On successive Saturdays, April 13 and 20, Seattle’s architectural history will be presented from 1 to 3 PM at the downtown Seattle Public Library. The first lecture on April 13 will cover events in early Seattle and how building styles developed. What happened after Seattle’s Great Fire of June 1889? Who designed the buildings in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, and why do they look the way that they do? What stylistic influences gave direction to Seattle architecture in the years up to 1935?
The second lecture on April 20 will pick up the story at about 1935, the dawn of the Modernist Era in architecture. Special attention will be given to Pacific Northwest Modernism whose outstanding architects include Paul Thiry, designer of the Northeast Branch Library, and Paul Hayden Kirk, designer of the University Unitarian Church. Lecturer Jeffrey Karl Ochsner has taught in the University of Washington architecture department for nearly 25 years and is the author or editor of several books on Seattle architects and history, including Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. The lectures on April 13 and 20 will be held in the Microsoft Auditorium on the 1st floor of the downtown library, accessible from Fourth Avenue.