Born January 19, 1926, Seth Aylesworth Jackson grew up in Bellevue and graduated from Bellevue High School in 1944. He enlisted in the Air Force at the closing of WWII, serving on a ground crew, but was discharged after severe case of tonsillitis. Afterward he enrolled at Washington State University (WSU), graduating with a BA in architecture in 1950. While at WSU, Jackson competed in the senior class project competition to design a new vista house at Grand Coulee Dam. He won a fourth-place prize of $20 for his design.

Jackson’s first architectural job after school was working for W.C. Nickum & Sons, a Naval architecture and marine engineering firm (1951-54). He then decided to open his firm which was in full operation by 1955.

Known projects however are limited to a handful of homes in the Seattle area and the Balfour-Guthrie & Co. Resin Plant in Tacoma (1958 with Pacific Engineers).

In 1959, Jackson formed a partnership with Benjamin Woo and Donald M. Edwards. Known as Woo, Jackson & Edwards (1959-1963) the firm specialized in shopping centers. Projects include the Town & Country Shopping Center (1959) in Bellingham, Issaquah Center Shopping Center (1961), B & V Village Shopping Center (1962) in Redmond, Fuller’s Market Basket (1963) in Chehalis, and the Sunset Plaza Center (1963) at Factoria.

Other notable projects included the First Presbyterian Church (1960) in Renton, the Jantun Apartments (1960), a five-unit apartment complex for Paul Woo at 2410 13th Ave S. (1961); and three model homes for the Leawood Development (1961) near Lake Sammamish.

For unknown reasons in 1964 the partnership dissolved and Jackson opened his own firm. By the early 1970’s Jackson worked in the design and construction division of the General Services Administration, Region 10. He was heavily involved in the Construction Specification Institute (CSI), Puget Sound Chapter), serving as President (1968), and was a frequent lecturer for the institute. He became a Fellow of the CSI in 1972.

A 52-year resident of the Mount Baker neighborhood in Seattle, Jackson was heavily involved in the protection of the neighborhood during the expansion of I-90, becoming chairman (1969) of the “Save Mt. Baker Ridge Committee.” 

An avid whitewater canoe paddler and gardener, Jackson passed away at the age 88 on November 20, 2014.

– Michael C. Houser