The Seattle Art Museum at Volunteer Park opened in 1933, following a gift of $250,000 from Robert E. Fuller, the president of Seattle Fine Arts Society, and his mother, Margaret MacTavish Fuller. The museum is located on land donated by the city of Seattle in the Capital Hill neighborhood. The art moderne building was designed by Seattle architect Carl Gould, operating in partnership with Charles Bebb as Bebb & Gould. As the collection grew, a larger building was needed. Though improvements were made over the years, proposals to substantially expand the Volunteer Park facility were never realized and eventually the museum began to look towards building a larger facility in downtown Seattle.
In 1980, city plans to redevelop Westlake Mall that included a downtown site for the Seattle Art Museum were defeated in the State Supreme Court after it was ruled by the King County Superior Court that the city had no right to condemn property in the area for the project. After several legal delays, the Seattle Art Museum formulated preliminary plans to build a downtown branch of the museum without the city's Westlake project.
In December 1982, commercial retailer Penney's transferred a half city block with three buildings to the Seattle Art Museum. The site, located at Second Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets, was formerly occupied by the department store. The downtown property, valued at $9.4 million, was sold to the Seattle Art Museum for $1.45 milion in the donation-sale, though it was not determined in advance how the property would be used.
The property was eventually sold in favor of a site a few blocks to the south at 1300 First Avenue. In 1986, Seattle voters approved a levy that would enable the museum to build a large facility in downtown Seattle, which opened in 1991, and dedicate the existing Volunteer Park location to the Asian art collection, reopening in 1994 as the Seattle Asian Art Museum.
Architectural presentation drawings, photographs of architectural models, an editorial cartoon showing a proposed addition to the museum at Volunteer Park, and suggestions for the downtown extension.
The collection is open to the public.
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Donor: Seattle Art Museum, 1986.
Processed by Kelly Daviduke; processing completed in 2013.
Rendered elevation showing an addition to the museum as it extends to on one side. Addition is attached via a windowed stairway vestibule to the site's lower ground, where the structure is supported by columns with parking underneath. Drawing was rendered by John Detlie of Young & Richardson, Carleton & Detlie, Architects & Engineers, AIA, Seattle.
Rendered elevation showing an addition to the museum as it extends to the back and off-center from the existing structure. The building is shown on a fountain court in a wooded setting. Drawing was rendered by John Detlie of Young & Richardson, Carleton & Detlie, Architects & Engineers, AIA, Seattle. The firm's label was previously adhered to drawing.
Presentation drawing providing a bird's eye view of the Seattle Art Museum at Volunteer Park with cutaway view of the galleries contained within the addition to the back of the museum. Artist's name illegible, but believed to be Jothy.
Black and white photograph of an architectural model showing a skybridge connecting Westlake Mall with a building adjacent to Times Square Plaza. Photograph is labeled on the back by hand: Seattle Art Museum / Proposed museum at Westlake Mall.
Black and white photograph of an architectural model focused on an outdoor sculpture courtyard on the upper levels of the Westlake Mall. Photograph is labeled on the back by hand: Seattle Art Museum / Proposed museum at Westlake Mall.
Black and white photographic print of a pen-and-ink rendering of the monorail station at Westlake Mall. Print is labeled on the back by hand: Seattle Art Museum / Proposed museum at Westlake Mall.
Black and white photographic print of a pen-and-ink rendering of an outdoor plaza with banners and museum entrance. Print is labeled on the back by hand: Seattle Art Museum / Proposed museum at Westlake Mall.
Black and white photographic print of a pen-and-ink aerial rendering of the triangular plaza opposite the Westlake Mall. Print is labeled on the back by hand: Seattle Art Museum / Proposed museum at Westlake Mall.
Editorial cartoonist Brian Basset produced a drawing of an artist painting a vision for a new Seattle Art Museum while looking at run-down city block, possibly at the Penney's site on Second Avenue. Image was created for publication in