Henderson Ryan
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|---|---|
| Born | January 16, 1856 |
| Died | August 29, 1927 (aged 73) |
| Alma mater | Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Old Central, Ballard Carnegie Library, Neptune Theatre |
Henderson Ryan (January 16, 1856 – August 29, 1927) was an American architect notable for designing buildings in Seattle Washington in the early 20th century, including several theaters and a significant number of residential apartment buildings.[1] Among other buildings he was the architect of the Ballard Carnegie Library[2] and Neptune Theatre,[3] both Seattle city landmarks.
Ryan, who designed a church, a Carnegie library, private homes, and several theaters, also designed a significant number of Seattle apartment buildings. A man of many talents, he received a patent for his invention of a ramp used in theaters that maximized convenience and seating capacity. He equipped the Waldorf, the large downtown apartment building he designed, with an early central vacuuming system, an idea of Ryan's that "so far as known has never been installed in any other similar building ever constructed."
Of the Seattle buildings mentioned above, his first known major commission was the design for a Public Library (1903-1904) in the then independent town of Ballard. This symmetrically arranged brick building has a rusticated base and red brick exterior extending upward two-stories crowned by a hip roof. A prominent central pedimented portico extends outward from the entry façade with four colossal order flat pilasters with Corinthian capitals supporting the main entablature. A second-floor balcony is faced with an undulating convex sheet-metal frieze with a pressed floral motif. A central Romanesque stone arch is located immediately behind the balcony.
Architect Henderson Ryan designed the Neptune Theater Building and Neptune Theater (1303 NE 45th Street) in 1921, as a mixed-use commercial building for owners E. L. Blaine, A.B.L. Gellerman, and their Puritan Theatre Company. The Neptune Theater Building is the only intact survivor of the five University District movie theaters opened during the silent era. Dedication ceremonies were presented by the University Commercial Club on the evening of Wednesday, November 16, 1921, before a full house.
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