King County Administration Building

King Country Administration Building with hexagonal theme
Hexagon window openings

The nine-story King County Administration Building Seattle, the seat of King County, Washington, United States. It lies between Jefferson and James streets and between Fourth and Fifth avenues. It features a unique hexagaonal honeycomb theme in its walls and windows. It was built in 1971.[1]

Agencies

The King County Administration Building is located at 500 Fourth Ave. Parking is available in parking garages on all surrounding streets.

Several agencies are located in the Administration Building, including:

  • Archives and Records Management
  • Assessor's Office
  • Facilities Management
  • Marriage Licensing
  • Recorder's Office
  • Vehicle Licensing
  • Prosecuting Attorney
  • King County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division

Aesthetics

According to the Seattle Times, "County and city officials agree on at least one thing: the dubious aesthetics of the Administration Building, a squat, fortresslike building with diagonal lines". Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis stated "I think everybody acknowledges it may be the ugliest building in downtown Seattle."

It was also voted the ugliest government building in the country in the '70s, shortly after it was built.[2]

The old Seattle Municipal Building and Seattle Public Library were also known as relatively ugly buildings.

History

The plaza surrounding the building was the site of a five-month protest by homeless people opposed to funding cuts for a homeless non-profit organization in 2016.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ King County document
  2. ↑ Keith Ervin and Bob Young, Sims wants tower to replace King County's "ugly" building Archived 2006-11-05 at the Wayback Machine., Seattle Times, October 18, 2006.
  3. ↑ Clarridge, Christine (September 2, 2016). "Homeless to end campout protest in Seattle plaza, move to reopened shelters". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

Coordinates: 47°36′11″N 122°19′46″W / 47.60306°N 122.32944°W / 47.60306; -122.32944


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.