Smith Tower

Smith Tower is a historic skyscraper in the Pioneer Square district of Seattle, completed in 1914 and for decades the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. A slender white terracotta-clad tower rising 38 stories to a pyramidal cap, it was a source of civic pride and remained the tallest structure in the city until the Space Needle rose in 1962.

Its history connects to an unlikely benefactor. The building was financed by Lyman Cornelius Smith, an East Coast industrialist who made his fortune in typewriters and firearms, and it carried his name into the Seattle skyline. Its neoclassical design, with a gleaming glazed-terracotta exterior and ornate lobby, made it a showpiece of early 20th-century commercial architecture, and its brass-and-copper elevators, among the last manually operated ones in the country, ran with human operators for generations.

A distinctive feature is the Chinese Room near the top, an ornate observation floor said to have been furnished with gifts from the last empress of China, including a carved blackwood "Wishing Chair." Above it the tower narrows to its pyramid, once home to an apartment residence. The slim white profile long served as a fixed point in Seattle's skyline, and the tower remains a beloved landmark even as far taller glass buildings have risen around it downtown.

For visitors, Smith Tower operates an observation deck on the 35th floor, reached by the vintage elevators, with an open-air balcony offering views over Pioneer Square, the waterfront, and the surrounding city, along with a bar and exhibits on the building's Prohibition-era history. It stands at the center of the historic district, an easy walk from the waterfront and Pike Place Market, and is served by light rail and streetcar. The building and observation level are accessible, and clear days give the widest views.