January 17, 2023

97-year-old downtown hotel nominated for landmarking

Photo by Kidder Matthews [enlarge]

The hotel has stood at 315 Seneca St. since 1926.

As expected, the new owners of the former Hotel Seattle (originally the Continental Hotel) have nominated the property for landmark status.

The nomination comes amid plans to renovate and reopen (but not remodel) the 79-key hotel that has stood at 315 Seneca St. for nearly 100 years.

Renovations are being designed by architect Weinstein A+U in collaboration with Columbia Hospitality. So far, details are scant but it is expected that more information will be shared following the landmark nomination decision, which is set to take place Feb. 1.

What we do know is that interior renovations will be made to all of the building's 11 floors, in addition to repairs and restoration work on the exterior facade.

The hotel has been shuttered since early 2020. A investor group, led by Curran Hagstrom, his brother Collin Hagstrom and Giovanni Napoli, purchased the 97-year-old, 36,000-square-foot, reinforced concrete building for a little under $11 million in September 2021. Things have been quiet since then.

Following the purchase, Curran Hagstrom described the property as “an historic but currently tired building, with a ton of character and charm.” Photos taken for the landmark nomination show worn and dated interiors. Hagstrom previously told the DJC that the goal is to open the renovated hotel sometime in 2024, most likely with a new name.

Photo from the Landmarks Nomination Packet [enlarge]

The building’s tired interiors are set to be fully renovated.

The hotel began life as the Continental Hotel in 1926 and had continuously operated under a variety of names until the 2020 closure. When it first opened, it housed studio space on the first floor for local radio station KFQW Entertainment with “one large studio for orchestras and other large productions, one small studio for solo work, and a reception room adjoining the hotel lobby.”

At that time, there was also a coffee shop and cafe in the basement.

Today, the building has two street-level retail spaces; one is currently occupied by Queen Bee Nails Spa, the other is empty and was last home to Bernard's on Seneca, which also closed in 2020. With its distinctive stepped massing and terra cotta decorative details, the hotel is one of the few remaining examples in Downtown Seattle of the stepped skyscraper Art Deco style that was popular in the mid-1920s to early-1930s.

The building was constructed by a local developer and builder of hotels and apartments, Stephen Berg, and designed by Seattle architects Bertram Dudley Stuart, Jr., and Arthur Wheatley.

In 1964 the eastern retail space and mezzanine were enlarged and the lobby received new finishes designed by architect Alfred P. Croonquist and Damm, Daum and Associates.

If the building is nominated for landmarking, the nomination will most likely cover the hotel's original 1920s exterior. Some original interior elements might also be nominated. The 1960s additions are not expected to be landmarked.

This article was written using information from the Continental Hotel/Hotel Seattle Landmarks Nomination Packet prepared by BOLA Architecture + Planning.