March 27, 2020

City of Landmarks Preservation Board 600 4th Avenue, 4th Floor Seattle, WA 98124

Attention: Ms. Sarah Sodt, City Historic Preservation Officer

Re: Booth Building, Seattle, Landmark Nomination Supplemental Information

Dear Ms. Sodt:

At the nomination hearing for the Booth Building, located at 1534 Broadway Avenue, the Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) members requested additional information on the several topics. The topics included:

 Additional information on early tenant and music educator, Nellie Cornish  Additional information on the influence of women in the music and arts community around the time of the Booth Building construction  Additional information on other Booth Building tenants, especially arts educators and teachers  Expanded list of other buildings designed by the building architects, Thompson and Thompson Buildings

As your request I am providing the attached memo, which I believe provides the supplemental information requested. One board member also requested more images of the building and the architectural changes over time. Those images will be presented at the designation hearing, when that is scheduled.

Please let me know if you need any additional information at this time.

Sincerely,

Rhoda A.R. Lawrence, AIA, Principal cc: Robert Baca, Capitol Hill Housing; Paul Ramirez, YouthCare; and Stephanie Hsie, Weinstein A|U

MEMORANDUM

DATE: March 27, 2020 RE: Booth Building Landmark Nomination Supplemental Information TO: Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board and Sarah Sodt, City of Seattle Preservation Officer FROM: Rhoda Lawrence, AIA, Principal

Booth Building Architects - Thompson and Thompson, Additional Buildings

As noted in the landmark nomination for the Booth Building, it was designed by the father and son architectural team of Thompson & Thompson. As also noted, the firm was established in 1899 by Charles Lawton Thompson (1842–1927) and Charles Bennett Lawton (1873- 1956). Prior to moving to Seattle, the elder Thompson practiced in Vineland, NJ, and in , UT, where he designed the Harmon and Telluride Buildings and St. Marks’ Hospital (ca 18720; the Agricultural College at Logan (now Utah State University), and the Reed Hotel Building in Ogden.1 The firm practiced until about 1927, after which Charles B. Thompson practiced on his own until circa 1936. The Booth Building was completed in 1906, relatively early in their career, seven years after establishing their Seattle practice.

Review of numerous archival Seattle Times documents, the Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD), and an undated monograph (provided by Historic Seattle) indicates that Thompson and Thompson designed numerous residences for prominent doctors, bankers and merchants (many quite elaborate), churches2, and commercial business, a substantial number in Seattle’s International District.

As is abundantly clear from the previous list of buildings and as supplemented here, Thompson and Thompson were both prolific and versatile in their approach, designing various project and building types in a wide range of styles, seeming to respond to the fashion of the times and desires of their clients. Many of the apartments and commercial buildings were quite simple, while other projects reflected contemporary tastes and high-style design.

In addition to the Booth Building, the following is list of their many of their commissions (some of which are no longer extant):

Single Family Residences

1. J.W. Roberts Residence (1901, altered), 168 Highland Drive3 2. C.E. Thurston Residence (1901), 1818 14th Avenue4

1 The Thompson and Thompson monograph attributes several residential and commercial buildings to Thompson and Thompson; many of these have not been confirmed or located, and are noted as such 2 The Thompson and Thompson Monograph cites churches among their commissions, but only the religious buildings in Seattle attributed to them are two synagogues (see list) 3 Seattle Times. “Real Estate & Building News.” December 21, 1901, p. 15, and Thompson and Thompson monograph Page 1 of 8 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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3. J.R. Booth Residence (1905), 1014 14th Ave E.5 4. Huessy Residence (1906), 161 30th Ave6 5. S. Frauenthal Residence (1902)7 6. Singerman Residence/Gaslight Inn (1907) 1727 15th Avenue (City of Seattle Landmark) 7. Galbraith Residence (1902 – 1904; demolished; City of Seattle Landmark) 1729 17th Avenue 8. G.A. L’Abbe Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 9. W. T. Whitney Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 10. Sidelsky Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 11. N. H Latimer Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 12. H. Pederson Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 13. J. Frauenthal Residence (1902), 17th and E. Madison8 14. A.J. Laurie Residence (from monograph, date unknown) 15. C. Allen Dale Residence (from monograph, date unknown)

Apartments

1. Hallett Apartments (from monograph, date unknown) 2. Monmouth Apartments/Clairemont Apartments (1909), 2014 E. Yesler Way9 3. Overnell Apartments (from monograph, date unknown) 4. Raymond Apartments (from monograph, date unknown) 5. Martin Apartments (1914), 1415 Republican

Religious Buildings

1. Bikur Cholim Synagogue/Langston Hughes Cultural Center (completed by B. M. Priteca) 2. Herzl Synagogue (from monograph, date unknown)

Commercial Buildings

1. Schoenfeld Building (1899), 198 Pine, altered10 2. Samuel Rosenberg Family Hotel/Livingston Building (1901)11 3. J. Laurie Building (from monograph, date unknown) 4. Low Building (1908)* 5. Japanese Club House (from monograph, date unknown) 6. W.D. Hofius Building (from monograph, date unknown) 7. Lewis C. Cohn Building (from monograph, date unknown) 8. Boyd Building (from monograph, date unknown) 9. Silver Okum Building (1910), 1530-34 Pike Place12

4 Seattle Daily Times. “Building Permits.” May 26, 1901, p. 15 5 Seattle Daily Times. “Building Permits.” April 26, 1905, p. 15, and Thompson and Thompson monograph. 6 Seattle Times. “Building Permits.” August 24, 1906, p. 18. 7 Seattle Daily Times. “Building Permits.” July 20, 1902, p. 24, and Thompson and Thompson monograph. 8 Ibid. 9 Seattle Times. “Monmouth Apartments Just Completed at Cost of $110,000.” July 18, 1909, p. 35 10 Jeffrey Ochsner attributes multiple buildings by Thompson and Thompson in his book, Shaping Seattle Architecture, which are noted here, although some have not been confirmed or located. Those entries are noted with a *. 11 Improvement Bulletin, Volume 23, Chapin Publishing Company, 1900 12 Seattle Times. “Plans Under Way for Many New Buildings.” November 28, 1909, p. 37. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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10. East Kong Yick Building/Wing Luke Museum (1909 - 1910), 715-725 S. King Street 11. West Kong Yick Building (1910), SE corner 7th Ave S. & S. King Street 12. Bing Kung Tong/New American Hotel (1915 – 1916), 520 S. King 13. Goon Dip Young Building/Milwaukee Hotel (1911), 664 S. King Street 14. City Stables (from monograph, date unknown) 15. Nippon Kan Building (1907, altered)* 16. Satori Building/Moses Building (1900 – 1901), 312 2nd Avenue, altered 17. Columbia City 2-story store & office building (1912), 4851-53 Rainier Ave S. 18. Columbia City 2-story commercial building (1914), 4914 Rainier Ave S. 19. Tokiwa Hotel/Evergreen Apartments (1916), 651-661 S. Jackson Street

The Booth Building was designed in the Mission Revival style, with ubiquitous elements of that style, such as stucco cladding, deep overhangs, curvilinear parapets and quatrefoil decorations, on the upper floors. The ground floor storefront lacked those stylistic elements, instead incorporating the large wood framed display windows and true-divided light transoms, typical of other commercial structures of the time. Other buildings in the Mission Revival style by Thompson and Thompson have not been discovered.

Music and Studio Buildings in Seattle, 1890s to 1912

In the years both before and after the completion of the Booth Building in 1906, there were a few other unique buildings that provided upper floor studios and offices for individuals and small organizations. They included the following:

Holyoke Building/Block, was constructed in 1889 – 1890, and was six stories tall. Within ten years of its completion, it had become the nexus for the musical and drama scene in Seattle, providing spaces for artists, especially musicians, to perform, and studios in which to work and live. A popular music instructor and early building tenant, Louise C. Beck, promoted the building to other musicians, including Nellie Cornish, who opened a studio there in 1900 when she arrived in Seattle. Many of the teachers Cornish met there later joined the faculty at her Cornish School.13 (Of note, the 1890 Polk Directory also lists the offices of both Dr. William G. Booth and Dr. John R. Booth in the Holyoke Building, at the corner of 1st and Jackson.)

Eilers Music House Building (later became Chickering Hall/Montelius Music House) circa 1907, was on the site of the current Benaroya Hall. At eight stories tall, it was one of the tallest of the studio buildings and was first named for the building’s founder, D.S. Johnson, who stocked the store with what was promised to be the “largest shipment of high-grade pianos ever made west of Chicago.”14 The building served as a retail music store on the ground floors; teachers and musicians rented spaces above, along with other services such as dentists, brokers, accountants and physical surgeons. Eiler’s billed itself as the largest musical establishment in America. In 1914, the same year as the opening of the Cornish School of Music, there were 29 listings for music teachers in the Eilers Music House, out of the total of 285, about 10%.

International Order of Odd Fellows Building (I.O.O.F), nearby the Booth Building at 915 E. Pine, dates from 1908. The four-story building was built as a social club with retail on the ground

13 The Autobiography of Nellie C. Cornish, p. 65. 14 Seattle Daily Times, advertisement, August 11, 1907, p. 11. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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floor, and offered meeting rooms, apartments and offices for lease. Reviews of Polk Directories from 1908 to 1920 show many small arts and music instructors maintained studios in the building. It contained a large auditorium space for meetings and performances.

Fischer Studio Building, constructed in 1912 initially for the Kohler and Chase Music Company, grew to encompass five additional floors in 1915 exclusively for music related offices and residences for artists and musicians.15 In 1914, Fischer Studio Building, listed only one music teacher. By 1917, of the 341 listings for music teachers in the city, the number of music teachers in the Fischer Building had increased to 68, almost 20% of all the total teachers. (It appears that many artists vacated the earlier Holyoke Building and moved to the Fischer Building.) The building originally contained a music studio on the 7th and 8th floors, but records show that as early as 1918, many of the smaller reception and teaching rooms were being converted to larger individual residential units, perhaps beginning the demise of small music-specific individual studios.

Music teacher listings also included addresses in the Liberty Building; the Arcade Building, four stories tall (1901 - 1903, now demolished) which housed a concert venue, Christensen Hall, where the Seattle Symphony debuted in 1903; and the Peoples Savings Bank, five stories tall (1900, now demolished) at 200 Pike Street.

Other Seattle Music and Dance Studios circa 1906

The landmark nomination provided a brief summary of the development of nationally known music and arts education institutions in the US, starting in 1865. Arts instruction naturally happened at a smaller scale all over the country, including Seattle. The 191416 Seattle city directory business listing for “Colleges & Schools” cited 15 entries that were drama, dancing, or music schools. About half of them had Capitol Hill addresses, including one—the College of Music—in the Booth Building.

A Seattle Daily Times article from October 1901 informed the public that Thompson and Thompson was designing a new dancing academy for Fred Christensen in a building just north of the new Broadway High School (which opened in 1902). Further information about the building that was reportedly to have contained a large auditorium with a stage, three reception rooms, and other service spaces, and constructed in the Doric style has not been discovered.17

The 1902 Polk Directory lists only two dancing schools, R.E. Collins in the Holyoke Building, and Willson’s Dancing Academy at 420 Pike. By 1931, the list of dancing schools had expanded to thirty, with Ruth Doherty in the Booth Building, and another, Nedra Seecamp, in the I.O.O.F building to the east.

In 1902, the Northwestern Conservatory of Music and Dramatic Art was listed at an address in the Holyoke Building; in 1908 and 1912, the School of Musical Arts was listed in the Polk Directories at 1529 Summit; the Columbia College of Music (directed by Edwin Cahn), one of the first tenants of the Booth Building, was listed from 1906 – 1913; and the Seattle Conservatory of

15 Fischer Studio Building, Seattle, WA, PCAD 16 This year was chosen as a reference point because it is the same year Nellie Cornish established the Cornish School of Music, although that occurred in November, so in the 1914 directory she is listed individually as a music teacher. 17 Seattle Daily Times, “Real Estate and Building News”, October 19, 1901, p. 16. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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Music had a space in the nearby I.O.O.F. Building in 1912. It is not known what happened to these institutions in later years.

The Krinke Piano School (formerly the Seattle Conservatory of Music), directed by Harry Krinke, was a tenant of Booth Building in 1914. Krinke, one of Seattle’s leading piano teachers of the early 20th century, appears to have moved his school to the Fischer Studio Building by 1916, and by 1921, Krinke was teaching piano and offering recitals at his residential address.18

Nellie Cornish

Nellie Cornish was born in 1876. She had studied music at the University of Washington, and returned to Seattle from Blaine, after traveling to and to study teaching theory and arts education, determined to start her elementary school of the arts. Music was to be the major subject. She became a music instructor in the early 1900s, instructing from her home and a one room studio in the Holyoke Building. By 1910, she appears to have relocated to 1108 Broadway. She was 38 in November 1914, when she moved her studio into a small room on the 2nd floor of the Booth Building for $20/month, with a piano, a table and six chairs. Ms. Cornish, in her autobiography, writes that she was drawn to the building by a large sign advertising the Krinke Piano School, which occupied the third floor at the time.19 By 1915, she had 100 students and an ever-growing faculty, with the goal of developing a comprehensive, integrated education program of the arts for young people and for providing classes for teachers – an opportunity heretofore only available in NY or Europe.20 Music education classes were for groups of not more than ten in the small room; private lessons were given in the pupils’ homes.

Cornish’s unique education methods for students were quickly recognized, and the school grew exponentially, with classes in dance, drama, and speech as well as music. In July, the Cornish School expanded to the third floor of the Booth Building which had eight studios and a recital hall large enough for a grand piano and a chamber music group. It was to be “elegantly redecorated and furnished” and new departments of languages, harmony, counterpoint, composition, and orchestration were to be opened.21 The name was changed to the Cornish School of Music, Language and Dancing.22

In 1918, Nellie Cornish hosted a reception in her Booth Building apartment23, and in 1919 she hosted an active membership meeting of the LMC there24.

By 1919, it became obvious that the leased space in the Booth Building was too small for the growing enrollment, and Cornish began planning for a new building with the Cornish arts curriculum in mind. The Cornish School left the Booth Building and moved to its own dedicated building in 1921, located farther north on Capitol Hill at Harvard Avenue E. and E. Roy Street and designed by A.H.

18 Seattle Daily Times, under MUSICAL INSTRUCTION heading, January 16, 1921, p. 59. 19 The Autobiography of Nellie C. Cornish, p. 89. 20 Seattle Daily Times, “Cornish Music School Grows”, August 29, 1915, p. 23. 21 Seattle Daily Times, “Cornish School had Made Rapid Growth,” May 23, 1915, p. 52. 22 Seattle Sunday Times, advertisement, October 24, 1915, p. 57. 23 Seattle Times, March 3, 1918, pg. XX 24 LMC Members’ Book, 1918 – 1919, p. 8 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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Richardson. While Nellie Cornish had also resided in the Booth Building after establishing her school there, city directories indicate she moved to the new Cornish building when it was completed.

In the decade after 1921, when the new Cornish was established, the school won national and international recognition as a cultural education center, a real and lasting tribute to Ms. Cornish.

Women in Music - Musicians and Teachers 1890 - 1917

In 1890, there were only 5 listings for music teachers in the Polk Directory. That year, a music teacher from the northeast, Louise Colman Beck, along with her husband William Wirt Beck (who is responsible for the creation of much of Ravenna Park, and developing Candy Cane Lane) founded one of the first colleges specifically for women in Seattle, the Seattle Female College. It initially boasted 40 students studying music and art, and soon included the Seattle Conservatory of Music and Ravenna Seminary. The college failed in 1893.25 However, by 1900, Louise Beck, had moved her studio to the Holyoke Building. In 1915, she advertised piano lessons and “normal courses for teachers” from the Fischer Studio Building.26

At the end of the 19th century, in 1891, an all-female group of classically trained musicians had founded the Ladies Musical Club (LMC) whose mission was to foster classical music…through education, performance and awards, with the goal of developing the musical talents of its members and providing opportunities for women at a time when few were able to pursue careers as professional musicians. Their influence and impact on the community was immediately felt through the activities and contributions of its members, and their organization’s history reflects the past attitudes about race, gender, and regional identity. The organization highlighted the importance of the role of women in American music, and exposed the changing cultural attitudes toward women. The LMC is significant not only for their connection with other music clubs that developed across the country in the early 20th century, from 1900 – 1930, its influence seems to have exceeded that of any other club in America, through its continued musical promotions and activities.27 Famous members include arts educator Nellie Cornish, and American composers Mary Carr Moore and Amy Worth.28

By 1902, the Polk Directory listings for music teachers had increased to 155, reflecting the surge of interest in music and music education in Seattle at the turn of the century. The majority of those appeared to be individuals providing lessons from home addresses but a significant number from studios in the Holyoke Building, at 1st and Jackson.

In 1912, there were 229 entries for music teachers. By 1914, the number had grown to 285 entries. Many were still offering lessons in studios in the Holyoke Building, but there were now other buildings such as the I.O.O.F, Peoples Savings Bank Building and Eilers Music House Building. Based on the names, at least 65% listed individually, were women.

25 http://www.historylink.org, Article #9559 and Articles #3502 26 Seattle Daily Times, under the MUSICAL DIRECTORY heading, February 21, 1915, p. 54. 27 “The History of the Ladies Musical Club is Like the Biography of a Great Man”: Women, Place, Repertory, Race, and the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle, 1891-1950 Whitney Ann Henderson, UW doctorate thesis, 2018, p. 3. 28 http://lmcseattle.org/about/history. The club is still a driving force in classical music in the Pacific Northwest and maintains approximately 150 female members. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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Other Music/Performing Arts Studios and Tenants of the Booth Building

According to the 1906 permit records for the Booth Building, it was intended to be leased as retail spaces and apartments. With the exception of Nellie Cornish, whose residential address was listed there after she established her school there in 1914, the upper floors of the building appears to have quickly become fully leased to music studios and offices, with a main address of 905 E. Pine Street.

In July 1906, one of the first tenants of the newly constructed Booth Building, the Columbia College of Music, began advertising that new departments “will be added, that the faculty was of the highest order and the advantages unsurpassed”.29 The college later moved to the nearby I.O.O.F. Building, where they were listed from 1911 – 1913.30

By 1914, building manager Henry Broderick, Inc. was listing “modern” offices and studios for rent, and putting out a call for Artists “desiring to rent studios, furnished or unfurnished, by the day, week or month.”31 There was also ads for dental and medical offices. At the same time, Broderick also managed the Fischer Studio Building, and offered exclusively studios.

The Washington College of Music was listed in the 1914 Polk Directory with an address in the Booth Building. In 1916, Mme Louisa K Lepper, listed her Institute of Fine Arts in 209 Booth Building.32

In 1917, the Broadway Chauffeurs and Mechanics Club moved into the 2nd Floor of the Booth Building, noting a “good central location” amidst the ever-growing Capitol Hill automobile sales and repair businesses

After the Cornish School vacated the Booth Building in early 1921, the third floor was leased to chiropodist Dr. Sam Rosenstrauch for offices and laboratories; the second floor was subleased to the naturopathic institution, The American University of Sanipractic, and was fitted especially for research work.33 The school was shut down in 1924 for illegally selling diplomas outright.34

As previously noted in the landmark nomination, later arts tenants included the Nell Stevens Bates Studio35, which took over the space vacated by the Cornish School in 1927, and the Ruth Doherty School of Dance from 1928 until 1934. A newspaper item noted that Doherty would occupy the entire top floor, “adequate studio quarters with a large auditorium, dressing rooms and smaller studios for private lessons.”36

Philip H. Lewis established his center for individual physical instruction for men and boys circa 1935 in the Booth Building, advertising Boxing and “Correct Weight and Body Development”37, and at one

29 Seattle Daily Times, under the MUSICAL heading, July 21, 1906, p. 10. 30 Historic Seattle. “Building History Research Report.” unpublished report on the Booth Building, 2017, Eugenia Woo, p. 4. 31 Seattle Daily Times, under the MUSICAL heading, December 20, 1914, p. 35. 32 Seattle Daily Times, under the MUSICAL heading, July 26, 1917. 33 Seattle Daily Times, “Dr. Rosenstrauch Obtains Upper Floors of the Booth Building”, September 18, 1921, p. 17. 34 Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America, James C. Whorton, n.p. 35 Seattle Daily Times, “Bates Studio Will Be Moved to New Quarters”, October 2, 1927, p. 66. 36 Seattle Times. “ Doherty School in New Quarters.” April 1, 1928, p. 23. 37 Polk Directory, 1935. SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

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point even unofficially changed the name of the building to the P.H. Lewis Building, as is evidenced by a sign on the cantilevered entry canopy at 905 E Pine.

Frederic Christensen’s School of the Dance also occupied the building from 1936 to at least 1944. Prior to that, Christensen’s studio was located at 1108 Broadway.38 Frederic Christensen was part of an accomplished musical family originally from Salt Lake City, where they played in an orchestra and opened a dancing academy. When Frederic moved to Seattle at the turn of the century, he opened his dancing school with his wife, and was one of two cellists in the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.39

In 1946, Edwin and Elise Burnley founded the Burnley School of Professional Art in the Booth Building.40 Initially offering graphic design and illustration classes, they expanded into a full commercial art curriculum.41 The School was sold in 1960 and absorbed into the Art Institute of Seattle, which closed in early 2019.

Additional upper floor occupants from the late 1940s to 1960 included Minnie Osberg, music teacher; Patricia Perry School of Dancing; and Bruce Crane Studio of Ballroom Dancing.

The street-level retail spaces along Broadway have been occupied by a variety of retail and service businesses over the years; a summary list is provided in the landmark nomination.

END OF MEMO

38 Polk Directory, 1912. 39 Christensen Brothers: An American Dance Epic, p. 14. 40 Caldbick, “Seattle Neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, Part 2—Thumbnail History,” n.p. 41 Crowley, n.p.