Bank of California Building (Seattle) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bank of California Building |
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The Bank of California Building in 2014
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| Location | Seattle, Washington |
| Designated | September 8, 1987 |
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The Bank of California Building is a famous old building in Seattle, Washington. You can find it at 815 2nd Avenue. It was built in 1924 by the Bank of California. This building has always been used as a bank, even today!
For a long time, it was the main office for the Bank of California. In 1973, they built a new, bigger building. But the original Bank of California Building stayed open as a branch office. Later, it was sold to Puget Sound Mutual Savings Bank. After some changes, it became a branch of Key Bank, which it still is today. This building was named a City of Seattle Landmark in 1987 because of its history and unique design.
What Does It Look Like?
The Bank of California Building is made of strong concrete. It has two main floors plus a basement. The outside is covered with a special material called terra cotta. This terra cotta was made to look like real stone.
Inside, there's a cool banking room that goes up through all the floors. It even has a mezzanine, which is like a half-floor or balcony. The building was designed in a "strict Italian Renaissance" style. This style was popular for banks in the 1920s. A famous Seattle architecture company, John Graham & Company, designed it.
Outside the Building
The front of the building, facing Second Avenue, is about 60 feet wide. It's covered in gray, shiny terra cotta that looks like stone. You'll see large windows framed by four tall, round columns. These columns are called Ionic columns and have a special design at the top. There are also flat columns, called pilasters, on the wall.
In the middle, there's a big arched shape above the entrance doors. Above the columns, there's a decorative band called an entablature. This part used to have the bank's name on it, but now it's empty. At the very top, there's a smaller decorative edge called a cornice. Above that, a triangle shape, called a pediment, shows the year the building was built.
Inside the Building
The main banking room is very impressive. It's about 60 by 70 feet. The ceiling is a high, round dome, about 40 feet tall, called a rotunda. It has a colorful design with an octagon pattern.
The inside also features beautiful bronze torch lights on the pilasters. The columns are bronzed, and the metalwork around them is old bronze. This all matches the marble counters and the wooden walls. The counters and floors are made of special marble from France. The woodwork is made of polished black walnut wood. Big clocks with marble faces are placed at each end of the main lobby.
Offices are located on the balconies. The basement holds the bank's vaults and fun rooms for employees. The top floor also has offices and a large club room for the people who work there.
Building's Story
The Bank of California started in San Francisco in 1864. It came to Seattle in 1905. By the early 1920s, the bank had grown too big for its old office. So, in May 1923, the bank bought a new piece of land to build a bigger bank. This land used to have an old building called the Epler Block.
The bank chose John Graham's company to design their new building. They planned a two-story building with a basement and a mezzanine. It was supposed to cost about $200,000, but it ended up costing more. The old Epler Block building was torn down in late 1923. Construction of the new bank began in early 1924. The building officially opened its doors to the public on August 25, 1924.
Over the years, the bank kept growing. By the late 1960s, they decided to build an even bigger bank building nearby. This new building, the Union Bank of California Center, was huge! When the new bank opened in 1974, the original Bank of California Building became a branch office.
By 1983, the Bank of California had moved out of the old building completely. It then became the main office for the Savings Bank of Puget Sound. This bank was later bought by KeyCorp in 1993. Since then, the building has been home to a Key Bank branch.
