Tens of thousands of people went to Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush of the late 19th century, but only a few ended up rich. In 1908, the men in Seattle who had made their fortune in the gold rush, either as prospectors or traders, founded the Arctic Club. The club soon expanded as a fraternal social community for prominent Seattle residents with ties to Alaska. The Arctic Club was critical to the planning, fundraising, and execution of Seattle’s first world’s fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, in 1909. Originally headquartered at the Morrison Hotel, the Club moved into the Arctic Building in 1916.[1]

The lot on which the Arctic Building was constructed formerly belonged to Judge Joseph R. Lewis, the Chief Justice of Washington Territory and a direct descendant of George Washington’s sister, Betty Washington. The Lewis house was torn down in 1892 to make way for the Seattle Theatre, which was eventually replaced by the Arctic Building.[2]

The Arctic Building itself is most notable for its exterior decoration. Twenty-seven molded walrus heads wrap around the third story and a polar bear, no longer visible due to modernization, sat over the Third Avenue entrance. Though terra cotta facades were popular in Seattle during this period, the Arctic Building was unique for the quality and brightness of its multicolored matte glaze terra cotta work, now faded.[3]

Credits and Sources:

Description by Madison Heslop on behalf of the American Society for Environmental History.

"Arctic Club Hotel Seattle Reinvigorates a Beloved Seattle Property." PR Newswire,Mar 30, 2007. http://search.proquest.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/docview/453836096?accountid=14784.

Kreisman, Lawrence. “Arctic Building National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form.” In Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Records Data (WISAARD). June 1978. Accessed August 16, 2016.