SEATTLE – The Seattle Department of Transportation says the historic King Street Station is another step closer to being restored to its former glory.
Last week a crew removed 1,600 suspended ceiling tiles in the main waiting room of the station. With the tiles gone, the original, ornate plaster ceiling that graces the main waiting room is once again open to public view.
The tiles were installed in 1963 to "modernize" the station. In addition to covering the ceiling, marble panels and plaster ornamentation were removed from the walls, and historic light fixtures were taken down to make way for plastic laminate wall covering and fluorescent lights. The ceiling's old fluorescent light fixtures remain as interim lighting. Ceiling restoration work and historic lighting will be part of a future phase when funding is available.
On March 5, 2008, the City of Seattle purchased the landmark building from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company. Under city ownership, the station is undergoing a $26.5 million renovation to restore the building’s historic character and grandeur, upgrade facilities to meet present and future needs of rail and transit users and to transform the station into a modern transit hub.
The King Street Station, located on Second Avenue and King Street in downtown Seattle, was built in 1906 by Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway. The facility currently serves Amtrak trains, Sounder commuter rail and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach.
More facts about King Street Station
- Station’s 245-foot clock tower was modeled after Campanile di San Marco in Venice, Italy
- Was the tallest building in Seattle until Smith Tower was completed in 1914
- Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973
- More than 2.7 million passenger boardings at King Street Station in 2007
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