Ballard & Discovery Park - Seattle - page 360

its construction, including taverns and dry-goods stores. It was renovated in
1985.
Continue along Ballard Ave, noting the cute wood-frame building at 5341 Bal-
lard Ave - this particular building was rescued and brought here from the Interna-
tional District (rumor says it was once a bordello), but it's in the same style as
most of this street's early buildings. The GS Sanborn Building MAP
GOOGLE MAP ( 5323 Ballard Ave) is Ballard's only example of Richardsonian
Romanesque architecture, a style that was popular on the East Coast in the
1880s. It has a sandstone face and a 3rd-story arch, and housed some of Bal-
lard's key businesses in the early 1900s, including a department store.
At 5301 Ballard Ave is the adorable little Ballard Savings & Loan Building ,
with the helpful motto 'thrift' carved into the roofline. This neoclassical building
housed the local Savings & Loan, which was notable for doing comparatively well
during the Great Depression.
Across the road is the Second Empire Baroque-style Scandinavian Amer-
ican Bank Building MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 5300 Ballard Ave) , a nice example of the
early-1900s tendency to flatter by imitation: its concrete surface is treated to
look like stone. You can still see the 'Bank Building' sign embedded in the top
corner. The building became the Starlight Hotel and now holds the headquarters
of the Ballard Farmers Market ( Click here ) .
Continue past the intersection of 20th Ave NW. On your left is one of Seattle's
oldest still-operating taverns; its first liquor license was granted in 1902, when it
was called the Owl. Now called Conor Byrne ( Click here ) , it still has the origin-
al mahogany bar.
Retrace your steps to the intersection and turn right. On your right is the
Cors & Wegener Building MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 5000-5004 20th Ave NW) . Once the of-
fices of the early local broadsheetBallard News, it's still one of the most impress-
ive buildings in the area. One of the first in Ballard to be revitalized, it's now
mostly shops, apartments and office space.
Continue to Leary Ave NW, turn left and head to NW Market St. On the corner
of this street and Ballard Ave is a commemorative Bell Tower . This corner is
the original location of Ballard City Hall, sometimes called 'Hose Hall,' which also
contained the jail and the fire department hose company (hence the nickname).
Weakened by a series of earthquakes, the building was demolished in 1965, but
the columns and bell were saved and made into this little landmark.