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Brian Miller
Real Estate Editor

July 2, 2026

On the Block: Fresh paint for Pioneer Square misfit

The ugliest, most despised structure in Pioneer Square is without doubt the Brutalist-style parking garage at 701 First Ave., on the corner of Columbia Street.

It dates to 1970, about the same time the Pioneer Square Preservation District was established. In a sense, the nine-story, 509-stall building just beat the preservation clock, before historic protections began.

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]
Johnson’s new mural is the best thing to happen to the garage in its 56-year-history.

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]
The building just gained a second new public art installation, courtesy LMN Architects.

The garage has been owned since 1997 by a San Francisco family investment group. It's also the DJC's near neighbor, directly east across Post Alley. (Yes, it's technically Post Avenue; we know, but everyone hates a stickler.) So we were excited to watch local artist Barry Johnson and a few assistants add a big, bright, colorful mural on the northwest shoulder of the garage, overlooking Columbia. It was commissioned by the Downtown Seattle Association, which is sponsoring other murals from local artists under its Hope Grant program.

Using a cherry picker and roller brushes, Johnson and friends spent a few days last month creating the three-story mural. Curiously, it's unsigned. The proper way to see it is on a late afternoon, standing near the Owl & Thistle when the light is best. Selfie-seekers, take note.

Johnson recently said on Instagram, “I recently got the opportunity to create a work to add some color to this massive parking garage. This piece was by far one of the most challenging works to create. We only had three days due to the World Cup matches, and our lift broke down on the first day, causing us to paint for 18 hours straight on the last day. Never underestimate the power of the human hand.”

A Topeka, Kansas native, Johnson is a talented interdisciplinary artist. Murals are just one facet of his portfolio, and you can find such examples of permanent public art at Bellwether Housing's Flourish on Rainier building (near Rainier Beach) and at Midtown Square, which Lake Union Partners developed at 23rd and Jackson. You can find more of his fine art at Winston Wachter Gallery.




Photo via Seattle Municipal Arhchives [enlarge]
What was lost: the row of old buildings demolished in 1968.

Back to the garage, unfortunately. How did it get there, and what did it replace? After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the row from Cherry to Columbia included the Washington Building, the Kenneth Hotel and Merchant's National Bank. Below were fireproof Diebold safe-deposit vaults that had survived the blaze, per HistoryLink.

The row was later associated with Reliance Overseas, an import/export business, and the Penthouse, a jazz club where in 1965 John Coltrane recorded his Live in Seattle album. Other names on the same strip included Ace Novelty, Stewart & Holmes Drug Co., Zion Mission and the Marine Hotel … all now relegated to history. The late historian Paul Dorpat has also chronicled that strip.

Photo via Verve Records
Coltrane’s Live in Seattle was recorded on the row, live at the Penthouse, in 1965.

The five-building row was demolished in 1968, says HistoryLink, meaning everything north of the now shuttered and fire-damaged former 7-Eleven, aka the First and Cherry Building, at 627 First.

City records suggest that Peoples Bank was the original garage owner, if not developer. Architect and builder are unknown. (But really, who would want to claim credit for that eyesore?) Prior to construction, Peoples Bank apparently owned the vaults and, by extension, the buildings above. Those were likely empty, during a period when Pioneer Square was hitting its nadir.

Peoples Bank later sold the garage to US Bank, which kept its corner branch in operation until 2019 or so. That's now home to LMN Architects' model and fabrication shop. And, above the entry, the garage just gained a second new public art installation. That's a colorful, Alexander Calder-esque sculpture, created in-house by Hank Butitta and colleagues. It's a static piece, not a mobile, that nods to the immortal 1965 overhead “bicycle kick,” made with back to the goal by soccer god Pelé. It's a signature feat he and others have repeated ever since.

Photo via Seattle Art Museum [enlarge]
Double Poke in the Eye II, which the garage owner donated to SAM.

The garage sold in '97 for $8.8 million to investor Byron R. Meyer, then passed after his death to the family. Fun fact: Meyer was a noted philanthropist and art collector; and he donated a significant neon sculpture by Bruce Nauman, Double Poke in the Eye II, to SAM in 1991.

Various parking operators including Diamond and APCOA have operated the garage over past decades. It's still a bargain compared to surface lots on the waterfront. On Post Alley, below grade, someone once told the DJC that he was operating a basement recording studio there. We haven't heard that music.


Got a tip? Contact DJC real estate editor Brian Miller at brian.miller@djc.com or call him at (206) 219-6517.


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