The end of World War II stimulated a huge demand for housing in Seattle. The modernist-style Grosvenor House, a large reinforced concrete apartment building designed by Earl W. Morrison, was built in the Belltown/Denny Triangle area of the city. Its 18 stories, with 370 units, housed some 1200 people. The base of the building occupied a full block. It had a park on top and contained a parking garage, offices, and stores. The building was renamed Wall Street Tower in 2000; its street address is 500 Wall Street.

The Grosvenor House occupies the foreground of this image. In the right mid-ground, the lights of The Bon Marche department store indicate that the time is 1:19 p.m. Visible in the background, from center to right, are Harborview Hospital, the Marine Hospital (now Pacific Medical Center – Beacon Hill), the dark-color Seattle Tower, and the narrow Smith Tower.

Caption information source: “Summary for 500 Wall St. / Parcel ID 0697000025”, Seattle Historical Sites, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, https://web.seattle.gov/DPD/HistoricalSite/QueryResult
Caption information source: “Grosvenor House Apartment Building, Circa 1950”, Seattle Room Digital Collections, The Seattle Public Library, https://spl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15015coll4/id/1315