businesses located outside the Pioneer Square Historic District. A similar process was used to go through Klondike guidebooks, which advertised businesses associated with the gold rush. The National Park Service (NPS) is currently developing a database, which includes scanned gold-rush images from historic newspaper articles, advertisements, and photographs. HRA used the database to help identify the addresses of gold rush businesses.

HRA also used Seattle City Directories to determine the addresses of individuals who played an important role in the gold rush. HRA researched the residences of Seattle promoter Erastus Brainerd, Mayor William Wood, and miners Tom Lippy and George Carmack. Information relating to the architectural characteristics and history of the Wood and Carmack residences is included later in this chapter. HRA determined that the Brainerd and Lippy homes had been demolished. During the early 1900s, Brainerd lived in downtown Seattle at 1116 Fifth Avenue and in 1909 he moved to Richmond Beach. The YMCA building replaced Brainerd's downtown address in 1913. [6] From 1900 until 1931, Thomas Lippy lived in a grand house located at 1019 James Street. Constructed by Seattle Pioneer James Scurry in 1890, the house was demolished in 1966. [7]

HRA conducted further research on identified buildings by looking at their specific addresses in Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and obtaining King County Assessor's historic property cards for each building. Historians obtained information about the historic use of some properties by accessing articles and advertisements listed in the NPS database of gold mining businesses. HRA obtained available records associated with the early history of buildings from the Seattle Department of Construction and Land Use. HRA also consulted historic preservation records filed at the Seattle Office of Urban Conservation and Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. These records included National Register and City landmark nominations.

The nine gold-rush era buildings that HRA identified outside the Pioneer Square Historic District include the U.S. Assay Office (613 9th Avenue), the Colman Building (801-821 First Avenue), the Grand Pacific Hotel (1117 First Avenue), the Holyoke Building (1018 First Avenue), the Globe Building (1007 First Avenue), the Moore Theatre and Hotel (1932 Second Avenue), the George Carmack House (1522 East Jefferson Street), the William Wood House (816 35th Avenue) and the Woodson Apartments (1820 24th Street). Six of these buildings are listed in the National Register and as Seattle Landmarks. The nomination for each National Register property is included in the Appendix. The unlisted Carmack and Wood houses appear eligible for the National Register. Although the Woodson Apartment building possesses an association with the AYP as an example of residential development that occurred prior to the event, physical alterations have compromised its integrity making it ineligible for the National Register. A catalog at the end of this section provides current and historic photographs, along with a summary of each property's architectural characteristics, past uses, and potential eligibility for the National Register.

While the Pioneer Square Historic District's gold rush resources are located within a cohesive group of properties built soon after Seattle's 1889 fire, most of the buildings identified outside the district were constructed later. Six of the properties outside Pioneer Square are associated with two phases of development: the northward expansion of downtown along First Avenue (1889-1909) and Seattle's preparation for the AYP (1907-1909). The development of a commercial district along First Avenue began as early as 1889 with the construction of the Holyoke Building at the southeast corner of First Avenue and Spring Street. [8] It was not until the turn of the century, however, that a considerable amount of development occurred in this area. Construction associated with the AYP was limited to the years just prior to the event. Three properties, notably the U.S. Assay Office and the houses of George Carmack and William Wood, do not correspond to the above listed phases.

HRA determined that the Holyoke Building, the Grand Pacific Hotel, the Globe Building, and the Colman Building are associated with both the northward expansion of Seattle's retail district and the gold rush. During the 1970s, the Seattle Office of Urban

Conservation recognized the historic significance of buildings along First Avenue and worked to establish a First Avenue Historic District stretching from Pioneer Square (Columbia Street) north to the Pike Place Market (Union Street). The Office of Urban Conservation determined after numerous public hearings and the demolition of an entire block of these buildings that the historic First Avenue properties should be nominated individually rather than as a district. Several of the historic First Avenue properties, including the Holyoke and the Colman buildings, had already been listed in the National Register. Consequently, in 1980, the Office of Urban Conservation prepared a National Register nomination for the following seven buildings, referring to them as the First Avenue Groups: the Globe Building (1001-1011 First Avenue), the Beebe Building (1013 First Avenue), the Cecil Hotel (1019-1023 First Avenue), the Coleman Building (94-96 Spring Street), the Grand Pacific Hotel (1115-1117 First Avenue), the Colonial Hotel (1119-1123 First Avenue), and the National Building (1006-1024 Western Avenue). The Coleman Building is the only property from this group that was not listed in the National Register. A copy of the First Avenue Groups' National Register nomination is included in the Appendix.

According to the First Avenue Groups' National Register nomination, the Grand Pacific Hotel, the Globe Building, the Beebe Building, the Cecil Hotel, and the Colonial Hotel were constructed to house Seattle's large transient labor population, which had grown as a result of the Klondike Gold Rush. [9] Research indicated the Grand Pacific Hotel and the Globe Building also housed businesses associated with the gold rush. The Seattle Woolen Mill, which outfitted miners with clothing and blankets, was located in the street-level commercial space of the Grand Pacific Hotel from 1899 until 1914. From 1903 until 1912, the Globe Building housed the offices of the Alaska Gold Standard Mining Co., and from 1908 until 1909 the Treasurer's Office for the AYP was also located in the Globe Building. [10] Because HRA did not find additional information connecting the gold rush and the Beebe, Cecil, and Colonial hotels, these buildings were not included in the catalog.

The Holyoke Building, located at the southeast corner of Spring Street and First Avenue, is also part of the commercial district's northward expansion. In 1976, the Office of Urban Conservation nominated the Holyoke Building as a fine example of the Victorian Style. The nomination also noted that the Holyoke was the "first office building to be completed after

Seattle's disastrous fire of 1889." [11] HRA determined that during the gold rush the Northwest Fixture Company, a supplier of lighting equipment for Klondike miners, occupied the Holyoke from 1894 until 1900. [12]

Advertisement for Rochester Clothing Co., 1897, located in the Colman Building at 805 First Avenue.

The Colman Building, located on the west side of First Avenue between Columbia and Marion streets, was constructed in 1889 as Seattle's commercial district spread northward. Architect Stephen Meany originally designed the Colman Building as a two-story Romanesque Revival building. In 1904, architect August Tidemand redesigned it into a six-story Chicago Style building. [13] It has been listed in the National Register as a fine example of the Chicago Style of architecture and for its association with James Colman an influential businessman in Seattle. [14] The Colman Building housed two businesses that catered to gold seekers. The grocer Louch, Augustine & Co. occupied the Colman Building from 1894 until 1907, and the Klondike clothing outfitter, Rochester Clothing Co. was located in the building from 1897 until 1899. HRA also determined that during the AYP years, the Colman Building housed the offices of the exposition's publisher and legal counsel. [15]

The Moore Theatre and Hotel and the Woodson Apartments were constructed in direct response to the AYP. Anticipating the event, land developer James A. Moore constructed his namesake Theatre and Hotel in downtown Seattle. When the theatre opened on December 28, 1907, its connection to the AYP was stressed by featuring a comic opera entitled The Alaskan. [16] The Moore is listed in the National Register because of its unique design, association with the AYP, and its role as a "leading cultural house in the city." [17]

Expecting an increased need for housing due to the AYP, Irene and Zacharais Woodson constructed the Woodson Apartments in the Central District. Although the Woodson Apartment building possesses an important tie to the AYP, it is not eligible for the National Register because physical changes have compromised its integrity.

The U.S. Assay Office and the houses of miner George Carmack and Mayor William Wood are not associated with either the commercial district's northward expansion along First Avenue or the AYP. Among the properties included in this study, the U.S. Assay Office is the most directly related to the gold rush. Although it was not originally constructed as an assay office, public demand for a federal assayist required that this entertainment hall be converted for government use as an assay office in 1897. According to this property's 1969 National Register nomination, it continued to be used for this purpose until 1932. [18]

When George Carmack first returned from the Far North, he lived in hotels in the Pioneer Square area. From 1905 until 1909, he lived in a house at 3007 East Denny, which no longer remains standing. [19] The house Carmack lived in from 1910 until his death in 1922 is still standing in Seattle's Central District. This property appears eligible for the National Register for its association with Carmack, who filed the first claim for Klondike gold.

As the mayor who left his post to try his hand at mining in the Yukon, William Wood played a significant role in Seattle's gold rush history. Prior to the gold rush Wood owned a large amount of land east of Greenlake, which he was responsible for platting. According to Seattle City Directories, from 1892 until 1900 he lived at the intersection of Woodlawn and Greenlake. Because historical maps do not show that Woodlawn and Greenlake intersect, HRA could not identify the location of Wood's house during this period. Between 1900 and 1904, Wood lived at two different addresses and from 1905 until 1915, he lived at 816 35th Avenue. [20] The latter property appears to be eligible for the National Register because of its association with him.

The following catalog includes the six National Register-listed and three unlisted properties that HRA identified as associated with the Klondike Gold Rush. For each building, the catalog includes a description of the property's design and its association with the Klondike Gold Rush. The map shows the location of each property.