Choya's Art Deco Entry.

As you may or may not know, I’m in Seattle on a mission: hunting for the perfect Art Deco building. So far, I’ve wandered past the Exchange Building, admired the restrained elegance of the Roosevelt Hotel, and marveled at the soaring Seattle Tower. All three are impressive in their own right, but I’m looking for something that will really make Team Sandy sit up and take notice.

After hours of walking, notebook full of sketches and observations, I think I’ve finally found it. The one that captures everything—height, presence, and that unmistakable Deco flair. It’s bold but balanced, detailed but not overdone, and utterly unique.

I linger in front of it, letting the city hum around me, imagining how it will look in Sandy’s contest. The angles, the curves, the story embedded in every stone—it all feels just right. At last, the hunt feels worth it. This is the building that might just steal the show.

Next up on my Seattle Art Deco hunt, I think I’ve finally stumbled upon something extraordinary: the Federal Office Building. Standing at 909 First Avenue in Pioneer Square, it’s impossible to miss—tall, striking, and uniquely commanding. From the moment I saw its stepped façade rising into the sky, I felt like I was in the presence of a building that truly tells a story.

My picture.

Professional picture: 

Completed between 1931 and 1933, this was one of Seattle’s earliest federal buildings in the Art Deco style, designed under James A. Wetmore. It was built during a time when the city was still recovering from the Great Depression, yet it stands with quiet confidence, a testament to ambition and resilience.

Its exterior is a study in thoughtful detail. The central tower rises eleven stories, crowned by a ziggurat top and a flagpole, while the outer portions step up from six to nine stories. The materials are striking—smooth terracotta at the base, light red brick above, and aluminum spandrel panels between the windows, one of the earliest uses of aluminum on a West Coast building. Stylized geometric motifs decorate the façade, from ram and lion heads to a stately eagle above the entrance. It’s Art Deco without being ostentatious, bold but disciplined.

The site itself is steeped in history: it’s said to be where Seattle’s founders first landed after surveying the Puget Sound in 1851. It’s also the block that sparked the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, which leveled the commercial district. And yet, out of that history, the Federal Office Building rose—a symbol of permanence and progress.

Standing in front of it now, notebook open, I can feel why this might be the one for Team Sandy. Tall, circular in corners, unique, and unapologetically Deco, it has both gravitas and grace. After wandering Seattle for days—peering at the Exchange, the Roosevelt Hotel, and the Seattle Tower—I can finally say it: this building feels like the perfect choice.

Choya's Art Deco visit to Seattle

Hiya Gang, Choya here. I’m on vacation in Seattle, and I’ve fortified myself with a fresh cup of coffee—apparently the thing to do.  It's strong enough to stand on its own but smooth enough to sip slowly.

I’m on vacation in Seattle—or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. But there’s a purpose tucked between the coffee breaks and ferry rides: I’m here to find a building for Sandy’s Art Deco contest.

I found a building today—tall, circular, and undeniably unique. It stood against the gray Seattle sky like a monument to someone’s bold imagination. Not Art Deco, unfortunately—no zigzags, no chrome flourishes—but fascinating all the same. Its rounded form seemed to defy the boxy rhythm of the city around it, as if it had decided long ago to stand apart and never apologize for it.

First up on my list: the Exchange Building, Seattle’s first commodities exchange—and one of the city’s most impressive examples of Art Deco architecture. Rising twenty-three stories above downtown, it’s a tall, circular-cornered structure that seems to hold both elegance and grit in its limestone skin.

Built in 1930, right as the Great Depression was beginning, the Exchange Building was meant to be a symbol of optimism and modernity—a hub for trading goods like wheat, lumber, and other resources that built the Pacific Northwest. The irony, of course, is that by the time it opened, the economy had collapsed and the exchange it was meant to house never really took off. But the building endured, adapting to new uses and new tenants as the decades rolled on.

Next up on my Seattle architecture hunt: the Seattle Tower—originally known as the Northern Life Tower. I came here with my notebook and a sense of purpose, curious to see if this could be the building for Sandy’s Art Deco contest.

Its brick façade shifting in tone from deep earthy browns at the base to pale, cloud-colored shades near the top. There are thirty-three shades of brick in total, arranged to make the structure look like it’s growing straight out of the ground.

The lobby looks amazing.

Completed in 1929, just as the Great Depression was beginning, it was Seattle’s first true Art Deco skyscraper.

Next up on my Seattle Art Deco hunt: the Roosevelt Hotel. Yes, it’s Art Deco, but unlike the Exchange Building or Seattle Tower, it doesn’t try to dazzle with ornamentation. It’s subtle, restrained, and elegant, more about clean lines and confident geometry than flashy details.

Built in 1929, around the same time as the city’s other Deco landmarks, the Roosevelt was designed to serve travelers with comfort and style. Its façade is straightforward, with modest decorative elements—linear patterns, stepped setbacks, and a simple vertical emphasis that gives it presence without demanding attention.

I walked around the corner, studying the angles of the roofline and the gentle reliefs near the entrance. It’s a building that feels practical, yet carefully considered. Its charm isn’t in extravagance; it’s in proportion, balance, and that quiet Art Deco flair that whispers sophistication rather than shouting it.

The lobby is very cool, trying to keep that Art Deco vibe.

For Sandy’s contest, it might not be the showiest pick, but there’s something appealing about its understatement. Sometimes Deco doesn’t need to sparkle—it just needs to stand tall and confident, and the Roosevelt does exactly that.