OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Google Streetview (new tab)

Overview

This Richardsonian Romanesque building, "of solid brick and millwork constrution," was one of the earliest commercial blocks to have been rebuilt in Seattle's burned Pioneer Square neighborhood after the Great Fire of 1889. (See "Manufacturer Buys Building," Seattle Times, 02/16/1941, p. 30.) The Globe Hotel occupied the addresses of 300-304 1st Avenue South within the Marshall-Walker Block. Southern portions of Marshall-Walker Building had addresses of 308 and 310 1st Avenue South. (See Baist's Real Estate Atlas of Surveys of Seattle, Wash. Complete in One Volume, [Philadelphia: George William Baist, 1912], map #1L.)

Building History

The Marshall-Walker Building remained owned by the lumberman Cyrus Walker (1827-1913) until his death. Walker commissioned the most respected architect in the city at the time, PA-born William Boone (1830-1921), to design his new block. As one of the first buildings to be rebult after the fire, it likely became an important local symbol of recovery.

Walker's estate willed the Marshall-Walker Building to the University of Washington c. 1931 which held it until 02/1941, when the school sold it to Charles Miller, President of the Seattle Quilt Manufacturing Company. A Seattle Times article chronicled this transaction: "One of the first buildings to rise above the ashes of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889--the original Walker Building at 308-310 First Ave. S.--passed into new ownership last week when the University of Washington, owner by bequest of the late Cyrus Walker, sold the property to Charles Miller, president of the Seattle Quilt Manufacturing Company. The building was erected by the late Cyrus Walker on property purchased from the late Dexter Horton in 1881, and remained in ownership of the Walker family until it was transferred to the University as part of the Walker-Ames foundation fund. Although no purchase price was announced, the property had been held recently at approximately $25,000, it was reported. The new owner launched a $5,000 improvement program." (See "Manufacturer Buys Building," Seattle Times, 02/16/1941, p. 30.) The Seattle Quilt Manufacturing Company was a neighbor, occupying the block at 1316 1st Avenue South.

In 2015, the Marshall-Walker Block was owned by Ilze Jones and Grant Jones as "Globe Partners, LLC."

Building Notes

This building had 8 bays facing 1st Avenue south, with the first story trimmed in cut stone. On the first and eighth bays, a lunette window was also trimmed in rusticated masonry. Above these areas of the stone, the walls were clad in brick, which was load-bearing. Cost was likely a factor in not facing the whole facade in rusticated masonry.

In 2023, the building contained 69,817 gross square feet,55,268 net. It occupied a 13,320-square-foot (0.31-acre) lot. (See King County Department of Asssessments.gov, Property Record for Parcel 524780-0320, accessed 03/16/2023.)

Alteration

Charles Miller, the new owner in 1941, undertook a $5,000 renovation of the Marshall-Walker Building. (See "Manufacturer Buys Building," Seattle Times, 02/16/1941, p. 30.)

The Romanesque Revival facade was lacking its cornice in 1980.

In 2014, a first-floor tenant made alterations worth $90,000 to create a dinner theatre/restaurant, Cafe Nardo, to a first-floor retail space. (See King County Department of Asssessments.gov, Property Record for Parcel 524780-0320, accessed 03/16/2023.)