Built as a research reactor for the University of Washington, the building is highly unusual because similar facilities were usually hidden. This reactor building, however, proudly displays its inner workings through large glass windows.

Its roof rested on a system of perpendicular beams, which also supported a crane used to lift the reactor shield during experiments, making the building’s function directly legible in its structure.

Decommissioned in 1988, the building remained vacant. Although it was listed and subject to preservation efforts, including the Save the Reactor campaign, it was ultimately demolished in July 2016. Plans to incorporate elements of the structure into a new building were rejected due to the extensive seismic upgrades that would have been required (last updated on April 7, 2026).