History in context

The Mattress Factory

Sometimes names just stick around whether they are accurate or not. In the case of a building, the name could be inspired by history but may not be true. On the University of Washington, Tacoma campus the building named the “Mattress Factory” building may not have been a factory after all but instead a warehouse for the bedroom furniture.
The “Mattress Factory” building was built in 1912 for the F.S. Harmon & Company furniture manufacturer. F.S. Harmon & Company started its manufacturing business in Tacoma in 1909. The company manufactured mattresses, tables, chairs and desks. The Harmon Company also designed and manufactured furniture for the classroom, including cabinets for portable lab equipment as well as for teacher storage.
The original Harmon Company building was built in 1909. It now houses the Harmon Brewing Company (in an obvious connection to the history of the building) and other restaurants on the ground floor. In the middle of the building, it has offices and on top it has loft apartments. It also sports a set of “ghost” signs or hand painted advertising that has been preserved on the north and south side of the building. On the north end the sign says, “Harmon Mfg. Co.” and on the south end it reads, “The Harmon”.
The Mattress Factory building also had advertising on it and today the ghost sign reads “Sluberite” which is a reference to a brand of mattress. It is clear that the “Mattress Factory” building was part of the F.S. Harmon & Company manufacturing center because a pedestrian bridge connected the two buildings. Today, the bridge is a set of balconies (one made from the top of the bridge and one made from the bottom) on the Mattress Factory and a sealed hole on the privately owned main building. According to the walking tour for UW Tacoma, the bridge was taken down in 2000. Now this is where the history of the building and the name contradicts each other. The UW Tacoma and the Tacoma Library describe a different use for the building.
According to the construction history provided by the UW Tacoma, the Mattress Factory building was never actually a mattress factory but instead was used for storage and sales space. The Tacoma Library labels the Mattress Factory building as the F.S. Harmon & Company warehouse.
The Mattress Factory building is a combination of two different warehouses. The triangular style of the building is called “flat iron”. The shape of the building is visually pleasing with trees lining the walkway and vines crawling up the side. Inside there are massive wood beams and metal staircases that have kept the industrial feel to building. The combination of the two warehouses creates a maze of levels and stairwells, which has created the need for bright signs to direct students to their destination. A stairwell was also added to side of the building with the recent renovation. The renovation of the building started in 2002 and completed in 2004. The Mattress Factory is 64,097 square feet and today houses classrooms, offices, student services, career counseling and the student government.
The name, “Mattress Factory” rolls off the tongue more than Mattress Warehouse so it is understandable why the name was chosen. No matter what the past purposes of the building were, it is important to recognize the effort of the city of Tacoma and the University of Washington to preserve and to incorporate the history of the campus into its modern use for education.