[1] It was the breakthrough project of young architect John Parkinson, who would go on to design many notable buildings in the Los Angeles area in the late 19th and early 20th century.

From 1904 to 1928, the Puget Sound Electric Railway's Seattle–Tacoma interurban line terminated in front of the building and the former bank lobby was used as a ticket office and waiting room.

The site of the Interurban Building as well as most of Pioneer Square was once part of the 1852 donation land claim of Henry Yesler and as the city grew he would gradually sell off or lease lots to prospective settlers as he needed the funds.

[i][3] Among these early hostelries and adjoining several Chinese laundrys was the Wisconsin House, located over the Star Saloon where it is said that anti-Chinese sentiment that culminated in the Seattle riot of 1886 began.

Thompson, Fred E. Sander and George M. Boman, all three of which were involved with real estate development as well as having stakes in the Lake Washington Cable Railway Company.

[3] 4 months after the sale the Great Seattle Fire would clear the property and after a brief occupation by tents housing the burned-out businesses, the subsequent regrading in early 1890 would raise the streets 18 feet above the old ground level.

[4] The Seattle National Bank was incorporated in February 1889[5] with George W. E. Griffith as president, William Rankin Ballard as vice-president and Fred Warde as cashier.

[8] They ultimately chose the plans of then 28 year old John B. Parkinson, a relative newcomer to Seattle, who had recently dissolved his partnership with Cecil Evers with whom he had designed the Butler and Epler Blocks.

Construction of the massive foundation, said to be one of the largest being built in the city at the time, began in June 1890 with the driving of piles,[11] with large shipments of Chuckanut Sandstone arriving by barge from the Roth & Roeder quarry in Bellingham the following month.

[14] The remainder of the street-facing façade was to be clad in high quality pressed brick from California and trimmed with red terracotta that would match the hue of the stone, giving the building a mostly monochromatic appearance.

The wickets are of oxidized silver, and the top of the counter is enclosed with beveled French plate glass, the lower half chipped and the woodwork beautifully carved...

[18]The building reached its 6th floor by March 1891 and most of the stone carving was complete including Bas-Relief gargoyles and a large lion's head keystone over the bank's corner entrance.

The building's earliest upstairs tenants included dentists, brokers, realtors, art teachers and architect Parkinson's own office where he would remain until his removal to Los Angeles in 1894.

[23][24] The building became an early hub of charitable organizations, with the Union Gospel Mission opening in the basement and the Bureau of Associated Charities headquartered there in 1892.

Andrews placed the building in the hands of attorney James Clise, who was tasked with shopping it around to his numerous wealthy clients in New York.

[30] The building was officially rechristened as the Pacific Block in July 1899, as the previously eponymous bank hadn't been located there for several years.

1) in the top floor of Pacific Block in 1899 and would host a variety of other fraternal clubs in their hall including the Foresters of America, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Tribe of Ben-Hur.

Granger who chose Seattle as the headquarters for his newly established Trans-Alaskan Railroad Company that was engaged in the race to build a railway connecting Iliamna Bay to the Bering Strait.

The railroad tracks, which originally ran up First Avenue to Yesler Way, were soon reconfigured into a loop that would pass in front of the Pacific Block before returning to First.

Smith said about the revival of the neighborhood at the time: Extension of Second Avenue South to Seattle Boulevard, which is now being ordered by the City Council, will greatly benefit the present financial and retail district of the city, and I believe the time is near when First Avenue will be similarly connected through the south in a direct line.

[18]His proposed building, tentatively titled the New Pacific Block would contain a parking garage on the first 3 floors that would serve the offices above as well as the nearby Smith Tower.

[44] No further mention was ever made of this tower (or a First Avenue extension) and the plans were quietly scaled back to a refurbishment of the existing Pacific Block.

The most visible result of the renovation was the demolition of the building's entire southeastern corner down to the third floor, which was done in order to bring more light to the inner offices and to make room for the construction of a heating plant in its place.