The Seattle Times

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1120 John Street

Architect, Robert C. Reamer, 1931, with subsequent additions.

The Seattle Times was founded by Alden Blethen in 1896 and officed in a series of buildings in downtown Seattle. Seattle Times publisher and editor Colonel Clarence B. Blethen (Alden's son) commissioned this building after the company outgrew their distinctive Bebb and Gould-designed home at 414 Olive Way. The Times moved here in 1931. Built of poured concrete in the Art Deco style, the building features decoratively carved cladding of Indiana limestone, decorative panels of cast aluminum, and an aluminum grillwork.

The architect, Robert Reamer, also designed the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park and the Lake Quinault Lodge, along with a number of important buildings in Seattle and elsewhere. On March 11, 1996, the Seattle Times Building was designated a City of Seattle Landmark.

By Paula Becker, September 25, 2012

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Seattle Times Building, 1120 John Street, Seattle, July 27, 2007
HistoryLink.org photo by Paula Becker