Immaculate Conception Church, Seattle

Seattle’s oldest standing church, the Immaculate Conception Church was established by the Society of Jesus in 1891. The Seattle University stands on the site of the first church building. The present building at 820, 18th Avenue was constructed in 1904.

The Immaculate Conception Church building has a record of being built in a period of six months. The brick Italian style construction has a wooden roof and twin towers with gold cupolas. The design was by Williams and Clark. All the frescoes covering the wooden ceiling were hand painted by the Jesuit priests in the 1920s and at one time the building had the biggest auditorium in Seattle. The grotto designed by William Morgan in 1930 is small but exact replica of the Lourdes grotto in France.

The church was dedicated by the then Bishop of Nesqually, Edward O’Dea in 1904. In 1929, the Jesuits transferred the church to the Diocese of Seattle and the dynamic Rev Theodore Ryan became its pastor. Monsignor Ryan remained the pastor till his death and a pipe organ known to be the finest in the Northwest was donated in his memory.

The Immaculate Conception church was declared a City Landmark because of its architecture and the service rendered in educating all sections of the population through the history of Seattle.