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Overview

This T-shaped, brick building, designed by the renowned architect John Galen Howard, an architectural educator at the University of California, Berkeley, housed the Fine Arts exhibits at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE). It was one of a handul of exposition buildings designed for permanent use, and over the years it accommodated the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Physiology, and Architecture. The last department has been its longest inhabitant, having utilized the facility since 1950.

Building History

The State of Washington Legislature appropriated over $200,000 to erect this facility, one of the few Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) buildings that was to remain on campus after the fair. The notable San Francisco architectural firm of Howard and Galloway, (the Supervising Architects of the fair), designed this two-floor, brick-faced, Neoclassical pavilion.

A 1909 map of the AYPE grounds noted that the Oregon Building had been completed by 01/1909. (See University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.edu, Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), "Map of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909," ID #2019.3.45, accessed 05/21/2024.)

Following the AYPE, the University of Washington (UW) has located various departments in the former Fine Arts Building. From 1910 to the Spring 1937, the UW called it "Bagley Hall." It opened on 04/16/1910, according to a brief notice in the Seattle Daily Times. It stated: "The opening of Bagley Hall, the new chemistry building at the University of Washington will be the occasion of celebration ceremonies the evening of April 16. The celebration will be arranged by Dr. H.G. Byers and his assistants. President Thomas F. Kane and Prof. Edmond Meany will deliver addresses, the latter to speak on Daniel Bagley." (See "To Dedicate Bagley Hall," Seattle Daily Times, 04/06/1910, p. 10.)

Bagley Hall #1 housed the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacy, their labs and classrooms. (This was the first building to have been called "Bagley Hall" on the UW campus; another, second Bagley Hall was built in 1935-1937 for the Chemistry Department nearer to the center of campus, west of Drumheller Fountain.) The Chemistry Department had formerly occupied spaces in Denny Hall c. 1908 and four temporary buildings that surrounded it. (See Ralph Wells Moulton, "Chemical Engineering Education at the University of Washington," essay in One Hundred Years of Chemical Engineering: from Lewis M. Norton [M.I.T. 1888] to Present, Nicholas A., Peppas, ed., [Dordrecht Netherlands and Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989], p. 354.) The buildings honored Reverend Daniel Bagley (1818-1905), a Methodist minister born in PA, who served in 1861 as Chair of the University of Washington's Board of University Commissioners, the state body that found the school's original 10-acre parcel.

Bagley was converted to accommodate the Physiology Department in the 1930s. By 1937, two departments shared the building then rechristened "Physiology Hall." Physiology used the first floor and basement, Architecture, the second floor. The second floor's former gallery spaces, with their skylit windows, functioned well for drawing studios. The Department of Architecture was given the entire space by the Fall of 1950, when it was again renamed, this time to "Architecture Hall."

Building Notes

In 03/1965, the UW Regents approved a new four-year undergruate degree for students in urban planning. The Seattle Daily Times reported: "A new four-year program leading to a bachelor-of-arts degree in urban planning was approved. The new program will put the College of Architecture and Urban Planning in a better position to coordinate its undergraduate course in urban planning with graduate-study goals." (See "Degree Program," Seattle Daily Times, 03/27/1965, p. 26.)

A coffee shop that operated in Architecture Hall closed in mid-2018 due to high operating costs.

Alteration

Remodeling to the Fine Arts Building (or "Palace" as it was called by some in 1909) occurred after the 1909 fair, in 1937 and in 1949; the Department of Architecture remodeled the space in 1949 and 1962; the faculty in the department oversaw this latter $104,000 renovation project.

In 1988, to comply with ADA requirements, the university installed an elevator into the Architecture Building.

A major seismic upgrade and renovation project occurred in 2006-2007, supervised by Seattle architects, Thomas Hacker, Architect, Incorporated (THA); Mortenson was the General Contractor, while Hermanson was the Mechanical Engineer on the project. During the course of the renovation, portions of the Department of Architecture and Construction Management relocated to Condon Hall, then used as a "surge" building on campus. In addition to structural improvements, the $25 million effort included renovation of faculty offices for the Departments of Architecture and Construction Management and architecture studios, Because their new offices were smaller than the existing UW average, faculty were allowed to select their own furniture. Second floor studios were repainted and reappointed, wiping away generations of graffiti from the walls. A new coffee shop was included on the second floor and three classrooms were reconfigured from an existing two. The building formally reopened on 08/01/2007 with work completed for $1 million under budget.

In 2022-2023, the Philadelphia architectural firm KieranTimberlake undertook a "Visionary Programming Analysis" for space controlled by the College of Built Environments (CBE) that included Gould Hall, Architecture Hall, the Center for Education and Research in Construction at Sand Point and the Community Design Building (southwest corner of NE 40th Street and University Way NE). A CBE website described this planning process: "The College of the Built Environments (CBE) has partnered with KieranTimberlake (KT) to develop a model for adapting our physical infrastructure to meet present and future needs, as well as to explore how our spaces can work together with emerging virtual space in a hybrid learning environment."

KieranTimberlake produced a 2023 Visioning and Programming Study that "...envisions the next 30 years for the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments (CBE) through the lens of transformation and renewal. It provides a deep analysis of the CBE’s buildings, spaces, and programs, considering the College’s goals for collaboration and impact, bold thought leadership, and equitable and just practices." (See University of Washington, College of Built Environments.edu, "Visionary Programming Analysis," accessed 01/12/2024.)

PCAD id: 4099