The Westin Seattle is a twin-tower highrise hotel in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

History

On December 28, 1966,

Western International Hotels Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline. History Wester ...

and Alcoa jointly announced the development of the $18 million Washington Plaza Hotel, to be built on the site of the historic Orpheum theater. It would be the first new large-scale hotel constructed in Seattle since the adjacent Benjamin Franklin Hotel was built in 1929. Western International President

Edward E. Carlson Edward is an English language, English given name. It is derived from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements ''wikt:ead#Old English, ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ''wikt:weard#Old English, weard'' "gua ...

selected the local architecture firm of

John Graham & Associates 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 ...

to design the hotel, and the local Howard S. Wright Construction Company to build it. The two firms had also designed and constructed 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 Cente ...

six years earlier, whose construction was first proposed by Carlson and whose restaurant was operated by Western International from 1962-1982. The hotel originally consisted of a single tower, today's south tower, with 40 floors at . The tower was topped out in January 1969 and the hotel opened on June 29, 1969. Western International Hotels operated the Washington Plaza as one property with the now-connected Benjamin Franklin Hotel. Together, the hotel complex had 715 rooms. The aging Benjamin Franklin wing was demolished in July 1980 for construction of a second, nearly identical tower. While work on the second tower went on, the company was renamed Westin Hotels. The Washington Plaza was the first property in the chain to be renamed, becoming The Westin Hotel on September 1, 1981. That same year, Westin opened a new corporate headquarters directly across the street in the

Westin Building The Westin Building Exchange is a major telecommunications hub facility located downtown Seattle, Washington. The building was constructed in 1981 as the Westin Building, housing the corporate offices of Westin Hotels, which was then based in Se ...

, which shared a parking garage with the hotel. The , 47-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (Britis ...

north tower opened in June 1982 and remains the tallest hotel in the city. The Westin Seattle is currently the flagship property of the Westin brand. The hotel's two towers are featured on the cover art for the

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenc ...

album ''

The Lonesome Crowded West ''The Lonesome Crowded West'' is the second studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse, released on November 18, 1997 by Up Records. The two towers pictured on the album's cover are The Westin Seattle. ''The Lonesome Crowded West'' receive ...

''.

References

External links

The Westin Seattle official website
{{Seattle skyscrapers Skyscraper hotels in Seattle Twin towers

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Denny Triangle, Seattle Downtown Seattle Hotel buildings completed in 1969 Hotels established in 1969