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Seattle Architecture

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The 26 best things to do in Seattle

The city’s most iconic buildings, parks, public art, and more for you to visit right now.

The multifaceted Horace Mann building has spent more than a century with Seattle Public Schools

The Horace Mann Building—currently home to Nova High School—is the district’s oldest, and perhaps most colorful.

Pristine Gene Zema modern carries midcentury aesthetic into 1970s sensibility

This modern home builds on a midcentury ethos for a timeless design—with big, hillside views.

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9 skyscrapers under construction in and around downtown Seattle

Projects transforming the downtown skyline

The new Burke Museum brings history and culture out into the open

A brand-new facility for the natural history museum gives its visitors, its artifacts, and Pacific Northwest culture a breath of fresh air

New Seattle Asian Art Museum design hopes to offer a new perspective

The historic building reopens in February with additional gallery space—and a new relationship with Volunteer Park.

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12 stunning historic buildings by Frederick Anhalt

These 1920s and 1930s buildings cover the city in Tudor and Mission Revival style—especially in Capitol Hill.

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20 iconic Seattle buildings

From the Suzzallo Library to Hat ‘n’ Boots, these buildings all have something to say about Seattle.

With new ADU rules in effect, Seattle hopes to drop more barriers to building

By streamlining the building process for backyard cottages and attached apartments with pre-approved plans, the city aims to make projects simpler—and cheaper.

Fremont’s own flatiron building has hosted many a neighborhood icon

The former home of Auditorium Cleaners and Empty Space Theater was originally built as an Oddfellows hall—and continues to host iconic local businesses.

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Seattle’s most significant terra cotta buildings

From window bays to walrus heads

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Downtown Seattle is full of private-public spaces

Try these spots—including free views at Columbia Center—for secret little coffee breaks.

The ultimate guide to T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners

How to eat, drink, get around, and explore

Measure to reduce barriers to building ADUs in Seattle gets mayoral boost

After half a decade of planning, changes to laws governing backyard cottages are on the way—with more experimentation ahead on making them feasible.

Seattle City Council votes to reduce barriers to building ADUs

After half a decade of planning, changes to laws governing accessory dwelling units—like backyard cottages and mother-in-law apartments—are on the way.

Seattle-designed prefab backyard cottage runs completely on solar power

The goal is an environmentally friendly, reliable build that costs less than conventional construction

Here’s what libraries do in Seattle

Seattle Public Library doesn’t just have books—it has streaming video, practice space, and more.

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Seattle buildings and places designed by Space Needle architects

Their influence on the city goes way beyond one landmark

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Frank Lloyd Wright's 5 closest homes to Seattle, mapped

He doesn’t have a huge presence in the Pacific Northwest—but there are a few homes around.

Midcentury home with Northwest Contemporary vibes asks $2 million in Madison Park

Get ready for wood paneling for days.

Classic Ralph Anderson midcentury home asks $1.4 million in Burien

Get ready for pretty courtyards and big views

ADU legislation can move forward after clearing appeal

An appeal to ADU reform wasn’t successful (this time)—and the city council is getting ready to fine-tune the policy

Discovery Park midcentury by a World’s Fair architect asks $1.9 million

Clean geometry defines this International Style home

How ADU legislation could rein in Seattle’s McMansions

Legislation to make backyard cottages more accessible could also prevent future massive single-family homes

Stunning Queen Anne Victorian in Capitol Hill asks $2.7 million

A turret is just one of many perfectly preserved and extremely posh Victorian details.

Modern home built on top of a Fort Ward bunker asks $1.74 million on Bainbridge Island

The 1904 former fire control station is still there—and restored—below

The death-defying Lusty Lady building keeps narrowly escaping obscurity

The former home of the iconic Lusty Lady peep show has been through more than a century of changes

See inside six Seattle modern homes this weekend

The modern homes will be opening their doors to visitors on a self-guided tour.

Studio in historic Anhalt Building listed for $318K

This apartment has all the gorgeous features of the iconic building—in a smaller package.

Elizabeth Ayer was a pioneer in 20th-century architecture

Washington State’s first registered female architect left her legacy all over the Puget Sound

In the U District, a century-old Spanish Revival treasure grew beyond Buicks

The Eldridge Buick building at the corner of 45th and Roosevelt, like many historic buildings in Seattle, originally sold cars

The Broad Street Substation is now a city landmark

The concrete campus by the Seattle Center is still an active Seattle City Light facility

Immersive, experimental music space opens in Benaroya Hall

Octave 9, designed by LMN Architects, is built to become part of the art

The latest SLU apartment amenity is a communal treehouse

Maybe more like a pillar-house

A Seattle architect embraces the rain in AIA exhibit ‘Because It Rains’

Can we design not just around the rain, but with it?

Beacon Hill’s Van Asselt School is up for landmark status

Two buildings on the campus have been nominated

An architect’s (successful) experiment asks $2.2 million in Roosevelt

Architect-tested, family-approved

Wood-filled Ralph Anderson home asks $1 million in Queen Anne

This lofted contemporary has layers of views

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11 Seattle works designed by black architects

From ECC to NAAM