The nine-story King County Administration Building Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, the seat of King County

King County, Washington

King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....

, Washington, USA. It lies between Jefferson and James streets and between Fourth and Fifth avenues. It features a unique hexagaonal honeycomb theme in its walls and windows. It was built in 1971.

Agencies

The King County Administration Building is located at 500 Fourth Ave. Parking is available in parking garages on all surrounding streets. Bus information is available from Metro.

Several agencies are located in the Administration Building, including:

• Archives and Records Management
• Assessor's Office
• Elections
• Finance & Business Operations
• Facilities Management
• Marriage Licensing
• Recorder's Office
• Vehicle Licensing
• Vital Statistics - Birth and Death Records

Aesthetics

According to the Seattle Times, "County and city officials agree on at least one thing: the dubious aesthetics of the Administration Building, a squat, fortresslike building with diagonal lines". Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis stated "I think everybody acknowledges it may be the ugliest building in downtown Seattle."

It was also voted the ugliest government building in the country in the '70s, shortly after it was built.
The old Seattle Municipal Building and Seattle Public Library were also known as relatively ugly buildings.