This image of the King County Courthouse in Seattle was taken facing southeast during construction on May 15, 1915. Architect A. Warren Gould designed the five-story steel frame and reinforced concrete structure, built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company. The building sits at 516 Third Avenue, between Dilling Way and James Street, and was dedicated May 4, 1916 as the City-County Building. Additional floors, modernization, and seismic retrofitting have been completed over the years, and in 1987 the King County Courthouse was registered as a King County landmark. The tower in the distance on First Hill belongs to King County's first courthouse, which stood from 1890-1930 on 8th Avenue between Alder and Terrace streets.
The Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company (later Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company) was a major contributor to the construction of the Pacific Northwest. Many of their projects were documented by noted Seattle photographer Frank H. Nowell.
Inscribed on negative: MAY.15-1915 Photographer's number: 14911 Embossed on recto: Frank H. Nowell, Central Bldg, Seattle, U. S. A. Signs in image: A. V. Williams, Agent, Real Estate, New York Blk.; Liberty Theatre; Excellent Flour; Owl Cigar Co.; Hotel Mansfield; Montana Stables; Tom Keene Cigar
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on linen : b&w ; 7.75 x 10 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv08561
Credit: MOHAI, H.W. McCurdy Collection on the Puget Sound Bridge & Dredging Co., 1955.970.500.7.3
