SO YOU’RE PLANNING A PARTY, a conference, an intimate cocktail occasion or a big corporate blowout. Whether you’re thinking pared-down elegance or over-the-top decadence, renovated warehouse venues can accommodate practically anything you dream up. And with historic brick, gigantic beams and storied artifacts from their industrial pasts, these conversation starters will keep guests talking long after the party’s over.
AXIS PIONEER SQUARE /Seattle, Wash.
Since its construction in 1890, this 6,000-square-foot structure in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood has enjoyed many lives. It was Seattle’s first hospital, first library and the first building to be rebuilt after the Great Fire in 1889. More recently, many Seattleites remember it fondly as the former site of The Elliott Bay Book Company. Its latest reincarnation as a photo studio, event space and gallery incorporates a few nods to the building’s history, including a wall with an assortment of globes (a reference to it being located in the Globe Building) and books that line the arches behind the custom-built white quartz and blackened steel bar. Up to 400 can celebrate amid 18-foot-tall brick arches and antique wood floors, as well as more modern touches like the custom steel staircase. Sliding partitions made of chocolate wood and steel-I-beams help create more private spaces for, say, a CEO VIP room. “It’s not just cavernous like a hotel ballroom,” notes owner Kevin Law. Added bonus: Because the building is parked on one of Seattle’s network alleys, you can extend your event into the alley way (with special permitting), which is decorated with overhead festival lights. “You feel like you’re in the middle of old Manhattan,” Law notes.”Very, very unique.”
THE LINEN BUILDING / Boise, Idaho
Built in 1910, this historic white brick wonder lived as a laundry facility before becoming a modernized events space and art gallery in 2007. You can throw a corporate cocktail party for 100 in the upstairs art gallery or rent the entire space for a larger soiree for up to 450, all while surrounded by remnants of yesteryear, like the building’s original elevator system (which is in view, but not functional; updated, working elevators are in place). Between the architectural flavor-think exposed brick interior and arched windows-and modern amenities (hello, in-house photo booth for $3 a pop), you might find you don’t need to decorate much, if at all. As building owner David Hale says, “A lot of people look at the place and appreciate the space how it sits.”
CASTAWAY / Portland, Ore.
Located in Portland’s Pearl District, this massive 10,000-square-foot warehouse opened in 1929 as a manufacturer of wire rope for San Francisco and Portland cable cars. Now its enormous exposed wood beams and polished concrete floors are put to use impressing guests-up to 380 for a seated soiree and about 500 for a standing occasion-amid modern touches like a custom-built bar. “We’re in kind of an industrial area and Castaway pops out,” says Castaway Managing Director Casey Murry. “It’s kind of magical.” For an indoor-park vibe, feel free to incorporate some of the venue’s 10-foot-tall artificial trees, café lights or massive bronze sculptures in your décor (the space also functions as a showroom for said sculptures). One corporate client even had a fleet of food carts wheeled in. Bonus: Castaway neighbors the lush flora of Portland’s Versailles Gardens, so you can combine the two venues for something extra special.
