The building Freeman occupies is a historic property, holding nearly one hundred years of evolving use from its tenants beginning in 1930. Originally named the “Studio Building”, the Loveless Building was designed by Arthur Lamont Loveless, an architect known for his tudor revival-era structural designs. Arthur Loveless was raised in New York, began studying architecture at Columbia University, and moved to Seattle in 1907 after dropping out of said architecture program. After working as an architect for nearly two decades in the Puget Sound area, Loveless designed the Studio Building (which quickly became one of his most admired works) to house the studios of artists. Among the list of artists were photographers Ella E. McBride and Myra Albert Wiggins — both of which were early promoters of the idea of photography as a fine art — and Arthur Loveless himself. Eventually the studios were converted into livable apartment units, including unit #9, which Loveless resided in until his death in 1971.
Structurally, the Loveless Building boasted masonry resembling the stones of buildings in the Cotswold District in England, a place that Mr. Loveless was quite fond of. The first parcel of the building served as the architect's office in 1925, followed by a larger addition from 1930-33 circling around a center courtyard.
As the Loveless Building evolved and found its residential tenants, storefronts along Broadway began to be rented out to commercial businesses. Freeman Seattle has been a proud tenant of one of these storefronts since 2014. In creating the physical space of Freeman, our store owners made sure to keep particular historic elements intact (such as the single-pane windows, the stained glass decorations, and removing the linoleum to expose the original parquet flooring) and make conscious decisions to honor the Tudor-style when installing new interior additions. Freeman shares the Loveless building with Joe Bar (Coffee), Cook Weaver (European food and cocktails), Kobo (Japanese gift shop), Dawson (salon), an architecture firm, residents, and others. Stop by to check out its historic charm and say hello.