November 8, 2010

Ralph Anderson left a Pioneer Square legacy

Prominent Seattle architect Ralph D. Anderson died on Oct. 24. He was 86.

Anderson was a mentor to a number of Seattle architects, part of the Northwest Modern architecture movement and an long time advocate of restoring Pioneer Square.

Ross Anderson, of Anderson/Collier Architects of Ballard, said his father was passionate about the historic district.

“Back in the 1960s when he first got involved there it was in very bad shape and basically it was a slum to a certain degree,” he said. “I think that he just saw the potential of these old buildings, how magnificent these old buildings could be if they were just restored. So he did it.”

Early in his career, Anderson worked for prominent local architect Paul Kirk, and later partnered with architects Bill Booth and Bob Koch.

Anderson mentored architects George Suyuma, Gordon Walker, Jim Olson, Dan Calvin and David Fukui, instilling in them his artistic sensibilities, said Walker of Gordon Walker Architects, who worked for Anderson from 1962 to 1965.

“(Because of him) we really developed a good eye for detail and material and color,” he said. “It was kind of a Northwest palate of subdued colors and materials.”

Olson also worked for Anderson when he was a young architect. He said Anderson was known for historic preservation and the homes he designed in the Northwest Modern style — architecture than blends with nature and uses lots of wood, often stained in colors that relate to natural elements, such as tree bark or driftwood.

“I just think he was a real force in the architectural evolution of the Northwest because he was an extremely talented architect and he did some beautiful buildings,” said Olson, with Olson Kundig Architects of Seattle.

Anderson was the first to restore Pioneer Square buildings in the early 1960s, Olson said. He remodeled a building at 108 S. Jackson, where he had his office, and owned the Union Trust Building on the corner of Main Street and Occidental, and was a partner in the Grand Central building with Richard White and Alan Black. He also designed the rehab of the Pioneer Building for another owner.

Suyama of Suyama Peterson Deguchi architecture of Seattle began working for Anderson in 1968 in his Pioneer Square office.

In those days, the area had an interesting mix of artists, architects and interior designers who would hang out together, Suyuma said. Anderson would throw parties some Fridays, and his office “was a amazing gathering space for people,” he said.

The interior designer Jean Jongeward rented space in that building, and worked closely with Anderson on residential projects, Olson said.

Anderson was raised in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and graduated from the University of Washington with an architecture degree in 1951. In 1955, he established Ralph D. Anderson & Partners architectural firm.

For the University of Washington he designed faculty housing and the fisheries lab at Friday Harbor in a classic Northwest design, Walker said.

“I think it was just a nice simple piece of architecture that fit into the island design aesthetic, and was a functional building too,” he said. “He gained a lot of respect for that.”

Besides his work in Seattle and the Eastside, Anderson designed housing and commercial projects in other parts of the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Japan and Turkey.

He was a world traveler who visited every continent expect Antarctica and a collector of primitive, oriental and modern art.

He is survived by Ross Anderson, his wife of 53 years Dr. Shirley Anderson, and his brother John Anderson.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Horizon House employees recognition fund, 900 University St., Seattle, WA 98101.