King County Administration Building

The nine-story King County Administration Building Seattle, the seat of King County, Washington, USA. It lies between Jefferson and James streets and between Fourth and Fifth avenues. It features a unique hexagaonal honeycomb theme in its walls and windows. It was built in 1971. [ [http://www.metrokc.gov/procurement/rfpdocs/2005/October/Consultants/E53037E/E53037E_rfp.pdf King County document] ]

Agencies

The King County Administration Building is located at 500 Fourth Ave. Parking is available in parking garages on all surrounding streets. Bus information is available from Metro.

Several agencies are located in the Administration Building, including:

* Archives and Records Management
* Assessor's Office
* Elections
* Finance & Business Operations
* Facilities Management
* Marriage Licensing
* Recorder's Office
* Vehicle Licensing
* Vital Statistics - Birth and Death Records

Aesthetics

According to the "Seattle Times", "County and city officials agree on at least one thing: the dubious aesthetics of the Administration Building, a squat, fortresslike building with diagonal lines". Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis stated "I think everybody acknowledges it may be the ugliest building in downtown Seattle."

It was also voted the ugliest government building in the country in the '70s, shortly after it was built. [Keith Ervin and Bob Young, [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003309981_building18m.html Sims wants tower to replace King County's "ugly" building] , "Seattle Times", October 18, 2006.]

The old Seattle Municipal Building and Seattle Public Library were also known as relatively ugly buildings.fact|date=December 2007

Notes