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Birmingham Hay and Seed Building

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Academic Building
1903, Proctor and Farrell; 1991–1997 rehabilitation, Moore Ruble Yudell with Loschky, Marquardt and Nesholm. 1740-44 Pacific Ave.
  • (Photograph by Julie Nicoletta)

The Birmingham Hay and Seed Building, similar to the Birmingham Block, rises three stories along Pacific Avenue and two stories along Commerce Street. It shares common walls with the Birmingham Block and the West Coast Grocery Building, yet its brick is a lighter pink than that of its neighbors and its Romanesque Revival facade gives it distinction. In addition, a reconstructed loading dock along its south facade that serves as a covered walkway today links it with the other three buildings that make up the Academic Building at the University of Washington Tacoma.

Arched windows along the upper story and a corbeled cornice help define the building. Additional classical exterior elements include dentils running along the bottom edge of the second-story window sills. Inside, the interior has been renovated to include two lecture halls seating roughly 100 people each, along with two smaller classrooms. Space along the Pacific Avenue side outside the lecture halls has been left open to accommodate seating areas for quiet study and views of Commencement Bay and Union Depot.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Julie Nicoletta
Coordinator: 
J. Philip Gruen
Robert R. Franklin
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Data

Timeline

  • 1903

    Design and construction

  • 1991

    Rehabilitation for UW Tacoma

What's Nearby

Birmingham Block
West Coast Grocery Building
Garretson Woodruff Pratt Building
Keystone Building
Joy Building

Citation

Julie Nicoletta, "Birmingham Hay and Seed Building", [Tacoma, Washington], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WA-01-053-0056-03.

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