Peter Kirk Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Peter Kirk Building
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| Location | Kirkland, Washington |
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| Built | 1889–90 |
| Architectural style | Victorian Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001873 |
| Added to NRHP | August 14, 1973 |
The Peter Kirk Building is a very old and important building in Kirkland, Washington. It was first known as the Kirkland Investment Company Building. You can find it at the corner of Market Street and Seventh Avenue, which was once Kirkland's main business area. This building is so special that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as a significant historical site.
The city's founder, Peter Kirk, built it in 1889. He wanted it to be the main building for his big dream of making Kirkland a steel-producing city. However, his plans didn't work out, partly because of a financial crisis in 1893. Over the years, Kirkland's main business area moved south. This probably saved the Peter Kirk Building from being torn down or changed too much.
Because it was on a main road, the ground floor always had businesses. But by the mid-1900s, the building was in bad shape. In the early 1960s, a group led by William Radcliffe saved it from being demolished. They bought and restored the building. Today, it is the Kirkland Arts Center and is one of Kirkland's most famous landmarks.
The building is known for its unique corner tower and its beautiful Victorian and Romanesque designs. These designs are still just as they were when it was built. It's made from red bricks pressed right there in Kirkland. It also has plaster, stone, and tin decorations. This building is the oldest commercial building still standing on the Eastside of Lake Washington.
What the Building Looks Like
The Peter Kirk Building has a classic late Victorian style. Even though it has had many owners and periods of neglect, its outside looks almost exactly the same as it did in the late 1800s. Inside, some things have changed. A stairway was moved, and a fire escape was added at the back. A mezzanine (a partial floor between two main floors) was also added.
The building is mostly square, measuring about 59 feet by 55 feet. It has a flat roof with a continuous wall, called a parapet, on the north and west sides. This wall is about 3 feet tall. There's also a decorative triangular part, called a pediment, that rises above the roof on the west side. Below the roof, there's a decorated band, or entablature, with small block-like details called dentils and fancy brackets. This decorative band is made of metal.
The building is made of brick laid in a special pattern. It has two stories and no basement. The windows on the second floor are tall and rounded at the top. They have wedge-shaped stones, called voussoirs, around them and continuous sills. All these windows are double hung sash windows, meaning both parts can slide up and down.
On the street level of the west side, there are large storefront windows. These windows are full-length and have 48 small glass sections above them. The windows on the north side of the main level are shorter and have a segmented arch shape. They also have radiating voussoirs and decorative trim. The main entrance is semi-circular with radiating voussoirs and trim. The doors are set back and have windows. Above the doors, there's a two-section fan-shaped window called a transom.
Above the main entrance on the second level, there is a turret (a small tower). This turret has a pointed, cone-shaped roof, sometimes called a "candle snuffer" roof. The turret has four double-hung windows, and above them are stained glass lights with leaded designs. A metal decoration, called a finial, sits at the very top of the turret roof.
The Story of the Peter Kirk Building
Construction for the Peter Kirk Building began in 1889. It was built at the corner of Market and Picadilly Street (now Seventh Avenue). This was meant to be the main intersection and business area of Kirkland. The bricks used were made by the Kirkland Brick Company, right where Peter Kirk Park is today, using local clay. After some delays, the building was finished in March 1890. It cost $8,000 to build.
Peter Kirk set up his offices for the Kirkland Investment Company on the upper floor. His own office was in the corner turret. The first floor first housed a dry goods store owned by James Guptill and George Evans, and The Elder Drug store.
After Peter Kirk's dream of a steel-producing city didn't happen, the town's business center moved away from the Kirk Building. It shifted closer to the waterfront and the ferry dock. The upper floor became empty when the Kirkland Investment Company was sold to Seattle developers Burke & Farrar. These developers helped make Kirkland a popular suburban community in the early 1910s.
In the 1920s, Market Street became part of state highway 2-A. This made it the main road for traveling north and south on the Eastside. The second floor of the Kirk Building was later turned into apartments. The ground floor continued to host various businesses, including a butcher shop, a grocery store, and a furniture store. One of these was the Eastside Furniture Company, owned by Kirkland's youngest mayor, Al Leland, in the 1940s.
After many years of not being cared for, the building was almost torn down in the late 1950s. The owner couldn't afford to make the necessary repairs. In 1958, William Radcliffe, a local teacher, bought space in the building's empty upper story for an art studio. In 1961, he and a group of local investors, called the Peter Kirk Syndicate, bought the entire building. They wanted to clean it up and fix it. Their goal was to "preserve the building as an historic structure and use the building for the cultural enrichment of the community."
The members of the syndicate gave their shares of the building to form the Creative Arts League. This group moved into the building. They offered various art classes and even ran a small theater. On October 25, 1991, the organization changed its name to the Kirkland Arts Center (KAC). Today, KAC runs a non-profit visual arts school. They teach classes in ceramics, printmaking, painting, watercolor, and collage.
The Peter Kirk Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. After receiving federal tax credits, the building was fully restored in 1977. In 2010, the Peter Kirk Building was nominated for a grant from American Express as part of their Partners In Preservation Seattle-Puget Sound Initiative. More recently, from 2021 to 2023, the Kirkland Arts Center received a grant to make the building safer in an earthquake and to renovate its roof.
See also
- Peter Kirk
- Masonic Lodge Building
- Joshua Sears Building
