When the Seattle Department of Buildings denied D.C. Keeney the right to modify his existing Seattle Empire Laundry premises (located in a booming downtown), he undertook to build another, perfect laundry on the land he owned at 2301 Western Ave.

To do so, he first destroyed an existing building - the stable referred to in the permit above left. A month later, Ira S. Harding applied for a building permit, on behalf of the new Seattle Empire Laundry. As shown above right, the cost was estimated at $30,000 - approximately one dollar per square foot.

The building was also hailed in the press. On January 14, 1914, the Seattle Times noted it as one of eleven "Factories and Warehouses" underway. It claimed they were part of a record year, one when total construction valuations "topped" $9 million. Pacific Laundryman - a regional publication begun in 1914 - also lauded D.C. Keeney's building.

In its issue of February 1914, under the headline "NEW BUILDING FOR SEATTLE-EMPIRE", Pacific Laundryman wrote: "Work is progressing on the new plant of the Seattle-Empire Laundry, Seattle. The building, located on Western Avenue and Bell, will be a three-story, brick structure, 60 by 120 feet, modern throughout. New machinery will be installed, in addition to the present equipment. The Seattle-Empire has been in its present location at Fourth Ave. and Pine St. for nearly ten years."