{{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Arctic Building | nrhp_type = | designated_other1 = Seattle Landmark | designated_other1_date = December 13, 1993<ref name="Seattle list">{{cite web|title=Landmarks and Designation|publisher=City of Seattle|url=http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/landmarks_listing.htm|accessdate=March 4, 2013|archive-date=March 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306003250/http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/landmarks_listing.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> | designated_other1_number = | image = Arctic Building.jpg | location = Seattle, Washington | coordinates = {{coord|47|36|13.380634|N|122|19|55.001405|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Seattle WA Downtown | built = 1914 | architect = A. Warren Gould | architecture = Beaux-Arts | added = November 28, 1978 | area = less than one acre | refnum = 78002749<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> }}
'''The Arctic Club Building''' is a ten-story hotel in Seattle, Washington located at the Northeast corner of Third Avenue and Cherry Street. Built in 1914 for the '''Arctic Club''', a social group established by wealthy individuals who experienced Alaska's gold rush (Klondike Gold Rush),<ref name="Huygen 2017">{{cite web |last=Huygen |first=Meg van |title=The hidden history of the Arctic Building |website=Curbed Seattle |date=2017-07-20 | url=https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/7/20/16002464/arctic-club-hotel-building-history | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142549/https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/7/20/16002464/arctic-club-hotel-building-history | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=2024-03-04}}</ref> it was occupied by them from construction until the club's dissolution in 1971. It is entirely faced with cream white terra cotta with submarine blue and orange-brown accents. The building is recognizable by the terra cotta walrus head sculptures lining the third floor of the building and its iconic polar bear in the Polar Bar, the hotel's bar and cocktail lounge. It is one of the finest examples of multi-colored matte glaze terra cotta work in the city.<ref name=nrhpdoc/> In 2008, the building was restored and adapted for use as a luxury hotel, the '''Arctic Club Hotel'''.<ref name="Johnson 2007">{{cite web |last=Johnson <!--name from HTML code-->|first=Richard L. |title=The Historic Arctic Building in Seattle Being Transformed into a 120-room Hotel; Arctic Club Hotel Seattle Will Be Managed by The Hotel Group / April 2007 |website=Hotel-Online |date=2007-03-30 |url=https://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2007_2nd/Apr07_ArcticClub.html |access-date=2024-03-04}}</ref> A rooftop garden used by the social club was replaced with a penthouse office suite.<ref name=nrhpdoc/>
It was designed by architect A. Warren Gould.<ref name="nrhpdoc">{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=78002749}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Arctic Building |publisher=National Park Service|author=Lawrence Kreisman |author2=Florence K. Lentz |date=June 1978 |accessdate=June 11, 2018}} With {{NRHP url|id=78002749|photos=y|title=accompanying three photos from 1978}} (text also available [https://web.archive.org/web/20120218025437/https://fortress.wa.gov/dahp/wisaard/documents/RN/0/1/1068.pdf here])</ref> In 1978 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=nris/>
==History== thumb|left|upright|One of the terra cotta walrus sculptures adorning the face of the Arctic Club building
The site of the Arctic building was originally owned by Joseph R. Lewis, the Chief Justice of Washington Territory and a direct descendant of George Washington's sister Elizabeth "Betty" Lewis. The home he built on the site in 1875 was considered one of the finest in Seattle at the time. The house was replaced in 1892 by the three-story, brick Seattle Theatre, designed by the firm of Saunders and Lawton. The newly formed Rainier Club occupied the office portion of the building until it and the theater were replaced by the Arctic Club Building in 1916.
The Arctic Club was formed in 1908 by successful veterans of the Klondike Gold Rush. The existing Alaska Club was merged that year into the Arctic Club. In Seattle, it was a fraternal men's club for businessmen with Gold Rush or Alaska connections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arcticclubhotel.com/pages/about_history/index.html |title=About History Luxury Downtown Seattle Hotel Washington |publisher=Arctic Club Hotel |accessdate=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218101756/http://arcticclubhotel.com/pages/about_history/index.html |archivedate=February 18, 2009}}</ref> Another Arctic Club was established in New York City, with membership based on exploration of wilderness areas in the Arctic. The Arctic Club in Seattle was initially located in 1909 on 3rd Avenue and Jefferson Street in the Morrison Hotel, also known as the Arctic Club Building.<ref name="DeCoster 2010">{{cite web |last=DeCoster |first=Dotty |title=Arctic Building (Seattle) |website=HistoryLink.org |date=2010-10-21 |url=https://historylink.org/File/9462 |id=Essay 9462 |access-date=2024-03-04}}</ref>
In 1914, after a dispute with the owner of that building, the Arctic Construction Company, the club board decided to relocate. In 1916, the members commissioned noted Seattle architect A. Warren Gould to design the Arctic Building in downtown Seattle at Third and Cherry as the group's headquarters. James Moses was the builder. During the move, members surreptitiously removed the bar from the original location by hoisting it out one of the windows. The 128 ft. Arctic Club building is in the Beaux-Arts style; it is known for its terra cotta walrus head sculptures, indicative of the club's name, which adorn the third floor façade. The terra cotta was sourced from nearby manufacturer Denny-Renton Clay and Coal Company, which provided terra cotta for many local buildings of the same period.<ref name="DeCoster 2010"/>
U.S. Congressman Marion Zioncheck committed suicide on August 7, 1936, by jumping from the window of his campaign office on the Arctic Building's fifth floor. His body struck the pavement directly in front of a car occupied by his wife.<ref name="Brown 1936-08-08 p.1">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Winifred |title=Zioncheck's Plunge to be Investigated; Autopsy to Probe Suicide |newspaper=The Seattle Star |location=Seattle, WA, US |date=1936-08-08 |volume=38 |number=141 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-seattle-star-zionchecks-plunge-to-b/142687564/ |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="Essay 5528">{{cite web |title=Congressman Marion Zioncheck commits suicide on August 7, 1936 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?displaypage=output.cfm&file_id=5528 |work=HistoryLink.org |number=Essay 5528 |first=Walt |last=Crowley |date=August 23, 2003 |accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Cascadia Courier">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecascadiacourier.com/2011/08/marion-anthony-zioncheck.html|title=Marion Anthony Zioncheck|first=Bob |last=Royer|work=The Cascadia Courier|date=August 1, 2011|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Suicide-or-murder-75th-anniversary-of-pol-s-1740520.php | work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer | first=Chris | last=Grygiel | title=Suicide - or murder? 75th anniversary of pol's sensational death | date=August 30, 2011}}</ref>
The building was owned for a time by the City of Seattle and was sold to a Spokane company, which redeveloped the property as a hotel, opening in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Historic-Arctic-Club-restored-for-new-life-as-1278644.php|title=Historic Arctic Club restored for new life as hotel|publisher=Seattle P-I|accessdate=December 15, 2012|first1=Kimberly|last1=Chou|date=July 7, 2008}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== *Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl. ''Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects''. Rev. ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-295-97366-8}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Arctic Building, Seattle}} *[https://www.oxfordcollection.com/hotels/arctic-club-hotel Arctic Club Hotel official website] *[https://maps.google.com/maps?sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.642161,93.076172&layer=c&cbll=47.60369,-122.331607&panoid=LTApEDUEKgfNsactXRlsXg&ie=UTF8&ll=47.603638,-122.331734&spn=0,359.99858&t=h&z=20&cbp=12,302.24,,0,-17.5|Arctic Club on Google Street View] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110611180108/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fimlsmohai&CISOPTR=2063&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 1913 Image of Seattle Theatre], University of Washington Special Collections division.
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
Category:1910s architecture in the United States Category:1916 establishments in Washington (state) Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in Washington (state) Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1916 Category:Buildings and structures in Seattle Category:Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Category:National Register of Historic Places in Seattle Category:Terracotta sculptures in the United States