The Scheuerman Block is one of many contributing buildings (ID #57) in the Pioneer Square Skid-Road District. The NPS.gov's
description for this contributing site (pages 96-98) says the following about this building:
Address: 110 Cherry Street / 700 1st Ave. S.
Historic Name : Scheuerman Block Built: 1890 & 1903
Plat: Borens and Dennys Addition/ Block 51 Lot 8 Parcel #: 0939000235
Style: Richardsonian Romanesque/ Victorian
Architect: Elmer Fisher Builder: Unknown
Classification: Historic Contributing Site ID #: 57
The building at 110 Cherry Street/ 700 1st Avenue is a three story building, mainly clad in brick. It is located on the
northeast corner of First Avenue and Cherry Street. It is rectangular in plan, with a flat roof and parapet. Its south
elevation faces Cherry Street and its west elevation First Avenue. The building has a cast-iron storefront beginning at
the two western bays of the Cherry Street elevation and continuing along the First Avenue elevation. On both
elevations, the second floor has segmental arched openings, topped by rusticated sandstone trim, while the third floor
has arched openings with rusticated stone trim following the arch of each opening. The spandrels directly above the
third floor arches are filled with cast-stone.
The south elevation along Cherry Street is divided into nine bays. The ninth bay, (from First Avenue and closest to
Second Avenue), has a distinctive arched entry with stone trim over the arch and header bricks organized in a
checkerboard-like pattern of square shapes. These square shapes are alternately inset, which creates a special pattern as well as texture, emphasizing the entry. The First Avenue facade is divided into five bays. The cast-iron storefront,
which runs the length of the First Avenue elevation, includes pilasters ornamented with rosettes and acanthus shapes.
A metal fire escape with gracefully curving rails is attached along the first two northern bays of this elevation.
King County Tax Assessor's Records give this building a date of 1903, but photos that are part of the previous
Pioneer Square Historic Inventory give a date of 1890. The combination of differing types of arches and cast-iron
storefronts suggest that the building might well be from the earlier date, with perhaps modifications made in the early
1900s. It is typical of buildings erected in Pioneer Square right after the Fire of 1889. Other records make clear that
this is a building designed by architect Elmer Fisher, designed in 1889 and completed in 1890 and associated over
the years with the same name, spelt alternatively: "Sherman," "Scheuerman," and "Scheurman."
An item in an article entitled "The Spirit of the Time - New Buildings Additional to Those Already Announced" in
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of June 19, 1889, describes a three story building, "of brick, iron, stone and terra cotta,"
about to be constructed on the "northeast corner of Front and Cherry Streets."( Front Street became First Avenue). It
was commissioned by "Mr. Chris Sherman," and the architect who was drawing up the plans was Elmer Fisher. The
lower floor was to be divided into two stores. The corner store was to be occupied by Hirchberg and Co. clothiers
and the "other store" by "Hasbrouck, the druggist." The upper floors were to be designed for office space. The
description fits very closely with the present building and a photo of the period shows the Hirchberg sign attached to
the building. In addition, the Cherry Street entrance has tilework which includes the name "Scheuerman," suggesting
that the early newspaper article spelled the owner's name incorrectly; therefore, it is almost certain that an initial
construction date of 1889-1890 is correct and that the architect was Elmer Fisher.
The building is identified as the "Scheuerman Block" on a Baist's Map from 1905 and clearly some version of that
name has been attached to the building from 1890 to at least the 1960s. The building was owned by the "Scheurman
Investment Company" in 1928, according to King County Tax Assessor's Records. According to Henry Broderick,
(as quoted in a 1969 Seattle Times article), during the early 1900s, the "Scheurman Block," as it was called in the
late 1960s, was "the major commercial building in Seattle" and housed the original office of Washington Mutual
Savings Bank, now a leading banking establishment in Washington State, before Seattle's downtown center moved
north (from the present Pioneer Square Historic District). Around 1969, the building underwent a major restoration.
Except for the loss of the parapet and some possible changes to the spandrels above the third floor arches, the
building retains its original exterior architectural features.
There is another inventory datasheet (link below) that also provides a description of this building.