800 Pike Street#
A building designed for a museum, temporarily occupied by a library, now operating as a conference center. Three tenants in 25 years, none of them the one it was built for.
The Building#
| Address | 800 Pike Street, Seattle WA 98101 |
| Part of | WSCC Arch campus (north building, 2001 expansion) |
| Size | 95,000 sq ft (original); 71,000 sq ft as conference center (4 floors, 17 meeting rooms) |
| Opened | July 2001 (structure); July 2010 (conference center) |
| Architect | LMN Architects (part of Arch expansion) |
| Contractor | Kiewit Construction |
| Certification | LEED certified |
History#
Designed for MOHAI (2000)#
The 95,000 sq ft space on the upper floors of the north expansion building was designed and sold to the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) as part of the 1996–2001 Arch expansion. MOHAI purchased the space in 2000 and began a $60 million fundraising campaign for build-out.
Occupied by the Library (2001–2004)#
Before MOHAI could build out, the Seattle Public Library needed temporary quarters while its new Central Library (Rem Koolhaas / OMA) was under construction. SPL occupied the 800 Pike space from July 2001 through May 2004.
MOHAI Declines (2005)#
In 2005, Seattle Parks & Recreation offered MOHAI the former Naval Reserve Armory in South Lake Union. MOHAI chose that location instead, opening there in 2012. The 800 Pike space reverted to the WSCC.
Conference Center (2010–present)#
The WSCC converted the space and opened it in July 2010 as the “Arch at 800 Pike” — a four-story conference center with 71,000 sq ft of meeting space and 17 meeting rooms.
Significance#
800 Pike is the only part of the Arch campus that was not originally designed as a convention center. It was designed as a museum — a public cultural institution. The space has been a library, was supposed to be a museum, and is now a conference center. Each use reflects a different idea of what this building should be for.
See also: The Arch | Timeline (Arch Expansion 1994–2010)