HistoryLink Tours

The Seattle Convention Center Arch (open daily 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) is one of two convention center complexes; the other being the Seattle Convention Center Summit located a block northeast. Arch officially opened on June 23, 1988, as The Washington State Convention Center. The idea for building a convention center first took root in the early 1970s when a group of public and private sector community leaders wanted to increase economic development for the city. James (Jim) Reed Ellis (1921-2019), described as a “citizen-activist” and responsible for cleaning up Lake Washington, building Seattle’s innovative Freeway Park, and other projects, led the way and finally brought the convention center to fruition. It took some time, but by the early 1980s, a site was officially selected next to and above Interstate 5, the main thoroughfare through the city. In 1982, a public nonprofit corporation was created to acquire land, design, construct, promote and operate a convention center. Construction began in the fall of 1983 and the center opened for business in the summer of 1988. Since then, the convention center has changed its name to the Seattle Convention Center, expanded to include the building across the street at 800 Pike Street, changed from a nonprofit to a public facilities district, and opened a second convention center site. Today, Arch has 61 meeting rooms, four ballrooms and six exhibit halls, and has nearly 206,000 square feet of heavy-load exhibit space.

It has had an innovative public art program, which was one of the first of its kind in the U.S., since it opened its doors. The program was founded by Phyllis Hagmoe Lamphere (1922-2018), a Seattle civic leader, who was the convention center board’s art chair. She oversaw what would become “one of the most spectacular public art collections in the state. Lamphere believed that the convention center ‘set a new standard for public art—not just for the enjoyment of visitors from out of town, but also for the myriad locals using the galleria daily…’” The collection was brought together through gifts, long-term loans, and works purchased with the City’s 1% for Art funds. Today, Arch’s permanent collection features over 100 works by prominent Northwest artists, as well as those well-known nationally and internationally. It also operates the Phyllis Lamphere Gallery on Level 2 which displays rotating exhibitions that change every two years. The gallery has hosted over 200 exhibitions since its opening in 1991.

We’ll visit with three works at this site. The works are on Levels Two and Three. The first work is located in the Level 2AB lobby on the north side near the escalators.