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A member of a large Dutch immigrant family, Daniel Bekins had seven brothers who had already begun a moving and storage company in Sioux City, IA, by 1889. Seeking to spread the family business, Daniel, then living in Chicago, IL, traveled to Seattle, WA, in 1903, to size up the city for expansion. He liked what he saw and moved his base of operations there. The city, between 1900-1910, had experienced a huge influx of fortune seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush beginning in 07/1897, tripling the population in a decade. With so much movement into the city, Bekins's moving business thrived; in rapid succession, Bekins erected three large storage warehouses, one c. 1903, the next c. 1908, and the last c. 1918. This design was the second. The Bekins Moving and Storage Company related its corporate history on its web site: "Seattle's first furniture storage warehouse was soon established by Daniel Bekins on First Avenue near Cherry Street. This storage facility filled quickly. Daniel Bekins purchased an additional storage building on Occidental street and in 1908 built a six story concrete storage warehouse on vacant storage lots at Twelfth and East Madison. Next door Daniel Bekins constructed a frame house for his wagons and stables for his horses. Ten years later, in 1918, he added a third storage warehouse, doubling the total storage space to 100,000 square feet." (See "Company History: The History of Bekins Moving and Storage Co. and Bekins Northwest,"Accessed 08/17/2011.) Designed in c. 1908, the Bekins Storage Warehouse #2 was partially completed by Gould and Champney, Architects. The firm, Gould and Champney, became embroiled in a scandal surrounding the commission for the King County Courthouse #3. Augustus Warren Gould, who was the focus of the scandal, separated from Champney at this time, affecting the completion of some of its current projects.

PCAD id: 11882