HistoryLink Tours

From Fire Station No. 25, head south to Seneca Street for a dramatic view of Seattle First Baptist Church. This is the third church building for one of Seattle’s earliest congregations, established in 1869. The church traded its downtown property, which had been left inaccessible by one of the numerous regrades of downtown streets, for a site a few blocks south of here on Madison St. After construction had begun on Madison, the congregation decided instead to build on this site. Construction began again in 1908 according to designs by Seattle architect U. Grant Fay and the Tacoma firm of Russell & Babcock and was completed in 1912.

First Baptist Church, a Seattle Landmark, is an impressive example of the English Gothic revival style. It is faced with dark red brick that contrasts with light-colored terra cotta ornament. The composition is dominated by a 160-foot-high tower and copper clad spire. Apart from its architectural character, the building’s commanding elevation at the northeast corner of First Hill and its prominent tower make it an identifiable visual landmark from far away and close-up. During the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, the terra cotta crockets on the tower were destroyed. The current ones are lighter replacements.

The education hall to the south of the church on Harvard Avenue and Spring Street was designed by Somervell and Coté in 1906 and was acquired by the church in 1929. Originally Minor Hospital, this red brick structure was named for T.T. Minor, a pioneer physician and former mayor of Seattle. At the time, it was praised as “The first strictly modern private hospital north of San Francisco.”