 Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Scroll down for more pictures
 Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Photograph © Wayne Lorentz  Photograph © Wayne Lorentz
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The Austin A. Bell Building| Also known as: | The Austin A. Bell Hotel | | Also known as: | The Belle Apartments |
One of the most stunning historic buildings in Seattle, the Austin Bell Building has managed to survive earthquakes, fire, and other insults as the city grew up around it.
The building is named for Austin Americus Bell, the son of William N. Bell, for whom the Belltown neighborhood is named. However, the building that bears his name was not built by him; it was built by his wife after his passing.
She ordered the building's signature red bricks from San Francisco, and their fiery color helped make the structure a landmark when it opened in 1889 as the Belle Apartments. With the start of the Alaska Gold Rush, the building was converted into the William A. Bell Hotel. Its flattened, yet ornate, facade welcomed thousands of travelers over the years as it gazed across Puget Sound from a perch above the waterfront.
By some accounts, this was a major center of activity during the gold rush, though there are likely a number of historic buildings in the
Pioneer Square part of town that would dispute that claim. Moreover, some internet web sites indicate that this building was known as "Bell's Folly" because it was built so far away from what was then the center of Seattle's commerce.
By the 1930's, Belltown developed into a bustling neighborhood, though it still paled in comparison with the blocks to the south. This building became part of the real estate empire controlled by Sam Israel. Unfortunately, the building fell into a state of disrepair and much of it remained vacant for decades.
The building eventually passed into obscurity until 1981, when a fire broke out and almost completely gutted the structure.
More than a decade later, Wayne Knowles and Bob Baldwin decided to breathe new life into the hotel that was, quite literally, merely a shell of its former self. They and their partners spent $1 million to purchase the wreck, and then sank another six million dollars into restoring it.
What you see today is the building's original facade, but everything behind it is all new. Fire and neglect simply did too much damage to save much of the structure.
Today, the building is once again a focal point of the community, though it sees less traffic as a home to coffee shops and restaurants than it did back in its hotel days. Still, the building appears to have a bright, and well-deserved, future.
- Construction start: 1889
- Construction finish: 1908
- Designed by: Elmer Fisher
- Cost: $50,000
- Renovated: 1997-1998 by Chris Snell for Cassimar U.S. and Murray Franklyn Company at a cost of $6,000,000.
- Type: Residential
- Stories: 4
- Residences: 42
- Parking: 52 spaces
- 1889: This building opened as the Austin A. Bell Hotel.
- 1937: This building was bought by Sam Israel.
- July 12, 1974: This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1978: This building was named a Seattle Landmark.
- 1981: This building was largely gutted by fire.
- 1997: This building was bought for redevelopment for one million dollars.
- 1998: This building reopened as residences.
*At the top of the building the brick changes from smooth and fine to rough and haphazard. This is where the building originally sported a large
cornice, which was lost in the first half of the 20th century due to a lack of maintenance.
*The building's southern-most bay (the narrowest one) is topped by a small tower, which once has a sloped roof, not the flat one it exhibits today.
*This building was erected across the street from where the Bell family home once stood.
*This was once the location of an experimental Cafe Starbucks store. method='post' action='/Building.php?ID=5057#Rate'>Current rating:  60% name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Praise' class='Plain'> name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Raze' class='Plain'>
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