Seattle's City Halls

In his Annual Message dated January 23, 1911, Mayor Gill proposed a City Hall at Third and Yesler:

Mayor Hiram Gill Seattle Municipal Archives item no. 12278

"The most serious situation which confronts the city today is the matter of a city hall…At the present time we have no city hall. The building which we now occupy was erected from the proceeds of a bond issue voted by the people of this city solely and only for the purpose of erecting a public hospital, jail, police court and police headquarters building . . . At the present time the municipal hospital is overcrowded and cramped, the jail is frequently over-crowded, and the police headquarters in the basement are becoming rapidly too small . . .

"I earnestly recommend that at the earliest possible moment you submit to the people of this city the question of the voting of the sum of $500,000 to be used for the erection of a building of the sky-scraper type, on the old city hall site at Third Avenue and Yesler Way. I would recommend that the foundations and structure be carried to such a height as will care for all of our present necessities. This building then at some future time could be reared to such a height as might be necessary . . .

"Should it be deemed wise to cover the whole of the block between Third and Fourth Avenues, Yesler Way and Jefferson Streets at some future time, then the building can be easily planned as a detached part of the future whole."

Hiram Gill Annual Message, 1910
Mayor's Messages (1802-C2), Seattle Municipal Archives

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