Victor W. Voorhees
Voorhees (1876–1970) was an American architect most active in Seattle, Washington. He is credited with the design of over 110 building projects. Considered one of the Northwest's finest designer of garages, he was responsible for a large number of automobile related buildings built on Capitol Hill in the 1910s and 1920s, Seattle's original auto row.
Victor W. Voorhees

Joe Mabel · Photo by Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Victor W.
- Born
- 4 May 1876
- Birthplace
- Cambria, Wisconsin
- Died
- 10 August 1970
- Place of death
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- architect
- Known for
- Washington Hall
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Documentary summary
Voorhees (1876–1970) was an American architect most active in Seattle, Washington. He is credited with the design of over 110 building projects. Considered one of the Northwest's finest designer of garages, he was responsible for a large number of automobile related buildings built on Capitol Hill in the 1910s and 1920s, Seattle's original auto row.
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Note VALÉORINE
Victor W. Voorhees (1876–1970) was an American architect. Born in Cambria, the architect died in Minneapolis. Works include Washington Hall.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q7926436 · wikipedia · Victor W. Voorhees
In this article
Biography
Biography
His residential plan book, Western Home Builder, which went through six editions between 1907 and 1911, provided templates for popular local house designs like the Seattle box.

Shops on Bay Street, Port Orchard, Washington.
Joe Mabel · Photo by Joe Mabel

Built by the same owner of the Anderson Building to the south, this one at 5144 Ballard Ave NW was built much later, replacing a 2-story wooden rooming house in 1911. Victor W. Voorhees was the architect.
Publichall
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Victor W. Voorhees • Parents — Violetta Voorhees Victor W. Voorhees, Sr. • Birth Name — Victor W. Voorhees, Jr. • Born — 4 May 1876 • Birthplace — Cambria, Wisconsin • Died — 10 August 1970 • Place of death — Minneapolis, Minnesota • Significant Buildings — Washington Hall of Danish Brotherhood Building
Life
Life
Voorhees was born in Cambria, Wisconsin on May 4, 1876. After working as a real estate and loan agent in Minneapolis, he moved to Ballard, Washington in 1904 and founded his first architectural firm, Fisher & Voorhees, and later Voorhees & Palmer, with Lewis W. Palmer, in the Eitel Building in downtown Seattle in 1905, both of which would only last a few months. He practiced architecture in Seattle as principle in his own firm from 1905 to 1941, and was listed as a practicing architect in Seattle's city directory until 1957.
Projects
Projects
• Illustration — Washington Hall (1908), formerly the Danish Brotherhood Society Hall, in March 2013. • Illustration — A Seattle box house, based on Voorhees' plan from Western Home Builder Voorhees designed both commercial and residential buildings, including private homes, apartment buildings, automotive show rooms, banks, movie theaters, and hotels. Several of his designs have been recognized as local and national historic landmarks, including: • the Washington Hall (Seattle, Washington), a City of Seattle Landmark • Old Georgetown City Hall, 6202 13th Ave., S., Seattle, Washington, listed on the National Register of Historic Places While mostly specializing in low-rise commercial and residential buildings beyond Seattle's commercial core, among his last high-profile projects were a trio of skyscrapers for Joseph Vance, including the Lloyd Building (1926), Vance Hotel (1926) and the Joseph Vance Building (1929).
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1876
Victor W. Voorhees was born on 1 January 1876.
1970
Victor W. Voorhees died on 1 January 1970.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Cambria.
Birth place
Minneapolis.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Victor W. Voorhees”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7926436: Victor W. Voorhees
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Crane, Warren Eugene. Northwestern Garages Show Individuality. Automobile Trade Journal. 24. 163–164. 1 Aug 1919.
- 2.Andersen, Dennis A. Plan and Pattern Books: Shaping Early Seattle Architecture. Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 85. 4. 150–158. October 1994. 40491583.
- 3.Chesley, Frank. Housebuilding in Seattle: A History - Historylink.org essay 9116. HistoryLink.org: The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History. August 19, 2009.
- 4.University of Washington Press. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. 1998. 978-0-295-97366-1.
- 5.Zola Mumford and B. N. Barleycorn. City of Seattle Landmark application: Washington Hall.
- 6.NRISref 2009a
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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