AXIS Pioneer Square hosts corporate gatherings, conferences, galas, fundraisers, fashion shows, private parties and weddings for up to 550 guests standing or about 300 to 350 seated. Its two main spaces, the Main Space and the Corner Gallery, can be joined for one large event or used separately for smaller gatherings. The venue covers about 10,000 square feet in the Globe Building, at 308 First Avenue South in Pioneer Square, Seattle.
Seminars and company events
The venue sells itself to corporate planners for conferences, galas, team offsites, fundraisers and receptions. It has hosted fashion shows, high-profile fundraisers and an anniversary recreation of the laboratory from the television show Bill Nye the Science Guy. Because the two spaces can be separated, a plenary can run in one while lunch or an exhibition is set in the other, and the venue says simultaneous events are possible.
Each space alone suits a group of 100 or fewer, which makes AXIS usable for a smaller company meeting or a client dinner as well as a large event. The team works with a network of event professionals, including audiovisual suppliers. Hotels in downtown Seattle are within walking distance, and the Washington State Convention Center is a few minutes away, which helps for a fringe event during a trade show.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are a large share of the calendar. The layout gives separate zones for the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing inside one building. Nord Alley, a public alley at the back of the venue, can be permitted as an outdoor extension. The venue also offers a photobooth and photography services. Décor rules are flexible, and the team runs open houses and walkthroughs with vendors before the day.
Rooms and capacities
The Main Space and the Corner Gallery together hold up to 550 guests standing and about 300 to 350 seated, depending on layout and production. Used alone, each room takes up to 100 guests. The building offers ceilings of about 17 feet, brick archways about 15 feet tall, exposed timber and antique wood floors. A gallery-style plan creates distinct areas for staging, dining and photography.
Catering
The venue keeps a curated list of full-service caterers, and clients choose from that list. All other vendors are welcome, from florists to bands. Ask the team for the current caterer list when you request a date.
History and setting
The Globe Building was completed in 1891, during the rebuilding of Seattle's business district after the Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, when new rules required masonry construction. Designed by William E. Boone and originally called the Marshall-Walker Building, it is a four-story solid-brick commercial building with cut-stone trim on the first story and wide arches in rusticated stone. Its southern half once held about 50 offices, and the northern part became the Globe Hotel, which gave the building its common name. The space was later home to the Elliott Bay Book Company. AXIS also runs an art gallery on site, Gallery Axis, and takes part in the monthly art walks of Pioneer Square.
Getting there
The venue stands on First Avenue South in Pioneer Square, at the southern edge of downtown Seattle. Restaurants, bars and several downtown hotels are within walking distance. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport serves guests flying in, and King Street Station, for Amtrak and Sounder trains, is close to the district.
