Purple
[ Seneca St. and Minor Ave. on First Hill ]
I like this building because it’s purple. Our City lacks purple.
I can think of only one other large building in Seattle that has a lot of purple on it, and that’s Site 17 condos at 2440 Western Ave. in Belltown. The Epicenter in Fremont is lavender, but that doesn’t count. I know there must be more big purple buildings out there, so let’s hear from you if you know of one.
Purple is my favorite color. It’s deep and thick and juicy. I’m baffled over why isn’t it used more often on buildings.
And Seattle has a curious aversion to bold colors in general, given our gray and dreary climate. The Scandinavians, who have a similar monotone climate, love to put bold colors on their buildings (think Ikea blue and yellow).
Might I suggest that this aversion to bold color is related to our aversion to bold building forms? Might I further suggest that both are a manifestation of the Pacific Northwest personality, which seems always to be searching for the middle ground in the hope of not displeasing anyone? I didn’t say that.