Frederick & Nelson Building
The Frederick & Nelson Building is a department store building and List of [Seattle landmarks|landmark] on Pine Street in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was designed by the John Graham & Company architecture firm for Donald E. Frederick, and opened in 1918. It was the flagship store of the Frederick & Nelson department store chain until its bankruptcy and liquidation in 1992. It has been the flagship store of the Nordstrom department store chain since 1998; replacing its first store on Fifth Avenue, which opened in 1901.
History
Donald E. Frederick, the remaining business partner of the Frederick & Nelson business, made expansion plans for a new building in downtown Seattle in 1914. The original plans called for the building to be six stories tall with a seventh floor in the basement, however, the foundation was built with the strength to hold ten stories. Even though businessmen and financiers branded the project "Frederick's Folly", his dream was finally realized three decades later. Despite a shortage of building materials that were needed elsewhere to fight World War I, the building opened on September 4, 1918, and hosted over 25,000 customers on opening day.
Architecture
The building was designed by John Graham & Company in the Neo-Renaissance style.