History of the MarQueen Hotel, the Tin Lizzie and Henry Ford

"This building, at a key location at the bottom of the Queen Anne Counterbalance, has an unusual history. It was built in 1918 as the Seattle Engineering School, to retrain blacksmiths to work at the Ford assembly plant at the south end of Lake Union. The school operated a garage in the one-story section along the east side of the building. The school was short-lived and, in 1926 the building was acquired by the Vance Lumber Company. They hired a prominent architect, V. W. Voorhees, to remodel it into the MarQueen Apartments. The sizable building had about 70 units, featuring a lobby with Alaska marble and terrazzo floors. In the 1990s the building was renovated and became a hotel, retaining the MarQueen name. The eastern portion remained a repair garage until 1979, when the business moved to the top of Queen Anne Hill. The former garage space has long been occupied by restaurants, fronting on both Mercer and Roy streets. Victor W. Voorhees is credited with more than 100 building projects between 1904 and 1929, ranging from cottages and large residences to apartment blocks, industrial buildings, office buildings, stores and hotels. He did a considerable amount of work for the Vance Lumber Company during the 1920s, including the Vance Building and the Vance Hotel in downtown Seattle. He was also known for publishing a popular book of house and bungalow plans in 1907. Voorhees designed numerous auto showrooms and garages and may have been the original architect of the building, although the building permit has not been located." - Source: Seattle Historical Sites, City of Seattle www.seattle.gov