Look ahead and spot the brownish tower with a staircase-like, ziggurat top-its brick color grows lighter as you look up toward the sky, setting it apart from its glassy, modern neighbors.
Standing here on Third Avenue, imagine it’s the 1920s in Seattle-a time of jazz, wild new ideas, and dreams so big they could almost touch the clouds. Now, glance up at the Seattle Tower in all its old-school glory. But back then, it wasn’t called Seattle Tower. No, it was the shiny new “Northern Life Tower,” and it soared above downtown with a style that made people on the street stop and stare. The Northern Life Insurance Company wanted something bolder than any Pacific Coast building, a skyscraper even taller than the mighty Smith Tower. They piled up $1.5 million-a gigantic fortune at the time-and started stacking bricks higher and higher.
But here’s where it gets cool: those bricks aren’t just brown. There are 33 shades, blending lighter and lighter as you crane your neck upwards, like some magic mountain out of the Northwest wilderness. It’s said the design came from the way natural rock formations appear on a misty Seattle morning, designed to make the building fade into the sky. Forget fancy columns and old-fashioned details-this tower was all about speed, efficiency, and the roaring hope of a modern world.
The Tower's Art Deco style broke all the rules. Earlier buildings looked backward to ancient Rome or Greece, but this place? It pointed straight toward the future. In fact, when the sun went down, over 200 floodlights would shimmer and dance, swirling colors up the building just like the northern lights themselves-a neon aurora to light up the night. That display wasn’t just a party trick. It captured a belief that science could imitate nature and that humanity could make wonders out of bricks, steel, and electricity.
Of course, if you squint, you’ll notice the tower now stands in the shadow of much taller neighbors. But back in 1928, this was the city’s boldest leap skyward-a living, glowing promise that Seattle was ready to rise with the times. The Northern Life Tower became a legend, earning its spot as a historic landmark. So next time you see its zig-zag profile on the skyline, imagine jazz echoing down the street and the future shining from every brick.
