The Schwabacher Building is one of many contributing buildings (ID #32) in the Pioneer Square Skid-Road District. The NPS.gov's
description for this contributing site (pages 58-60) says the following about this building:
Address: 105 1st Avenue S.
Historic Names: Schwabacher Building Built: 1890; ca.1892
Plat: Maynards D S Plat/ Block 1 / Lot 7- 8 Parcel #: 5247800046
Style: Richardsonian Romanesque/ Italian Renaissance/ Commercial
Architect: Elmer Fisher; Emil DeNeuf (1 st Avenue fa?ade) Builder: Unknown
Classification: Historic Contributing Site ID #: 32
The Schwabacher Building is a four-story building with brick walls, as well as rusticated stone at the storefront level
of its Yesler Way facade. Its plan is L-shaped and its facade on Yesler Way dates from 1889-1890, while its First
Avenue east facade was altered as a result of a fire and completed in 1893. The Yesler Way facade, mainly clad in
red brick, is organized as three bays of tall arches, which are three stories in height and inset between brick pilasters.
The arches are set over a clerestoried storefront which takes up the length of the lower level. The storefront is
flanked on each side by blocks of rusticated stone. At the top of the facade, directly under each arch are a semicircular
window and a set of paired, double-hung windows, at the two lower levels. Distinctive elements include the
decorated spandrels, particularly a weave pattern above the second floor, Romanesque Revival pilaster capitals and
raised decorative bands, consisting of egg-and-dart motifs, which follow the semi-circular shape of the arches.
The First Avenue South fagade, four stories in height, is clad in cream colored brick with stone trim. The facade
consists of three bays of rectangular openings at the second and third levels, set over a storefront, with, at the top
level, a triad of smaller semi-circular arches at each bay. These are separated by short columns with decorative
capitals. Raised bands also emphasize the curve of the arches below. The wall below the projecting stone cornice is
decorated by a somewhat intricate pattern of lozenge shapes in brick, often punctuated by raised circular shapes at
their centers. The stone lintels above the third floor window openings and the stone spandrels between second and
third floor windows contrast in color with the cream-colored brick.
The original building was designed in 1889-1890 by architect Elmer Fisher. The Yesler Way facade dates from the
original design by Fisher. In June 1892, the building suffered a major fire. Emil DeNeuf, who had originally worked
in Fisher's office, by this time, was an architect in his own right and designed the First Avenue South elevation. This
accounts for the difference in the design of the two elevations. The Yesler Way elevation is Romanesque Revival in
derivation, whereas the First Avenue South elevation shows a Renaissance influence. Also, DeNeuf often used light
colored bricks in his work, as demonstrated also in the fagade of the Lowman and Hanford Building, also in the
district.
The building was designed for the Schwabacher Brothers, grocery wholesalers, who had been in business since 1869
on this site. They continued to have a thriving business in this area. Later, they also commissioned the Sullivanesque
Schwabacher Hardware Company Building at First Avenue S. and Jackson Street, designed by Bebb and Mendel.
The 1892 fire in the Schwabacher Building is reported to have cost the business $ 425,000; however, the fire was
contained and illustrated the success of the new building regulations as originally set forth in Ordinance No. 1147
(see Context Statement for details on Ordinance No. 1147).
This building is the work of two architects who contributed to the rebuilding of the "burnt district," as the Pioneer
Square area was known right after the Great Fire of 1889, and particularly near Pioneer Place. Elmer Fisher is
considered the most prolific of the post-fire architects. He came to the Pacific Northwest in 1886 and designed buildings in Vancouver, Victoria and Port Townsend, before coming to Seattle in 1889. His most well-known work
in Seattle is the Pioneer Building, which he designed for Henry Yesler. By 1891, despite the praise the Pioneer
Building received in 1892, he had abandoned his career as an architect to run the Abbott Hotel in Seattle, which he
had also designed and built. Emil DeNeuf arrived in Seattle in 1889 and began his career as a draftsman in Elmer
Fisher's office. He had an independent practice by the end of 1891. He was retained by Henry Yesler to complete the
Mutual Life Building, originally the "Yesler Building," which Fisher had begun. He also was the designer of the
Lowman and Hanford Building. His partnership with Augustus Heide, with whom he designed the Lowman Building
(ca.1906), lasted from 1901 to 1906. (For additional information on Fisher and DeNeuf, please see the Statement of
Significance).
The building, commonly known as the Schwabacher Building, is also known as the Gatzert-Schwabacher Building,
named after Bailey Gatzert. Bailey Gatzert, who had married into the Schwabacher family and became the head of
the Schwabacher business, was also mayor of Seattle in the 1870s.
There is another inventory datasheet (link below) that also provides a description of this building.