alicia with a lisp. ([info]alithea) wrote in [info]seattle,
@ 2007-01-04 12:58:00
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is it common knowledge that somebody lives in the top of the smith tower?



Ever wondered what's up in that large pyramid at the top of the Smith Tower? Our client came to us with the news that she was going to live in what had once been the caretaker's suite and the old water tower enclosure at the top of the Smith Tower.

Castanes Architects assisted her in deciding how to live in the space and where to site the basic necessities, and she took it from there. She shares the space with a huge Dale Chihuly sculpture, a gift from the artist, which fills a good portion of the large pyramidal volume that is now the living, dining, and kitchen area of this most unique home. A large and growing collection of artwork and collectibles makes this home a personable definition of its sociable and on-the-go inhabitant. And yes, she rode out the February 2001 earthquake in the space with virtually no damage!

Look up sometime in the night sky, and you just might see this aerie-dwelling client taking in the night-time view from that little glass bubble high atop the Smith Tower!













(all photos swiped from castanes.com, the architecture/design firm who rehabbed the space).


does anybody know anything else about the space, who lives there or how they managed to get a forty freaking year lease on it? or more importantly, when they are planning on moving out because, um, my lease is up in march...

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[info]bebopboy
2007-01-04 08:00 pm UTC (link)
holy shit that's awesome.

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[info]jizosh
2007-01-04 08:02 pm UTC (link)
Less windows, more zipline.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]popcultureicon
2007-01-04 08:11 pm UTC (link)
holy shit.
i wonder what permits i would need to run a zipline from there to work!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]jizosh, 2007-01-04 08:14 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hollyqueen, 2007-01-04 08:34 pm UTC

[info]faerievixen2
2007-01-04 08:02 pm UTC (link)
Wow...that is gorgeous!

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[info]lizzelda
2007-01-04 08:13 pm UTC (link)
Oh, man.

I want I want I want I want I want I want I want ....

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[info]derrickito
2007-01-04 08:14 pm UTC (link)
common knowledge. ive seen it on tv shows before, i think it was on evening magazine once.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]bebopboy
2007-01-04 08:16 pm UTC (link)
you're a douche.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]spriterman, 2007-01-04 10:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]amythyst, 2007-01-04 11:00 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dieforyourcause, 2007-01-05 12:55 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]amythyst, 2007-01-05 02:00 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]spriterman, 2007-01-05 04:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]crankygirlie, 2007-01-05 02:14 am UTC

[info]gomezticator
2007-01-04 08:16 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, like the monthly rent in that place won't be at least 50K if it hits the open market.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]gypsykat
2007-01-04 09:38 pm UTC (link)
That would almost be worth it! I would love to have that space.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]gomezticator, 2007-01-05 02:11 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mcfnord, 2007-01-05 09:02 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]alithea, 2007-01-05 05:47 pm UTC

[info]scriptophobias
2007-01-04 08:19 pm UTC (link)
Oh I just came! That is beautiful.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kyooverse
2007-01-05 08:02 am UTC (link)
me, too... thank Tlazolteotl you said something so I wouldn't have to be embarassed! *winks*

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]nikoel
2007-01-04 08:20 pm UTC (link)
WANT

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[info]tokimi
2007-01-04 08:38 pm UTC (link)
Best apartment in Seattle.

I want. :(

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[info]langston
2007-01-04 08:39 pm UTC (link)
I had a friend who went to a Holiday party there. I want to say that the lady is a dotcom big cheese. The green ball at the top is hollow and accessible by a sketchy latice walkway through the bottom, with a little crows nest inside.

I've known about it for awhile, but this is the first time I've seen photos.

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[info]inkprincess
2007-01-04 08:42 pm UTC (link)
wow, awesome!!!!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kriostoir
2007-01-05 06:36 pm UTC (link)
On a different topic. Your hair makes me so happy. :c)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]devilsfood
2007-01-04 08:44 pm UTC (link)
Jealous.

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[info]cataroo
2007-01-04 08:48 pm UTC (link)
Oh my god. I want it!! Love the layout, the decorating, the Chihuly. Damn. JEALOUS!

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[info]jonny_loser
2007-01-04 08:50 pm UTC (link)
I'd be throwing water balloons out the window all damn day.

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[info]firni
2007-01-04 09:06 pm UTC (link)
I'd hate to be under that Chihuly the next time an earthquake hits.

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[info]kriostoir
2007-01-04 10:42 pm UTC (link)
That'd be one viscious splinter.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]greenshadows
2007-01-04 09:13 pm UTC (link)
That's a particular icky Chihuly...a Cthuhuly, mebbe? :b Otherwise, yeah, the place has potential.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kriostoir
2007-01-04 10:47 pm UTC (link)
I'm not particularly fond of anything but his glasswork. His paintings make me think he forcefeeds pigeons food dye and puts a canvas underneath them.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]mschilepepper, 2007-01-04 11:45 pm UTC

[info]skydancer
2007-01-04 09:20 pm UTC (link)
The inhabitant is Petra (last name being withheld for her privacy). She was the head of a VC/incubator firm that managed the upper floors of the tower during the dotcom era.

My understanding is that she is friends with the head of Samis Land Co., the owners of Smith Tower during the renovation. I also have heard that she dated Dale Chihuly and that piece was a gift.

The pyramid actually contained a 10,000 gallon water tank prior to the 1999 renovation of the tower.

Petra hosted Congressional Candidate Alex Alben for at least one fund-raising dinner in that space.

The apartment has two full floors--the 38th and 39th (which is the one open to the pyramid). The Chinese Room (the observation deck) is on the 35th floor and is the top floor accessible by elevator). The catwalks around the interior of the pyramid comprise the 40th, 41st and 42nd "stories" that the tower boasts of.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]dustins84
2007-01-04 11:18 pm UTC (link)
Petra dated William Justen, the CEO of Samis. He sold it to her for a very reasonable cost while they were dating - and they then broke up. She now lives in the space with her husband and i believe two children.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]dustins84, 2007-01-04 11:23 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]skydancer, 2007-01-05 04:16 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]faerieburst, 2007-01-05 10:14 am UTC

[info]pancakex
2007-01-04 09:37 pm UTC (link)
fire drills must suck.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]aqua85231
2007-01-05 10:14 am UTC (link)
I have to agree on that one.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]freudian_slip
2007-01-04 09:38 pm UTC (link)
yup, and if you come to the smith tower and go to the observation deck they have a ton of facts about it.

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[info]supersat
2007-01-04 09:48 pm UTC (link)
I once discovered a LiveJournal post by someone who claims to have had sex in the light ball at the top. I can't find it now, though.

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[info]joandirk
2007-01-04 10:19 pm UTC (link)
Wow, gorgeous. And, same as everyone, I'd love to have that place. What does that woman pay in rent, and what does she do for a living?

(Reply to this)


[info]mschilepepper
2007-01-04 10:21 pm UTC (link)
Fabulous! The Smith Tower is my favorite building in Seattle. My aunt worked as a bank teller in it years and years ago.

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[info]reeeuh
2007-01-04 10:33 pm UTC (link)
Holy shit.... That's an apartment loft dreams are made of.
The Chihuly just adds to my desire for it.

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[info]memeslut
2007-01-04 10:42 pm UTC (link)
that is rad!!!

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[info]kriostoir
2007-01-04 10:45 pm UTC (link)
I dunno how I'd feel living in a pyramid.

All my dreams would be Pythagorean.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]gomezticator
2007-01-05 02:12 am UTC (link)
LOL put the bed near the cosine corner.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]raventhon, 2007-01-05 05:39 pm UTC

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