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Overview

Built just after the turn of the century, this four-floor office building housed the Clise Investment Company offices from the 1901 until 1917, when the firm's offices moved to the new Securities Building. The Globe Navigation Company Building was conceived as an ensemble with two other neighboring buildings, the Beebe Building and the Hotel Waldorf (later renamed the Hotel Cecil,) all designed by the architect, Maximilian B. Umbrecht, who spent most of his career practicing in Syracuse, NY. Umbrecht completed this three-building group by late in 1901.

Building History

Seattle developer James William Clise (1855-1939) facilitated the construction of the Globe Building in 1900-1901 for the the Globe Navigation Company, of which he was a leading investor, along with the Syracuse, NY, businessman and lawyer, William Stark Nottingham (1853-1921), President of the Globe Navigation Company. On 04/29/1901, Clise announced that the Globe Navigation Company would commission the construction of 11 steamships for global shipping. The Seattle Daily Times noted: "Three of these will be built at Ballard by the company in its own shipyards and will be placed on the ways to follow one another as rapidly as can economically be done." (See "Ready to Build Ships," Seattle Daily Times, 04/29/1901, p. 2.) This steamship line was set up by Clise "...to establish a rival line to that which Frank Waterhouse, Limited, is bringing home from London." (See untitled article, Seattle Daily Times, 04/30/1901, p. 6.) This English company planned on bringing 20 steamships to use port facilities to Seattle, and, at about the same time, Great Northern Railway owner, James J. Hill, announced his intention to build two very large transport ships "...whose combined cargoes will require more than 2,500 freight cars, or practically 100 freight trains to load." In addition, the Nippon Yusen Kaisha steamship line announced the addition of three more Seattle-bound steamships by 05/1901. The newspaper concluded, "Verily, Seattle by the beginning of 1903--about twenty months hence--will be able to furnish a larger clearance list of great commercial shipping than any other American port barring only New York City itself." (See "Our Commercial Facilities," Seattle Daily Times, 05/14/1901, p. 6.)

Clise had connections with other investors from Syracuse, including the most influential of that time, Lyman Cornelius Smith and his son, Burns Lyman Smith, to whom he sold land on which they built their remarkable Smith Tower.

The Globe Building, like many in this part of Downtown, housed men involved in the Klondike Gold Rush. Clise, who came to Seattle from CO in 1889, was a smart and diversified investor, creating a solid financial foundation for his family. The Clise Family, in 2013, remained a leading player in Downtown Seattle real estate development.

In 1892 and 1893, the Clise Investment Company, occupied Rooms #11-13 in the Hinckley Building. In the latter year, the firm was composed of James W. Clise, President, Charles M. Sheafe, Vice-President, Harry R.. Clise, Secretary, and Harry W. Higgins, Treasurer. Harry Clise was a lawyer, who had a law firm with George H. King in Rooms #12-14 of the same building. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1893, p. 298.) The Hinckley Building had other investment firms leasing space in it, at the time, including Nelson Chilberg and Company (Room #31 in 1892), which specialized in real estate, investments and loans. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1892, p. 269.)

Once the Globe Building was built, the Clise Investment Company moved into space there. In 1907, Frank T. Hunter, working with the Clise Investment Company, had office space in Rooms #201-207 of the Globe Block. They made real estate loans to the general public as one form of generating revenue. An advertisement in the Seattle Daily Times read: "Large and small loans made on inside improved city property. Loans closed without delay." (See Hunter and Clise classified ad, Seattle Daily Times, 06/27/1907, p. 19.)

Building Notes

In 1905, James Clise's Washington Trust Company maintained its corner office in the Globe Building. Other businesses at this time included: Globe Navigation Company, the Palace of Sweets, the Stone Tailor Shop. and the Thedinga Hardware Company.

In 1983, the City of Seattle added the Globe Building, Beebe Building and Hotel Cecil as a group to form part of the "First Avenue Groups/Waterfront Center" historic landmark district.

Tel: 206-624-4844 (2007).

Alteration

The building was altered in 1982 to become the Alexis Hotel; Bumgardner Architects supervised this renovation. The Alexis Hotel was owned by the Kimpton Group, which also operated the Hotel Monaco and the Hotel Vintage Park in Seattle, WA, in 2004.