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Ibsen A. (Ibsen Andreas) Nelsen was a well-known Seattle-based architect and influential figure in American art and architecture. He was born in Ruskin, Nebraska in 1919 to a Danish immigrant father who worked as a cabinet maker. He served in the army during WWII in the Pacific theater and earned 2 Bronze Stars. Upon his return he married his life partner, Ruth Hanawalt
with whom he had four children. He attended the University of
Oregon where he earned his degree in architecture in 1951. He
then moved to Seattle and began his architecture career.
Nelsen is best known for his design of Seattle’s Museum of
Flight, the Stewart House and Inn at the Market in the Pike
Place Market, Merrill Court townhouses, and many of the
buildings on Western Washington University’s campus in
Bellingham. However, Nelsen also designed many smaller projects
including personal residences that earned him accolades.
Nelsen’s home that he designed and built on Vashon Island, which
he called Island Farm, reflects his style: an eye for modernity
blended with a reverence for the past.
Nelsen was also vitally involved with his community and
served on many boards. His interests centered upon historic
preservation and urban renewal in Seattle. Ibsen Nelsen died in
2001.
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