A funeral home reception room or a church hall is the usual answer, and for many families it is the right one. Some people do not fit in those rooms. If the person you are remembering would have wanted their music playing, their friends eating their favorite food, and their photos on a screen big enough to actually see, this building can be that.
1712 Studios is a private two floor space in Seattle's SODO district. You bring the food, the photos, the music, and the people. Someone from the venue is here the whole time so that no one in your family has to be in charge of the room.
There are four spaces, and they are separate from one another. That matters more than it sounds like it does. A service can happen in one room and the food can be in another, so people can sit and eat and talk without standing in the same room where someone just spoke. Nobody has to rearrange anything in the middle of the day.
The largest room, with high ceilings and a lot of natural light during the day. This is usually where the service itself happens: chairs set facing the front, a microphone, and a 110 inch screen for a photo slideshow or a video. It comfortably holds a standing gathering, and it can be set with chairs for a seated one.
A quieter room above the main floor, with its own seating and its own bar counter. Families often use it as the place to step away for a few minutes, or as the room where older guests sit and talk while the rest of the gathering moves around downstairs.
An open room behind the Main Hall. Most often used for the food, the coffee, and the tables where people sit and eat after the speaking is done. Having it separate means the room where the service happened can stay as it was.
A covered space with a roll up door for unloading. Useful for catering, flowers, framed photos, and anything heavy you do not want to carry far. The whole building is indoors, so rain never changes the plan.
Most venues have a list of what you are allowed to bring. We have almost the opposite. The building is yours for the hours you book, and what happens inside it is up to your family.
Daytime gatherings are the most common, and these are the numbers. There is nothing added at the end, no service charge, and no minimum you have to spend on food or drink. A 50% deposit holds a date, and the rest is due before the day.
Sunday through Thursday, four hours, up to 120 guests. The Main Hall and the cleaning afterward. No bar service. This is what most daytime gatherings use. Additional hours are $250 each.
The Main Hall is $250 an hour Sunday through Thursday and $300 an hour Friday and Saturday. The Main Hall with the Speakeasy upstairs is $350 and $425. The whole building is $450 and $550. Cleaning is $200 to $400 depending on how much of the building is used.
Any six hours between noon and 10pm on a Sunday, up to 100 guests. This one includes a licensed bartender and one security guard, for families who want wine or beer served at the reception.
Setup and cleanup happen inside the hours you book, so if you need an hour beforehand to put out photos and food, include it when you choose your window. If a gathering runs past 10pm, or there are more than 100 guests without bar service, a security guard is $55 an hour.
It is a warehouse, not a chapel. The walls are brick and steel, the ceilings are high, and the light is the light of an industrial building. Many families want exactly that, because the person they are remembering was not a beige room kind of person. Some families want a chapel, and a chapel is better at being a chapel.
The other honest thing is seating. A fully seated luncheon for 150 at tables does not work here. Set with dinner tables, the Main Hall seats about 50. Set with chairs only, it seats about 80. A gathering where people stand, move between rooms, and sit when they want to holds far more than that. If the day you have in mind is 150 people seated at tables for three hours, we will tell you plainly that another room will serve you better.
There is also no on site cooking, only a prep area with a counter and a sink, and the bathroom is not fully ADA accessible, although the entry is.
Many Seattle venues add 20 to 23 percent to the final bill. We do not add anything. The number we quote is the number on the invoice, which matters when a family is splitting the cost.
You are never asked to spend a certain amount on catering. Families cook, or order from the place he loved, or set out coffee and sandwiches. All of that is fine here.
Most Seattle venues close at midnight. The building is available until 2am, so an evening gathering is not cut short, although most daytime services end long before that.
1712 Studios has hosted more than 200 events at 1712 1st Ave S. We are rated 4.7 on Google and 5.0 on Peerspace across 293 reviews.
Yes. There is no food and drink minimum and no caterer you have to use. Families bring home cooking, trays from a restaurant the person loved, a caterer, or a coffee and pastry setup. There is a prep area with a counter and a sink for a catering team, and a fridge behind the bar. There is no cooking on site.
Yes, all of it. There is a 110 inch screen you connect your own laptop or phone to for a slideshow or a video. There is a full sound system with a microphone for speaking, and you can play whatever playlist you want through it. Framed photos, flowers, a memory table, a guest book, a table of belongings: bring what you need, set it where you want it, and take it with you at the end.
It depends on the setup, and it is worth being clear about. We own 80 chairs, four round tables that seat about 40 people, and two six foot tables. Set with dinner tables, the Main Hall seats about 50. Set with chairs only, facing the front, it seats about 80. For a gathering where people stand, talk, and move between rooms, the Main Hall holds well over a hundred, and the Main Hall with the Speakeasy holds up to 250. If more chairs are needed, they can be rented and brought in.
Yes. A studio manager is on site for your entire booking, from the time the doors open until the last person leaves. They set up the chairs and tables before you arrive, help with the microphone and the screen, show people where things are, and handle anything that comes up so no one in your family has to. They are not an event planner and they do not handle decor or a full install, but you will never be alone in the building.
The most common choice is $1,200 for four hours Sunday through Thursday, up to 120 guests, which covers the Main Hall and the cleaning afterward. Hourly is $250 an hour for the Main Hall Sunday through Thursday, with cleaning at $200 to $400. There is no service charge added at the end, which is different from many Seattle venues where 20 to 23 percent is added to the final bill. If you want beer or wine served, our licensed bartenders serve what you bring, and outside bartenders are not permitted. For a gathering that runs past 10pm or has more than 100 guests without bar service, a security guard is $55 an hour.
There are four private parking spots on site, free street parking in the neighborhood, and several paid lots nearby. The entry is ADA compliant. The bathroom is not fully ADA accessible, and we would rather you know that now than find out that day. Setup time happens inside your booked hours, so if you need an hour to put out photos and food before people arrive, include it when you pick your window. The building is available until 2am if an evening gathering runs long, though most daytime services end well before that.
You are welcome to come walk through the rooms before you decide anything. A visit takes about 20 to 30 minutes, costs nothing, and there is no pressure attached to it. We will show you where a service usually happens, where the food usually goes, and answer whatever you need answered.
If it is easier to just talk to a person, call us. If this is not the right place for your family, we will say so and try to point you somewhere better.
Schedule a Visit