The Lowman Building is one of many contributing buildings (ID #58) in the Pioneer Square Skid-Road District. The NPS.gov's
description for this contributing site (pages 98-101) says the following about this building:
Address: 107 Cherry Street Historic Name : Lowman Building Built: 1906
Plat: Borens and Dennys Addition/ Block 4/ Lot 1 Parcel #: 0939000120
Style: Commercial/ French Chateauesque/ French-French Renaissance/ Other-Eclectic
Architect: Heide and DeNeuf Builder: Unknown
Classification: Historic Contributing Site ID #: 58
The Lowman Building is a ten story building. It is the only building with marked Chateauesque tendencies in the
Pioneer Square-Skid Road National Historic District, although it bears the influence of the Romanesque Revival and
of French Renaissance eclectic styles. It is located on a 51 '-4" by 111' lot, at the corner of First Avenue and Cherry
Street. On First Avenue, it faces Pioneer Place. It has varied roof shapes, including a gabled roof type and hipped
dormers, which occur on the primary north and west facades. Its exterior walls are made of two wythes of common
red brick. On the south and east elevations, which do not face the street, the common brick is mainly exposed. On the
main elevations, facing west on First Avenue and north on Cherry Street, the walls have a veneer of "steam-pressed"
light gray colored brick, with buff terra cotta coping and ornament of a lighter gray color terra cotta. The light gray
brick veneer also wraps the corners of the south and east elevations.
In terms of structure, according to historic King County Tax Assessor's records, the building has a concrete cablereinforced
foundation, floors slabs and roof and a riveted "steel frame skeleton." There is also a 13' by 30'-4" lightwell
located at the middle of the south elevation above the first floor, so that the mass of the building is partly cut
away, but this is not visible from the street. The building is currently (2004) undergoing a "substantial renovation,"
which will may affect the interiors, as well as the elevation not visible from the street.
The First Avenue elevation consists of two major bays. Its composition has many of the same elements as the Cherry
Street elevation, which has four major bays. Both elevations have an arrangement, based on a "base," "shaft" or
"middle" and "capital" or "top" arrangement. The "base" of the building consists of the first floor, mezzanine and
second floor levels, where each bay is marked by tall pillars, with ornamented capitals. A continuous terra cotta
cornice separates the base from the middle. The shaft consists of tall recessed vertical groupings of six single window openings, each grouping ending at the sixth level with an arched opening. The arch shape is emphasized by
several rows of corbel brick, which project slightly. Thin double-belt courses aligned with the springline of the
arches provide a continuous horizontal tie between the arches. In general, windows are separated by recessed
spandrels in the same light brick.
The northern bay of the First Avenue elevation consists of four tall vertical groupings. This portion of the elevation
projects out slightly from the southern major bay consisting of three of these vertical elements. The "shaft" or
"middle" is surmounted by a second terra cotta belt-course, which includes a band of repeated curved bracket shapes
and a dentil band. At the "capital" or "top" of the First Avenue elevation, the northern bay consists of a two story
gable end, with a horizontal row of four single windows at its first level and a second level of three windows with a
common sill. At the third level of the gable end is a circular opening surrounded by stylized swirls in terra cotta. On
each of the angled edges of the gable end is a stepped decorative band in lighter colored terra cotta. The outer end of
the gable is capped by a pinnacle with crockets and a finial. The "top" of the second recessed bay to the south, has a
lower level with a horizontal row of three single windows, topped by a belt-course, with an egg-and-dart band. The
very top level here has a prominent hipped dormer with two single windows.
The Cherry Street fa9ade uses a similar configuration of bays, roof elements and belt courses to create a longer
fapade. The western major bay, which projects out slightly from the rest of the fapade above the first belt-course, is
topped by a gable end and has the same design as the north bay of the First Avenue facade. The rest of the facade
consists, from east to west, of twelve of the typical tall vertical groupings of windows. These are not really
differentiated into separate major bays, until the top level, where three hipped roof dormers each correspond to four
of the vertical groups. Each dormer is wider than the dormer on the west facade and has a horizontal row of three
rectangular windows. Original roofing was of slate. In 2001, it was replaced by synthetic slate roof tiles.
At the ground level of the Cherry Street facade, the entrance to the upper floors occurs at the second bay from the
east. Light gray granite was used for exterior steps and for cheek-blocks. The entrance is surmounted by a bas-relief
in granite with the words "LOWMAN BUILDING."
The Lowman Building was designed by the architectural partnership of Heide and DeNeuf for James Lowman.
According to the King County Assessor's records, it was completed in 1906, although some records suggest an
earlier completion of 1903, or perhaps even earlier. Architecturally, it is one of the most stately buildings in the
district. It has retained the most important elements of its original design, which is extremely rich. In particular, its
upper floors are intact, except for the replacement of metal window frames, but by similar ones. Its storefronts have
had few major changes. It has an imposing presence on Pioneer Place, and along with the neighboring Lowman and
Hanford Building, the Howard Building and the Pioneer Building, forms the eastern edge of one the area's original
public square.
The partnership of Heide and DeNeuf was formed by Augustus Heide and Emil DeNeuf in 1901 and lasted until 1906. Augustus Heide came from from Alton, Illinois. He was an architectural apprentice in Chicago and worked in
Los Angeles from 1886 to 1889. In 1889, he moved to Tacoma, where he established a practice that lasted until
1892. He then moved to Everett, Washington, where he became the architect for the Everett Improvement Company
and designed many notable buildings. Heide also designed the 1914 Washington State buildings at the San Francisco
Pan Pacific Exposition and at the San Diego Exposition.
Emil DeNeuf began his career as a draftsman in Elmer Fisher's office, after his arrival in Seattle in 1889. While
working for Fisher, he was also responsible for the Metropole Hotel and the First Avenue fagade of the fire-damaged
Schwabacher Building, both in the Pioneer Square district. He had an independent practice by the end of 1891. He
was retained by Henry Yesler to complete the upper floors of Mutual Life Building, originally the "Yesler Building,"
which Fisher had begun. DeNeuf was also was the designer of the Lowman and Hanford Building. Subsequently,
DeNeuf practiced architecture in Guatemala from 1894 to 1900 and was Mayor of West Seattle from 1900 to 1905.
Sometime around 1906, DeNeuf moved to San Francisco, where he practiced architecture and designed several
notable Mission Style Revival public buildings. He died in 1915.
The building is also significant because of its association with James Lowman and tangentially with Henry Yesler.
James Lowman was a civic and business leader in early Seattle, with important family ties to one of Seattle's earliest
pioneer settlers. Born in Leitersburg, Maryland in 1856, he came to Seattle in 1877 at the invitation of Henry Yesler,
who was his uncle. Henry Yesler was one of Seattle's founding settlers, and an influential early Seattle entrepreneur
and owner of prime real estate in the area around the public square, (now Pioneer Place), and north of Mill Street,
currently known as Yesler Way. He was famous for building Seattle's first sawmill in 1853. He also commissioned
several well-known buildings in Pioneer Square and employed first Elmer Fisher and then Emil DeNeuf as architects.
James Lowman is perhaps chiefly associated with the Lowman and Hanford Stationery and Printing Company, which
he started with Clarence Hanford in 1885. The Great Fire of 1889 destroyed all buildings (save perhaps one), in the
"burnt district," as Pioneer Square was known after the fire. The Lowman and Hanford Stationery and Printing
Company returned to the former "burnt district," after the fire. The firm advertised itself as booksellers, stationers,
printers and binders and blank bookmakers; but also showed great versatility and sold typewriters, sewing machines,
pianos and organs.
James Lowman had many other business and personal interests. In 1886, he became a trustee of Yesler's estate,
which included businesses all over Washington State. As a result, Lowman was involved in the completion of the
Pioneer Building and of the Mutual Life Building (then called the Yesler Building), both commissioned by Henry
Yesler before his death in 1892. He also ran the thriving Yesler Coal, Wood and Lumber Company and was the
secretary of the Union Trunk Line (the James Street Railway System). He was a trustee and stockholder in the
Washington National Bank, the Guaranty Loan and Trust Company, the Home Insurance Company, the Denny Hotel
Company and Seattle Steam, Heat and Power. His civic contributions were also numerous. For instance, he was the
president of the Seattle Theater Company, a founding member of the Seattle YMCA and served on the Board of Park
Commissioners from 1896 to 1898.
There is another inventory datasheet (link below) that also provides a description of this building.