A Massive New Landmark for Seattle
Construction begins on a state-of-the-art Catholic hospital, featuring the city’s first steam elevator and a futuristic ventilation system to serve the rapidly growing region.
The story, cleaned up
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We were shown the plans yesterday for the new Catholic hospital to be built in this city this summer. The structure is massive, fronting 110 feet on Fifth Street and 120 feet on Spring, standing three full stories above the cellar. The first floor will have a height of 13 feet, the second of 12, and the third of 10. A tower will surmount the building, reaching 70 feet from the ground. Though of plain finish, the building will be far from unattractive, while it will be conspicuous to a degree not even excelled by the University. It will be topped with a Mansard roof and feature a bay window projection extending from the high stoop of the lower floor to the tower. Balconies will extend along the Spring Street side on each floor, and there will also be a conservatory. The foundation will be of stone and brick, with the upper part of wood. Metallic fireproof paint will be used, and the roof will be double-coated. Three hundred Cottier ventilators will be introduced, leading to four ejectors. It will be the first building on Puget Sound supplied with a steam elevator and, for convenience and safety, will have two inside and two outside staircases. The engine will be used in pumping water from an immense tank in the backyard. The fifty private rooms will front on the bay and be made very pleasant. The largest ward will be 30 by 40 feet. Mr. Mackay is the architect, and Wright Brothers the contractors. Excavation begins today, and the work is to be finished by September 1st.
“It will be the first building on Puget Sound supplied with a steam elevator.”
In 1882, Seattle was obsessed with modernizing its infrastructure, from steam elevators to fireproof paint, to keep pace with the frantic growth of a boomtown. This ambitious project mirrors the constant struggle in modern Seattle to build high-capacity, high-tech facilities to meet the needs of a city that feels like it is expanding faster than its own blueprints.
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