Birmingham Block

The Birmingham Block is one of the four historic structures that make up the Academic Building at the University of Washington Tacoma, along with the Garretson Woodruff Pratt Building, the Birmingham Hay and Seed Building, and the West Coast Grocery Building. Though less ornate than the larger Garretson Woodruff Pratt and West Coast Grocery buildings that anchor the row of brick warehouses and lacking their Romanesque features, the Birmingham Block, which stands two stories tall on the Pacific Avenue side and one story tall on the Commerce Street side, shares minor classical details with bays clearly demarcated by heavy piers and subdued dentil moldings ornamenting the windows. Openings cut in the common walls between the Garretson Woodruff Pratt and Birmingham Hay and Seed buildings help provide convenient interior access through all four buildings. Similar to the other warehouse buildings on campus, the Birmingham Block was largely gutted inside to accommodate four classrooms, though some timber posts and beams remain visible.