Walker Gaggin) specified what was essentially a two-tower form, with a thin, 11-story tower with a pyramidal cap mounted atop a blockier, 24-story base with a cornice-a form that had begun to grace the New York skyline but was unknown in the western United States. To provide the building with architectural distinction, Gaggin and Gaggin (founded by the brothers Edward Gaggin and T. Yet the firm was known to the tower’s developer, Lyman Cornelius (L.C.) Smith, who had made a fortune in the typewriter and gun manufacturing industries and also hailed from Syracuse. The Smith Tower was designed by the Syracuse, New York–based architectural firm Gaggin and Gaggin, whose prior experience did not include any building more than five stories tall. It was also the tallest building west of the Rocky Mountains during this period. For much of the twentieth century, the 462-foot-tall skyscraper, with its distinctive pyramidal roof, more than 2,300 bronze-encased windows, and over 1,400 steel doors was a regular feature on postcards and other images promoting the city of Seattle, and held the title of the city’s tallest structure for nearly 50 years. The building featured retail at the base with offices above, as well as a public, open-air observation deck on the 35th floor extending from what was advertised as a “Japanese Tea Room” but designed loosely following the manner of a Chinese temple with a carved teak ceiling and blackwood furniture. What was promoted as the “highest, finest, and most complete office building in the world outside of New York City” came equipped with several up-to-date amenities including a wireless telegraph, telephones, eight high-speed elevators, and a central vacuum system with “plug-ins” in every office. Smith Building typifies Seattle spirit and growth.” While skeptics have since debunked the myth that the approximately $1.5 million building contained 42 floors at its opening (the number was actually closer to 36), the notion that the Smith Tower served as a symbol for the city’s progress and prosperity has rarely been a point of contention. Underscoring the importance of what was set to become the tallest building west of the Mississippi, one full-page advertisement declared, “The 42-story L.C. Smith Building on Second Avenue and Yesler Way in the heart of Pioneer Square. Leading up to July 4, 1914, advertisements in Seattle’s newspapers proliferated in advance of the grand opening of the new L.C.
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