

View of Smith Tower from the South, on the Ground. View from Smith Tower looking Northwest toward the Harbor. The Chinese Room can be rented for your special occasion. Smith rifles and Smith-Corona typewriters that Smith brought with him on a trade mission to China. The gift was in response to a gift of L.C. Smith from Empress Cixi, the last Empress of China. The interior of the room was a gift to L.C. Of particular interest is the Chinese Room located on the 35th floor. When the Smith Tower opened on Jit was the fourth tallest building in the world at 522 feet and remained in this position for 50 years. Eventually, with the urging of his son, the plans morphed into the present day structure.


In 1909, Lyman Cornelius (L.C.) Smith, a New York tycoon, for some reason (expansion of his company?) planned for 14-story building to be built in Seattle. The Smith Tower was built by the Smith family that made their name in the manufacture of small arms (much like Remington & Sons) and went on to produce the Smith Corona typewriter. To the north, the rest of the city, and to the south Seattle's industrial section. What did I expect, it is a city after all? To the east is I-5, to the west Route 99 and the water. But, be prepared, once up there you realize how many hard expanses of cement and buildings are all around. It’s a nice view I’ll give it that, especially on a clear day when you can see the Olympics and Rainier. We never had been up to the Chinese Room on the 35th floor of the Smith Tower, so it was time.
