One of the pillars upon which Seattle built its early fortunes, the old Great Northern Railroad depot, was given a much-needed face-lift in the early 2010s after decades of neglect. Serving as the western terminus of the famous Empire Builder train that runs cross-country between Seattle and Chicago, the station building was designed to imitate St Mark's bell tower in Venice.
It was constructed in 1906 by Reed & Stem, who also designed New York City’s Grand Central Station, and is notable for many features, not least a fabulous Italianate plasterwork ceiling in the waiting room that is rich in period detail. The waiting room was covered up by a horrible suspended ceiling in the 1960s but, as part of a $26 million revamp, the entire interior and exterior of the station was returned to its Gilded Age high watermark in 2012.
