The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 decimated the entire central business district of Seattle, forcing the city to rebuild on top of the remains of once was. One of the buildings to rise from those ashes, figuratively-speaking, was The Globe Building, constructed in 1901 by James Clise at 1st Ave & Madison. The upper floors of the four-story building originally contained 38 offices, while the ground floor, which contained remnants of early Seattle storefronts, continued to be retail and markets. Some of the buildings tenants included noted architects Max Umbrecht and John Graham. Umbrecht was also the Globe's designer.
In 1917, Clise's business empire moved from the Globe to the Securities Building uptown. The building deteriorated over time until 1982, when the Globe, along with the Beebe Building and Hotel Cecil were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was restored in 1996 and since then, The Alexis Hotel has called the upper floors home. Even now, several of the original storefronts, which are now considered part of "Underground Seattle," are still visible in the hotel's underground parking structure.