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Building History

The Gothic Revival Heffernan Building by John Graham, Sr., originally occupied this site, beginning in 1929. The I. Magnin Department Store chain directed a drastic remodeling of the previous building in 1953, rendering it unrecognizable. The renovation of the 80,000-square-foot building cost over $1 million and was completed in 08/1954. Magnin commissioned the huge Los Angeles architectural firm of Welton D. Becket and Associates to work with Seattle-based Naramore, Bain, Brady and Johanson (NBBJ); Seattle-based Bouillon and Griffith were the mechanical engineers, Worthington, Skilling and Jackson, the structural engineers. John H. Sellen was the general contractor.

With its white Vermont marble facade, flush, square windows and cubic form, this new store strongly resembled Timothy Pflueger's 1946 design for the flagship store on Union Square in San Francisco, CA. The white marble was trimmed by black Swedish Bonacord granite around first floor shop windows and doorways. This Seattle store, along with the rest of the I. Magnin chain, closed in 1993.

Building Notes

The property had a value of $34,228,800 in 2010.

Alteration

The San Francisco-based clothing retailer, Gap, took over this vacant store from I. Magnin in the mid-1990s and unfortunately renovated the elegant, mid-century design.