The Pike/Pine sub-neighborhood is part of Seattle’s historic Auto Row. Located within the Capital Hill residential district, the area is said to have some of the city’s most interesting and unique buildings. Among the architectural relics—many of which have already been renovated and repurposed while others await—is a pair of doors like no other. Matching in design and construction, they were custom fabricated by Schweiss Doors of Fairfax, MN, for the courtyard entrances to the newly completed Pike Motorworks luxury apartment complex.

Pike Motorworks is located at 714 East Pike Street. The project’s completion marks yet another success story in the ongoing Auto Row renaissance. The new development offers luxurious apartments and unrivaled amenities while preserving the site’s historic origins and celebrating the Capital Hill district’s effortless individuality.

For residents who like bells and whistles, Pike Motorworks certainly has them. Finishes are upscale throughout, including sleek plank flooring, black subway tile and dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, while onsite amenities include a rooftop lounge, fitness and yoga studios and a brewpub.

Adding to the historic look of the building, which maintains its original 1926 façade, are the two custom-made Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap designer doors. One of the doors measures 11’-10” x 11’-11”, while the smaller is 11’-1” x 10’-1”. The doors are faced with a 12-gauge steel cladding that blends in very nicely with the exterior brick of the Pike Motorworks apartment building. The doors, located on each side of the building, provide a pedestrian walk-through between buildings. The doors are left in the open position during the day but can be closed in the evening.

“They wanted the architectural feel and look of a fence and at the same time they wanted to keep the building appeal,” says Jon Bennion, project manager from Crawford Door Company LLC, a Washington and Oregon specialty contractor. Crawford Door also has installed Schweiss hydraulic doors on Sam’s Tavern, a Seattle bar and restaurant, in addition to Schweiss bifold doors at numerous other places.

“The bifolds have somewhat of an industrial feel and give an architect the kind of look they are trying to achieve,” Bennion says. “We’ve been specializing in commercial doors for a long time and so we’ve been hearing about Schweiss Doors going back some time. It’s a good door that provides solutions. We pride ourselves on the ability to offer solutions for a certain appearance. A lot of what these doors do is give the architect the freedom to design the appearance. If you want to choose something that is structurally glazed and/or with metal cladding, perforated panels or to create something unique, Schweiss gives the architect the freedom to use the face of a bifold or hydraulic door as a canvas – Schweiss provides a frame for that canvas.”

Located in the heart of Seattle, Capitol Hill provides a home for the city’s active arts scene, constantly evolving social spaces and maturing culinary hot spots. Due to the main thoroughfare, Broadway East, cutting through the eastern portion of the neighborhood, Capitol Hill is also referred to as Broadway, and harbors some of the highest-price properties in the city.

“We pride ourselves to be commercial door experts,” Bennion says. “There is more than one way to close an opening and to figure out what is the best architecturally and structurally. We pride ourselves on coming up with solutions and providing a high-quality product that our clients can be pleased and happy with, and to do the install for them. Schweiss Doors has helped us do that with many clients over the years and hopefully, for many clients continuing on.”