Historic Preservation

Mayor Greg Nickels is looking for two new members to serve on the Landmarks Preservation Board, one architect position and one at-large position.
 
The 12-member Landmarks Preservation Board makes recommendations to the Seattle City Council for landmark designation and reviews all proposed physical alterations to designated features of landmark properties.
 
The board is composed of two architects, two historians, one structural engineer, one representative each from the fields of real estate and finance, one member from the City Planning Commission, a Get Engaged member, and three members at-large. 

All appointments are made by the mayor, subject to city council confirmation.

Board meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 3:30 p.m. The architect members also serve on the board’s Architectural Review Committee. Board members generally must commit approximately 10 hours per month to board business.

Interested applicants must be Seattle residents, and board members serve without compensation. Those interested in being considered should send a letter of interest and resume by Sept. 15.

The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board will hold a hearing and vote today, Aug. 19 at 3:30 p.m. on whether to designate The Kenney's Seaview and Sunrise buildings as historic landmarks.

The hearing will take place in the Seattle Municipal Tower 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor, Room 4060.

On July 15, the Landmarks Preservation Board unanimously approved a nomination to designate The Kenney's Seaview and Sunrise buildings as historic landmarks.

The building was self-nominated by the retirement home owners in hopes of preserving and protecting the buildings.

"We recognized the significance of the building in the West Seattle community," said Kevin McFeely, chief executive officer of The Kenney. "We wanted to make sure that as we use the building going forward we’d be able to acknowledge that it does have historical significance in West Seattle."

The Landmarks Preservation Board will spend the next few weeks touring The Kenney and will determine whether the buildings should be designated in a public hearing on August 19.

On Wednesday, July 15, the Landmarks Preservation Board will consider a nomination to designate The Kenney's Seaview and Sunrise buildings as historic landmarks.

The Kenney Presbyterian Home was established in 1898 through funds left in their will "to maintain a home or retreat to be called The Samuel and Jessie Kenney Presbyterian Home."

By the early 1900's, by the executors of their will were able to purchase five acres near Lincoln Beach--the present site of The Kenney--for $105,000.

With additional funds left to build a building, the Seattle firm of Graham & Myers was chosen to design the building, and construction began in 1907.

The Seaview building, located at 7125 Fauntleroy Way S.W., was built in 1907, patterned after the Independence Hall in Philadelphia with a prominent tower and cupola.

By 1909 the facility was open for membership, although the third floor was not yet complete.

The site was rural, and on the property through the early part of the 20th century there were cows, pigs, horses, chickens, and a freshwater spring as a water source.

So that the public will not forget the contributions of us Rosie the Riveters I decided to organize a program to showcase what we did during WWII.

The first program was presented at Providence Mount St. Vincent. It was so well received that we decided to go on the road, so to speak. Our second program will be presented at Bridge Park Retirement Residence at High Point, Thursday, July 16 at 3 p.m.

People often ask who qualifies to be a Rosie the Riveter. According to the national organization, a woman is eligible as a Rosie if her work or volunteer services occurred during 1941 to 1945 and consisted of employment of any sort in an industry or government agency that was directly related to the war effort.

Flo Ringstad was a WAVE in the US Navy where she trained at boot camp in New York City, graduating at the top of her class. Elaine Russell was just out of high school and worked at Sears Roebuck filling orders for uniforms for all those other Rosies.

Chris Holm riveted on the B-29 bulkhead at Puget Sound Sheet Metal Works. Margaret Ceis riveted at Boeing Plant 2 in Renton on B-52 planes. She said she had one week’s training and worked for about two years.

Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Log House Museum will be preserved for future generations with help from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books
and online resources donated by the IMLS.

IMLS has now awarded almost 3,000 free sets of the IMLS Bookshelf, in cooperation with the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).

“The Connecting to Collections bookshelf is another great resource that the Log House Museum and Southwest Seattle Historical Society can utilize for better preservation and collections care” said director Andrea Mercado.

“When IMLS launched this initiative to improve the dire state of our nation’s collections, we understood that the materials gathered for the Bookshelf would serve as important tools for museums, libraries, and archives nationwide,” said Anne-Imelda Radice, director of IMLS. “We were both pleased and encouraged by the overwhelming interest of institutions prepared to answer the call to action, and we know that with their dedication, artifacts from our shared history will be
preserved for future generations.”

The Fremont Neighborhood Council is hoping to gain neighborhood support to protect an 80-year-old fire station annex that may be torn down.

The annex to Fire Station 9 was built in 1921 and has been used to prepare and store oxygen tanks since the 1980s, according to a landmark nomination for the site prepared by Susan Boyle of BOLA Architecture and Planning.

The council has posted flyers around the Fremont neighborhood asking residents to write to the Landmarks Preservation Board and attend the July 1 board meeting to support the annex building, located at 3829 Linden Ave. N.

The city is looking to demolish the structure as part of a 2003 levy that created funding to replace, upgrade and renovate 32 neighborhood fire stations.

Both the annex and Fire Station 9, built in the 1950s, would be torn down and replaced.

The annex is a 2,300-square-foot concrete structure. It is stucco clad, and the raised piers at the outer corners of the parapet reflect design trends from the 1920s, according to the landmark nomination.

The Landmarks Preservation Board will review the Fire Station 9 Annex at 3:30 p.m., July 1 in Room 4060 of the Seattle Municipal Tower.

Dear Editor,

While I applaud Mr. Donat's enthusiasm for Ballard history (click here to read the story), either he was quoted incorrectly or there are some inaccuracies.

First of all, East Ballard was mainly industrial from Market to Salmon Bay, along 14th. Fourteenth was not known as "Railroad Avenue" for nothing! Actually, a 1905 Ballard newspaper complains about "Gypsies" living in tents along 14th, complete with a picture.

There were many houses below Market to Salmon Bay, as well as small stores, but the mills and shipyards took up all of the waterfront real estate. There are a bunch of new condos going up on 17th below Market where the Carlsen family owned four houses, a grocery store and butcher shop.

Secondly, where the Fred Meyer is currently was not residential; it was the site of an ironworks and foundry and the dump.

Former general manager of the Alki Homestead, Chris Long, has signed a five-year lease to open a new neighborhood tavern called The Ship Wreck in the Admiral District, which will employ four of the former Homestead employees.

After the Homestead, famous for its fried chicken and family atmosphere, was shut down after a fire damaged the historic landmark on Jan. 16., co-owner Tom Lin said it was his goal to find work for the 10 employees left without work.

Lin said he wanted to be clear that the new bar, to be located on the 4200 block of Southwest Admiral Way across the street from the Metropolitan Market, is a temporary venture and a way to keep the Homestead employees together until he can re-open the Homestead.

He also wanted to make clear that he had no financial interest in the maritime-themed Ship Wreck. Long will be the owner while Lin acts as his advisor.

The menu at The Ship Wreck, which won't open until this fall, is yet to be determined.

"There won't be fried chicken, that's No. 1," said Lin.

The June 18 Ballard Avenue Landmark Board election was a sweep for Conor Byrne.

Joseph Herrin, owner of the Conor Byrne building, beat Steve Mako, owner of the BalMar building, in the race for position one, reserved for property owners..

Patrick Wellnitz, owner of Conor Byrne Pub, beat John Burreson, owner of Old Town Alehouse, in the election for position two, reserved for business and property owners.

There were no candidates for position three, which is reserved for district residents, so the position will be filled by a mayoral appointment and city council confirmation.

The Ballard Avenue Landmark District was established in 1976 to protect the unique architectural heritage of the street.

Norwegians from all over the area convened on Ballard's Leif Erikson Lodge June 7 to witness the opening of a time capsule recovered from the former site of the Norway Center.

The capsule was found by demolition crews at the Mountaineers Club, formerly the Norway Center, at 300 Third Ave. W. It was given to Russ Oberg, president of Leif Erikson Lodge, and Tom Stang, retired consul of the Royal Norwegian Consulate.

It was unclear whether the capsule was sealed during the 1950 dedication of the Norway Center or was transferred to the center from the 1915 dedication of the Norway Hall.

Before the capsule was opened, tribute was paid to the old Norway Center, which was sold to the Mountaineers Club in 1983, and was recently demolished.

"It was a beautiful building and held many happy memories," said Karin Gorud Scovill, representing the Daughters of Norway.

Stang said he drove by the site, now just a hole in the ground, and was overwhelmed, not necessarily by sadness, but by a lot of feelings.

"What most of my generation will remember about the center are the Saturday night dances," he said. "It was truly a center for young Norwegians in Seattle."