Pinnacle GroupLuke Bartlett
Austin A. Bell in Belltown, Seattle

Seattle Condo Buildings

Austin A. Bell

2324 1st Ave · Belltown · Seattle

Building note: The National Register dates the historic building to 1889, while historical research places opening in 1890. The retained façade and south wall were incorporated into a reconstruction and addition completed in 1999. Historic and modern floor counts describe different structures. HistoryLink reports 49 homes, a detailed 2011 building tour counts 45, and some directories use 52. The approximate figure is subject to the recorded condominium schedule.

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Building Highlights

Built
1889 / 1999
Stories
5 fl
Residences
~49 homes
Neighborhood
Belltown
Developer
Eva Bell (historic project); Wayne Knowles and Bob Baldwin (condominium redevelopment)
Architect
Elmer Fisher (historic façade); Snell Partnership (1999 reconstruction)

The Building Story

The Bell family façade and the new homes built behind it

Austin A. Bell looks back more than a century from First Avenue, but its condominium interiors belong to a much later chapter. The elaborate brick front is a surviving piece of the Bell family's Belltown. Behind it, a reconstruction completed in 1999 brought an injured and largely empty landmark back into daily use. Understanding those two ages is the key to appreciating the building: the street receives a nineteenth-century architectural presence, while residents occupy homes created through a modern redevelopment.

Austin A. Bell Building facade, photographed January 10, 2016
Austin A. Bell Building facade, photographed January 10, 2016Photo: Joe Mabel. Austin A. Bell (2016) · CC BY-SA 4.0.

Two dates, one address

An 1889 landmark with a 1999 residential second life

The National Register record dates the historic building to 1889; historical research places its opening in 1890. The plaque at the property credits the Snell Partnership with the renovation and addition dedicated in 1999. Those dates describe different parts of the same story. A buyer is encountering a preserved historic façade and later residential construction, rather than a uniformly original nineteenth-century interior.

The family behind the name

Eva Bell completed the project Austin had imagined

Austin Americus Bell was the son of William N. Bell, whose family name became attached to Belltown. Austin planned a substantial brick building on First Avenue but died before it could be completed. His widow, Eva, carried the project forward as a memorial. Elmer Fisher, an architect closely associated with Seattle's rebuilding around the Great Fire era, designed it. That personal history gives the name over the entrance a specificity that a modern development brand rarely has: it identifies a family, a loss and a building that survived them.

Reading the architecture

Look closely at the upper windows

The original National Register nomination describes red-orange brick, terra-cotta ornament and a façade whose arches change as the eye moves upward. Grouped windows, recessed openings and wheel-like decorative motifs make the upper stories unusually expressive. The nomination emphasizes Gothic references alongside the period's heavier masonry vocabulary. From the sidewalk, the interest lies in depth as much as decoration: the windows are set into a substantial wall, giving the front shadow and rhythm. It rewards the kind of slow looking that a passing view from a car misses.

A working building

Apartments, visitors and two destructive fires

The original project combined shops with apartments. Later hotel and entertainment uses connected it to the bustle of a growing city and the Klondike gold-rush years. A 1913 fire damaged the upper portion; a much more destructive fire in 1981 left the interior devastated. By then the building had passed into the holdings of property owner Sam Israel. Its subsequent long vacancy explains why preservation here could not simply mean polishing old floors and repainting rooms. The surviving street front had to find a viable new life.

What preservation protected

First Avenue was the essential public face

Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board recommended designation in December 1976, expressly identifying the façades, especially the First Avenue frontage, for protection. The building had already entered the National Register in 1974. These records help explain the eventual development strategy: the architecture that shaped the street mattered independently of the damaged spaces behind it. They also make the building a useful example of how historic preservation can operate at different scales. A protected exterior, a rebuilt interior and a neighboring addition can belong to one property without sharing a construction date.

The reconstruction

A surviving wall became the beginning of a new project

Developers Wayne Knowles and Bob Baldwin acquired the property and an adjoining parking lot in 1997. The redevelopment retained the historic front and south wall while replacing the damaged building behind them and adding new construction alongside. Architect Chris Snell led the design effort; the dedication plaque records the Snell Partnership's 1999 renovation and addition. Residents began moving in early that year. The distinction is important architecturally: this is a deliberate composition of retained masonry and new residential space, with the old façade serving as an anchor rather than a complete surviving shell.

Inside the later building

Flats and lofts produce different kinds of home

A detailed 2011 building tour recorded a mix of compact flats and taller loft configurations, with some loft spaces approaching twenty feet in height. It also described a second-floor courtyard, rooftop deck and a lobby that used wood, brick and historic photographs to connect the new interiors to the building's past. These are different experiences within a relatively small address. A buyer drawn to the tall-window image should therefore compare the actual plan, ceiling volume and relationship to the preserved frontage. The building's character is shared; the historic-looking room is specific to the home.

Good to know

Before choosing a home here

  • Separate the historic façade date from the 1997–1999 reconstruction when reviewing building systems, renovations and the resale certificate.
  • Locate the home within the retained-frontage portion or addition, and compare actual ceiling heights, loft stairs, daylight and courtyard or street exposure.
  • Confirm the recorded residential count, parking and storage rights, and approval requirements for work affecting protected exterior elements.
Explore the research behind this building

Architecture and project-history references describe the original design. Current amenity access, financial condition, building rules and individual property features must be verified from the latest association and listing records.

Homes for Sale

Currently available at Austin A. Bell

Explore available homes, photography and pricing from the live NWMLS feed.

Pinnacle GroupLuke Bartlett

Listing data is provided by Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) through IDX Broker. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and must be independently verified.

Residence Character

  • Buyers come for the late-nineteenth-century architecture and loft volume; the amenity program is intentionally modest.
  • Ceiling height, window placement and view potential vary considerably between loft plans.
  • Some upper residences carry Puget Sound outlook, though that is a function of position rather than a building-wide feature.
  • Historic landmark status shapes exterior work and alterations; review the association's governing documents carefully.

Building amenities

  • Courtyard garden
  • Rooftop deck
  • Underground parking

Amenities are reported in public building and listing sources. Confirm current access, reservations, fees, and any parking or storage assignment with the association.

Rental & Leasing

Leasing at Austin A. Bell

Rental cap
No building rental cap · publicly reported
Minimum lease
Current HOA documents required
Short-term rentals
Permitted by building · publicly reported
More rental details
Cap status / waitlist
No building rental cap publicly reported
Subleasing
Current HOA details required
Lease / registration
Verify current HOA rules · publicly reported
Rental / move-in fees
$250 · publicly reported
Background checks
Current HOA details required
Short-term rental conditions
Reported fee: $250 · Verify current HOA rules · publicly reported
Source status
Publicly reported
Last verified
September 3, 2026

Short-term rental permission is separate from applicable City of Seattle licensing and eligibility requirements.

Leasing rules and availability may change. Confirm current terms with the condominium association before purchasing or leasing.

What Buyers Should Know

Due-diligence checklist

  • Resale certificate
  • Reserve study
  • Budget and financial statements
  • Insurance
  • Assessments
  • Capital projects
  • Litigation
  • Rental rules
  • Owner occupancy
  • Financing / warrantability
  • Parking and storage rights
  • View / future development
  • Building systems and age

What Sellers Should Know

Who you compete with

Sellers compete with current same-building inventory, similar stacks, floor height, views, parking, condition, amenities and nearby buildings.

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Work with Luke

Considering a condo at Austin A. Bell?

Association rental and leasing rules, rental caps, current cap availability, waitlists, minimum lease terms, fees and short-term-rental policies can change at any time. Information should be independently verified through the current resale certificate, declaration, rules and regulations, association management and applicable City of Seattle requirements before purchase or lease.

Building permission does not itself establish that an owner is eligible to operate a short-term rental. Seattle licensing and operator/unit eligibility requirements apply separately.