Imagine a very, very tall tower, sharp as a pencil, that was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River in America, nearly a century ago. It is called Smith Tower, and the whole city once took pride in it like a favorite toy. But time passed, and the tower almost faded from memory—if not for ordinary Seattle residents who decided not to let that happen.
The Star Tower
Smith Tower was built in 1914. This was during what people called the “Jazz Age”—a lively, noisy time when people loved everything new, shiny, and tall. The tower’s owner, a man named Lyman Smith, wanted his building to be so tall that the entire city would literally have to look up at it.
And he succeeded! With 38 floors and a pointed pyramid-shaped roof at the very top, it was a true engineering marvel at the time. People came to Seattle especially to see the tower, much as people today visit the tallest roller coasters at amusement parks.
At the very top of the tower is a special room—the Chinese Room. It is said that the furniture was given by a real Chinese empress named Cixi. There is a “Wishing Chair” there. According to legend, if an unmarried woman sits in it, she will definitely get married. So many years have passed, yet this room still preserves the mystery of a distant country in the heart of an American city.
When the Tower Was Nearly Forgotten
Years went by. New skyscrapers began appearing in Seattle—taller, more modern, and covered in glass. Smith Tower was no longer the tallest or trendiest building. Companies stopped wanting to work in the old structure; they wanted something new and shiny.
By the 1970s, the tower was in danger. Imagine a beloved old toy pushed into the corner of a room while a new, gleaming one takes its place. No one knew exactly what would happen to Smith Tower—it might simply be abandoned, or it might be demolished entirely to make room for something new.
And that is when ordinary people entered the story.
The Residents Who Said “No”
Smith Tower stands near an old part of the city called Pioneer Square. This neighborhood is filled with beautiful historic buildings, stonework, and wrought-iron street lamps. Its residents loved their neighborhood and did not want its history bulldozed away to make room for new buildings.
They began to take action—like a team of friends deciding to save something important. People attended city hall meetings, wrote letters, collected signatures from their neighbors, and told journalists why old buildings mattered to the city. They explained: “These are not just old bricks. They are our city’s memory—our history!”
Thanks to their persistence, in 1970 the entire Pioneer Square neighborhood, including Smith Tower, received historic landmark status. This means that no one can simply demolish these buildings or make major changes to them. The city and government are required to protect them.
As Seattle historians say, the efforts of ordinary citizens in the 1960s and ’70s saved entire sections of the old city from disappearing—not just one tower, but literally hundreds of buildings.
Why It Still Matters Today
Smith Tower still stands today, and visitors can still go all the way to the top and sit in the “Wishing Chair” in the Chinese Room. But what I find most interesting about this story is not the tower itself, but the people who saved it.
They were not wealthy or powerful. They were ordinary neighbors who simply loved the place where they lived. They proved that when enough people come together and say, “This is important—let’s preserve it,” they will be heard.
In this way, one tower taught an entire city an important rule: you cannot buy history back once it has been lost. So sometimes the most important thing to do is simply notice what matters to you—and not be afraid to say so out loud.
