Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
Carolyn Dimmick Final PDF.indd - Washington Secretary of State
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Hughes: Who designed this structure?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Well, I was on the committee. NBBJ, the Seattle architectural firm, designed it.<br />
Hughes: Are you happy with the end results?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Sure. You should see all the awards we’ve won on this Courthouse.<br />
Hughes: Was building this new Courthouse controversial in any way?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Yes, because Clinton had put a hold on any federal building. Bruce Rifkin, the<br />
clerk <strong>of</strong> the court, and other judges and I went back two or three times to Congress, talked<br />
to our legislators telling them how important it was to get the money for this courthouse.<br />
Jennifer Dunn was in Congress at the time.<br />
Jennifer Dunn was a big influence, and so was<br />
Slade Gorton.<br />
Hughes: I understand that your fellow judges<br />
picked you to be a key member <strong>of</strong> the committee<br />
looking at the nuts and bolts <strong>of</strong> everything?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: The one who picked me was the 9th<br />
Circuit chief at the time, Clifford Wallace. He<br />
Judge <strong>Dimmick</strong> at a dinner in the 1990s with<br />
Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, R-WA.<br />
called me and asked me if I would do it. … I used<br />
to call myself the “tenant representative.” We<br />
broke ground on the project in the summer <strong>of</strong> 2001 and it opened in September <strong>of</strong> 2004.<br />
Hughes: So what are you most proud <strong>of</strong> about the structure?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: I like the open appearance. … And when you walk around, you see that there’s<br />
two buildings. There’s an L-way between the <strong>of</strong>fice part and the court part so that you<br />
could get natural lighting into the interior <strong>of</strong> all <strong>of</strong> the <strong>of</strong>fices. I think that’s the great part.<br />
Hughes: And the furnishings and the other details in here, does any <strong>of</strong> this have your<br />
touch from the standpoint <strong>of</strong> someone who has always liked art?<br />
<strong>Dimmick</strong>: Yes it does. What we did is we worked with interior designers in the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong><br />
the architects, and then we’d go to the judges. I got them all to agree on the carpeting,<br />
except they could have an inset <strong>of</strong> what color they wanted. And we all agreed on the wall<br />
covering and the carpeting, the colors in the courtroom, the finishes on the walls.<br />
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