Saturday, October 10, 2009

Amazon.com la Nuit


IMG_9815
Photo & Text Copyright 2009 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.
Day or night, Amazon.com's world headquarters dominates the scene at the north end of Beacon Hill. I had taken some handheld night shots a couple years ago and revisited last night with my tripod. The setting and distinctive Deco architecture of this former military Marine Hospital building always makes a big impression from almost any vantage point. Close ups in daylight are here.

10 comments:

brattcat said...

Wow! I had no idea what their headquarters looked like. I'm so glad to know they made use of an existing building rather than clearing land and building new.

Anonymous said...

Except for the Coast Guard the U. S. Marine Hospital (not to be confused with the Marine Corps) was never a "military" hospital and didn't treat military personnel. They treated merchant seamen, fishermen, veterans, indians, jail inmates, etc. As of 1951 all U. S. Marine hospitals were renamed U. S. Public Health hospitals until 1981 when they were all closed by Reagan. Here's a link to a pdf document with more info. I don't know if it will work. This is the first time I've ever posted anything.
www.phpda.org/report/History_web.pdf

The main Seattle area military hospital was at Fort Lawton. Two of my children were born there.

Seattle Boy

joshuadf said...

Beautiful.

I had no idea of the full history:
http://www.phpda.org/about/history.htm

The building is still owned by the non-profit Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PHPDA). Sounds like the rental income goes primarily to charity health care.


brattcat: I'm afraid Amazon has long outgrown PacMed and Paul Allen's Vulcan is currently building them a new campus in South Lake Union. http://gabicampanario.blogspot.com/2008/02/van-vorst-building.html

Petrea Burchard said...

I've driven by it many times. I never knew what it was used for. This is a gorgeous shot, Kim.

Joshua, I hope a new tenant will make use of it. As brattcat says, it's always best to make use of an existing building. Best for the environment and, in my opinion, best for the beauty of the urban landscape.

Kim said...

Thank you to Seattle Boy and Joshua for their very kind information and valuable link. Since I posted a similar shot in September of 2007, a month before Amazon.com announced their South Lake Union move, and this the the text of that post: "Amazon.com's world headquarters sits high atop Beacon Hill facing the Seattle skyline from the south. The 1932 former Marine Hospital building, later called he PacMed building, dominates the landscape. It's an impressive landmark on the national register of historic places and was extensively renovated to house the office complex of one of the world's largest internet merchandisers. Sorry the image is not sharp. I happened by at night without my tripod, so shot handheld. Day or night, the Amazon.com building is imposing. You can even get a 3-D model of the historic building here." I believe you can click on the thumbnail below (under You might also like:) for that to get the links.
Their new campus of leased space, if completed on time, is reported to be ready for them to occupy in 2010. I don't know how the economic downturn may have affected that project and the move date.
-Kim

Pat said...

Beautiful shot of where a lot of my money goes!

Don and Krise said...

Wonderful nighttime shot, and I learned a little more about this building. Thanks.

Rachel said...

Every time I drive past this place at night, I want to stop and capture an image. Good shot!

Jen B said...

wow, finally! I've been wondering what building that was every time i see it, and I always thought it was a hospital but couldn't figure out what hospital it would be. Great shot!

Virginia said...

Well Bibi and I are very proud of the HQ that we've paid for! :)
V