Victor Eugene Steinbrueck (December 15, 1911 - February 14, 1985) was an American architect, best known for his efforts to preserve Seattle's Pioneer Square and

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pu ...

. He authored several books and was also a

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

faculty member.

Biography

Steinbrueck was born in

Mandan, North Dakota Mandan is a city on the eastern border of Morton County and the eighth-largest city in North Dakota. Founded in 1879 on the west side of the upper Missouri River, it was designated in 1881 as the county seat of Morton County. The population w ...

in late 1911, and moved to Seattle in 1913. He graduated from

Franklin High School (Seattle) Franklin High School is a public high school in Seattle, Washington, located in its Mount Baker neighborhood and administered by Seattle Public Schools. As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,315 students and 65.1 clas ...

and then, in 1930 he enrolled in the University of Washington Program in Architecture, graduating in 1935 with a Bachelor of Architecture (

B.Arch. The Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world. Australia Architectural education in Australia varies depending on the university offering th ...

). In this period he also worked in the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. After apprenticing at a number of private firms in Seattle and serving in the military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he joined the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Washington in 1946. He also initiated his own practice and, over the next two decades, designed a series of regional-modernist residences, built with indigenous materials suited to the climate. Steinbrueck's focus on the character of Seattle's architecture and urban places dates from the early 1950s when he authored ''A Guide to Seattle Architecture'', which was published for the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

' national convention held in Seattle in 1953. Steinbrueck went on to publish several other books promoting awareness of the city's unique character: ''Seattle Cityscape'' (1962; published to coincide with Century 21, the Seattle World's Fair), ''Market Sketchbook'' (1968), and ''Seattle Cityscape #2'' (1973). In the 1960s, Steinbrueck became active in

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. Alongside others he successfully fought developers' plans to obliterate Seattle's most significant historic district. He was instrumental in the creation of Seattle's first two historic districts, Pioneer Square (1970) and

(1971). Steinbrueck's projects were guided by a strong sense of public spirit and social consciousness: low-income housing, the inclusion of social services, and a number of city parks co-designed with

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

Richard Haag Richard Haag (October 23, 1923 – May 9, 2018) was an American landscape architect. He worked on Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington and on the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. Furthermore, he founded the Landscape Architecture Program ...

, including the one that now bears his name. Working as a consultant to

John Graham & Company John Graham & Company, or John Graham & Associates was the name of an architectural firm, founded in 1900 in Seattle, Washington, by English-born architect John Graham (1873–1955), and maintained by his son John Graham Jr. (1908–1991). The f ...

, Steinbrueck played a key role in the design work of the

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...

, inspired by a wooden sculpture in his home by Don Lemon called ''The Feminine One'', which emulates the shape of a female dancer in motion and giving the tower's support structure its shape. As indicated in the documentary, ''Space Needle: A Hidden History'', Steinbrueck's son, Peter, believes attraction to the form stemmed from Steinbrueck's personal relationship with dancer

Syvilla Fort Syvilla Fort (July 3, 1917 – November 8, 1975) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. Born in Seattle, she drew on her African-American heritage in her original dance works. American composer John Cage wrote his first piece fo ...

. In 1963, Steinbrueck was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in the

. Steinbrueck had four children by his first marriage; his son

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

also became an architect; Peter Steinbrueck served as a City Council member (1997-2007) and as a Seattle Port Commissioner (2018-2022). Victor Steinbrueck died at Seattle's University Hospital on February 14, 1985, at the age of 73 during an operation following a heart attack.

Publications

* Steinbrueck, Victor, ''A Guide to Seattle Architecture, 1850-1953'', Reinhold Publishing Co., New York 1953. * Steinbrueck, Victor, ''Seattle Cityscape'',

University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universit ...

, Seattle 1962 * Steinbrueck, Victor, ''Market Sketchbook'',

, Seattle 1968 * Steinbrueck, Victor, ''Seattle Cityscape #2'',

, Seattle and London 1973 * Steinbrueck, Victor, and Nyberg, Folke, ''A Visual Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources for Seattle, Washington'', Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority, Seattle 1975–77. Available fro
Historic Seattle

References

External links

Victor Steinbrueck, Life & IdeasPhotographs of Victor Steinbrueck's works from the Phyllis and Robert Massar Photograph Collection of Pacific Northwest Architecture
- University of Washington Digital Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbrueck, Victor 1911 births 1985 deaths Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Modernist architects from the United States People from Mandan, North Dakota University of Washington College of Built Environments alumni University of Washington faculty Writers from Seattle Pike Place Market Architects from Seattle Preservationist architects 20th-century American architects 20th-century American historians Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni

Biography

Publications

See also

References

External links