Holyoke Building

About

The Holyoke Building (or Holyoke Block) is a historic building located in downtown Seattle, Washington. It is a substantial five story brick structure with stone trimmings. Construction began at the corner of First Avenue and Spring Streets just before the Great Seattle fire of 1889. Completed in early 1890, it was among the first permanent buildings completed and ready for occupancy in downtown Seattle following the fire. Today the Holyoke Building is one of the very few such buildings still standing in Seattle outside of the Pioneer Square district and is a historic remnant of the northward expansion of Seattle's business district between the time of the great fire and the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897.

The Holyoke Building housed many social and artistic clubs and organizations throughout its history. As early as 1895 it housed the Conservatory of Arts on the top floor. Later in the 1920s the Seattle Musical Club brought many local artists and musicians together in the building and other private and social clubs shared the building with toiletry manufacturers and offices.