thumb|The [[Cobb Building (Seattle)|Cobb Building, 1301–1309 Fourth Avenue, is the only remaining building whose design conforms to the original Howells & Stokes plan for the Metropolitan Tract.]]
thumb|A 1915 advertisement welcoming visitors to what was then known as the "University Tract", but already managed by the Metropolitan Building Company.
thumb|Entryway of Fifth Avenue Theater, in the Metropolitan Tract.
thumb|Lobby of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, in the Metropolitan Tract.
The Metropolitan Tract is an area of land in downtown Seattle owned by the University of Washington. Originally covering , the 1962 purchase of land for a garage for the Olympic Hotel expanded the plot to . The Metropolitan Tract is primarily located in a rectangle formed by Seneca St., Third Ave., Union St., and Sixth Ave.
History
The tract includes the original site of the University of Washington campus. In 1895 the university moved to its present site.
The state legislature had authorized the university regents to lease or sell the downtown tract. On December 9, 1902, the regents voted to lease rather than sell, although one strip on the northwest corner of the site was sold to the U.S. government for a federal building, on the assumption that this building would increase the value of the rest of the tract. As of 2007, the Cobb Building is the only one of the original buildings to survive.
Buildings of note in the Metropolitan Tract
The following buildings in the Metropolitan Tract are on the National Register of Historic Places
- Cobb Building - 1305 Fourth Avenue, Seattle 98101
- Fairmont Olympic Hotel - 411 University Street, Seattle 98101
- Skinner Building - 1326 Fifth Avenue, Seattle 98101
- 5th Avenue Theatre - 1308 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, in the Skinner Building
Other buildings of note in the Metropolitan Tract are:
- Financial Center - 1215 Fourth Avenue, Seattle 98161
- 1200 Fifth - 1200 Fifth Avenue, Seattle 98101
- Puget Sound Plaza - 1325 Fourth Avenue, Seattle 98101
- Rainier Tower and Rainier Square - 1301 Fifth Avenue, Seattle 98101
Former buildings of the Metropolitan Tract include:
- The Metropolitan Theatre
- Seattle Ice Arena
- White, Henry, Stuart buildings (similar to Cobb Building) - 410 University Street, Seattle (now Rainier Tower)
Recent development
In 2013, the University of Washington announced plans to redevelop the Rainier Square shopping mall, adjacent to the Rainier Tower, at the expiration of the long-term lease signed with Unico Properties in 2014. The resulting project replaced the mall with the Rainier Square Tower, a 58-story mixed-use skyscraper that included of office space, 220 residential units, and a 165-room hotel. Construction began on the Rainier Square Tower in 2017 and was completed in 2020.
thumb|Rainier Square Tower, May 2020 from 4th Avenue and Union Street