You might not guess that an elegant white terra-cotta building in Seattle’s University District is the city’s newest climbing gym. Nor would you imagine that you can take a relaxing sauna in its massive basement bank vault—but indeed you can, ever since the Bouldering Project opened in the historic University National Bank Building in late 2024.

The 1912 Neoclassical building operated as a bank for more than 100 years, and it had never been sold until Hunters Capital, a preservation-minded Seattle real estate company, purchased the vacant structure in 2020.

“Our philosophy isn’t simply to save and restore buildings but rather repurpose them, by bringing tenants in that serve the community,” says Michael Malone, founder and chair of Hunters Capital, which continues to own and operate the property. “We’re here for the long term.”

Before identifying a tenant, the company worked for 18 months to bring the bank building up to modern standards. “There was no major systems upgrade done on this building in 50 years,” Malone says. “No sprinklers, no seismic, no ADA [compliance], no fire alarm system.”

Nevertheless, it had retained architectural details like a bronze entryway canopy and doors, mosaic tile, travertine stairs, original safe deposit boxes, and that spectacular vault. These were restored, and a disused and heavily altered upstairs ballroom was converted to a climbing space with exposed curved trusses.

In 2021, the University National Bank Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and named a Seattle landmark.

Today, the newly cleaned and restored exterior is softly lit at night to highlight its striking architecture. “It is a beacon in that neighborhood,” says Malone.