Henry M. Jackson Federal Building

Henry M. Jackson Federal Building
The portal arch of the former Burke Building completed in 1891 stands in the foreground.
Alternative names	JFB The Federal Center
General information
Type	Government offices
Location	915 Second Avenue Seattle, Washington
Coordinates	47°36′16″N 122°20′07″W / 47.6044°N 122.3354°W / 47.6044; -122.3354Coordinates: 47°36′16″N 122°20′07″W / 47.6044°N 122.3354°W / 47.6044; -122.3354
Construction started	1971
Completed	1974
Height
Roof	148 m (486 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	37
Design and construction
Architect	Bassetti Architects John Graham & Company
Structural engineer	Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Main contractor	Hoffman Construction Company
References

The Henry M. Jackson Federal Building (JFB) is a 37-story United States Federal Government skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington. Located on the block bounded by Marion and Madison Streets and First and Second Avenues, the building was completed in 1974 and won the Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects in 1976. It received its current name after the death of U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson in 1983. Architects for the project were Bassetti/Norton/Metler/Rekevics and John Graham & Associates.

Among the structures torn down to build the federal building were the Richardsonian Romanesque Burke Building (built 1889–91), the Hotel Stevens, and the Tivoli Theater, a burlesque house. It is located across from the Old Federal Building.

The building serves as a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Other occupants of the building include the U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Thirteenth U.S. Coast Guard District.

In the 1970s, although Seattle already had two nearby federal buildings, the growing city needed another building to serve its citizens. Master architects John Graham & Associates and Fred Bassetti & Company, joined forces with renowned Seattle landscape architect Richard Haag to design the new federal building. John Graham is best known for the design of Seattle's Space Needle and as the innovator of revolving restaurants, which are featured in several of his designs. Fred Bassetti designed numerous landmark Seattle buildings, including the Seattle Aquarium, the Children's Zoo at Woodland Park, and many educational buildings. Haag's revolutionary landscape designs in Washington State include Seattle's Gas Works Park and the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. Bassetti and Haag together championed the preservation of Seattle's historic Pike Place Market in the 1960s and 1970s.