Image: Seattle Automobile Company Building - 1101 E Pike Street

Description: This landmark building at the Southeast corner of East Pike St & 11th Ave was built in early 1916 by the Seattle Automobile Sales Company. Started by H.P. Grant in 1902 selling Maxwell and Chandler cars, it was one of the city's first car dealerships. In 1915 they commissioned architect Sønke Engelhart Sønnichsen to design what would be one of the most attractive auto show rooms in the neighborhood. In 1919 Sønnichsen designed the 2-story building to the south to house their used car sales and parts department and later that year a complete interior remodeling was done to the main building. Occupation of this building by the Seattle Auto Co. after this becomes confusing, as multiple new and used dealers advertised from this address over the next decade, likely renting out space from the owners. In August 1922 the building became the new home of another pioneer Seattle auto dealer, the United Motors Company, distributors of Marmon, Cole, Dort and Reo cars and trucks. They would only last a few years in this location and by February 1925 Grant's Seattle Automobile Co. was again the building's main tenant, with Paige, Moon and Diana cars now added to their line. In 1927 R. Knox Roberts Motors was selling Pontiacs here and the following year the Wade-Albee Motor Co. was selling used cars followed by the Lamping Motor Co. It would appear that the Seattle Auto Co. was finally gone by July 1929 when the P.J. Cronin Company, a prominent local automotive equipment and radio distributor in Seattle and Portland, was announced to be occupying the entire building as its new Seattle headquarters. The building was nearly destroyed in November 1933 by a fire started in the basement and Cronin would not return to the building. After refurbishment, it returned to use as a dealership, with the Nagelvoort-Stearns Co. selling used cars and trailer homes there for the rest of the 1930s. In the early 40s the building was home to Commercial Linen Co. (a garment factory) and the Washington Training Center for the Blind, which taught sewing and basket weaving among other skills. After surviving another serious fire in 1958, a series of linen and carpet stores would occupy the building into the 70s.
Title: Seattle Automobile Company Building - 1101 E Pike Street
Credit: Own work
Author: Publichall
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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