Something Old, Something New: How Investments in Old Buildings are a Path to Prosperity

Arctic Club Building, ca. 1917 / Photo: MOHAI

The Urban Land Institute Northwest presents, “Something Old, Something New: How Investments in Old Buildings are a Path to Prosperity,” with speaker David Brown, Executive Vice President and Chief Preservation Officer,
National Trust for Historic Preservation (Washington, DC). Mr. Brown will discuss strategies for adaptive reuse and how the rehabilitation of historic structures makes economic sense. The breakfast program takes place on Wednesday, June 19 from 7:30 – 9:00 am at the Arctic Club Building, 700 Third Ave, Seattle. Registration and networking from 7:00 – 7:30 am. Register online by June 17 through the ULINW’s website.

2013 Ballard Classic Home Tour – Sunday, June 23

Purchase your Ballard Classic Home Tour tickets today!

The Ballard Historical Society’s popular home tour is Sunday, June 23, 2013. Seven vintage Ballard residences of unique character and modern livability will be open for the tour. Three of the homes celebrate their 100th birthdays! To get in on the birthday action, stop by the following local retailers to purchase tickets for $20 using cash or check:

• Sunset Hill Green Market, 6405 32nd Ave. N.W., 206 784-7594
• Secret Garden Bookshop, 2214 N.W. Market Street, 206 789-5006
• Johnson & Johnson Antiques, 6820 Greenwood Ave. North, 206 789-6489
• RE Store, 1440 N.W. 52nd Street, 206 297-9119

Tickets are also available online. In addition, a limited number of tickets are available day of the tour.

Built by skilled craftsmen, the seven vintage homes exemplify lasting quality that continues to support generations of Ballard families. This event happens only once every three years, so don’t miss it in 2013!

When: Sunday June 23, 2013 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. All tickets are will-call only. Exchange your tickets beginning at 9:30 AM day of tour for a brochure with locations.
Where: Tour starts at Sunset Hill Community Clubhouse, 3003 N.W. 66th Street, Ballard.

The Ballard Historical Society also needs tour guides (we call them tour “docents”) to work one shift at a home. In exchange, you’ll receive free tickets for the other half of the tour, to visit all of the homes on the tour. Please contact Lesli Billings at retroreno@comcast.net for details.

About the Tour
The Ballard Classic Home Tour is BHS’ biggest fundraiser, which enables the organization to take part in community projects; present free informative lectures related to Ballard’s History and maintain its archives.

About the Ballard Historical Society
The Ballard Historical Society was formed in 1988 and is dedicated to the celebration and preservation of the unique history and culture of Ballard, Washington. The society is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that provides community and educational programs and maintains an extensive photo archive.

Tour Guidelines

• It is a self-guided tour; no transportation is provided.
• It is not wheelchair accessible; there will be stairs and uneven sidewalks.
• Guests will kindly remove shoes before entering homes.
• No children under the age of 12; babes in arms are allowed.
• No food or drink.
• No cameras or video equipment.
• Only a limited number of people will be allowed in a house at a time.
• Due to the location of a few of the homes, parking may be required some distance away.

Please direct media and other inquiries to tour coordinator Lesli Billings at retroreno@comcast.net. Buy tickets for 2013 Ballard Classic Home Tour

“This Place Matters” Event at Mukai Farm and Garden – June 1

Historic Mukai Farm and Garden on Vashon Island. View through fence. Photo by Jennifer Mortensen, courtesy of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

Join the Friends of Mukai, 4Culture, Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association for a photo event to declare “This Place Matters.” The Mukai Farm and Garden, located on Vashon Island, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated King County Landmark.

The event takes place from 1 to 4 pm on Saturday, June 1, 2013. A mini street fair follows the photo event. Celebrate one of the most important Japanese American cultural resources in King County.

The Mukai Farm and Garden was recently included in the WA Trust’s Most Endangered Properties list.

For more details, download this flyer.

Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Announces 2013 Most Endangered Properties List

Endangered Property: Battelle/Talaris Campus – modernist landscape and buildings designed by Rich Haag Associates and NBBJ; built 1965-67 (Phase 1) and 1970-71 (Phase 2) / Photo: Marissa Natkin, copyright 2011

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation announced its 2013 Most Endangered Historic Properties List on May 15 during the opening reception of its annual RevitalizeWA Conference in Vancouver, WA. The Trust released a video about this year’s list. Individual videos for each property will be released soon.

The following properties, nominated by concerned citizens and organizations throughout Washington, form the Trust’s Most Endangered Historic Properties List for 2013.

THIS YEAR’S LIST (details for each property are described on the WA Trust’s website):

Digester Building, Bellingham, Whatcom County

Haller House, Coupeville, Island County

St. Nicholas Church, Gig Harbor, Pierce County

Electric Building, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County

Battelle/Talaris Campus, Seattle, King County

Colville Indian Agency, Chewelah, Stevens County

Mukai Farm & Garden, Vashon Island, King County

GiveBig to Historic Seattle May 15 (Today!)

GiveBIG has arrived! Today only, when you donate to Historic Seattle through The Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG, your donation will be stretched with funds from GiveBIG sponsors.

Your gift will support the critical work that Historic Seattle does in the community, including:

• Saving an irreplaceable building and creating a vital arts hub—Historic Seattle acquired and is restoring Washington Hall, a 105-year-old performance hall that once hosted Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Marcus Garvey, and other artistic and cultural leaders. We are working to revive the hall as a vibrant center for arts and community.

• Helping people preserve places that matter—In neighborhoods from West Seattle to Ballard, and from Vashon to the University District, Historic Seattle provides frontline leadership and technical assistance that makes it possible for people to reuse and reinvest in the buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes that they care about.

Donate before midnight tonight through Historic Seattle’s page in The Seattle Foundation’s Giving Center.

Thank you for giving big. With your help, we can continue our work to save and bring new vitality to buildings that hold an important place in our lives and our history.

Historic Seattle’s 5th Annual Preservation Awards – May 14, 2013

On Tuesday May 14, 2013, Historic Seattle hosts its Fifth Annual Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford to acknowledge recent successes in the preservation and heritage fields locally. This year we introduce the Beth Chave Historic Preservation Award in honor of our friend and colleague who served as the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board Coordinator for many years.

The event begins at 5:30 pm and ends at 8:00 pm. Enjoy an evening of food and drink and celebrate the award recipients. Join with old and new friends and colleagues who share a passion for preservation. Seattle City Council President will speak about preservation in Seattle. Jeffrey Ochsner introduces our 2013 Preservation Award recipients. Big thanks to the event’s Lead Sponsor KeyBank, with additional support from 4Culture.

This year, we’re raffling off some great prizes including a one-night stay at the Sorrento Hotel and dinner for two at the Hunt Club; Tom Douglas restaurant gift certificates; and some stellar Washington wine. Raffle tickets are $20 each.

Register for the awards event online by Monday, May 13 (NOON); telephone us to order tickets, 206.622.6952; or pay at the door.

Congratulations to the 2013 Award Recipients!

MOHAI/Naval Reserve Armory – The Beth Chave Historic Preservation Award for Best Adaptive Reuse Project goes to the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) and its supporting partners for their outstanding achievement in the adaptive reuse of the Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Terry Avenue Building - The Best Rehabilitation Project Award goes to Vulcan Real Estate and its supporting partners for its exemplary approach to renovating a vernacular, brick warehouse/office building by providing needed enhancements and new uses while respecting the integrity of the original design of a Seattle Landmark.

Seattle Vineyard Church – The Best Preservation Practice Award goes to Seattle Vineyard Church and its supporting partners for a painting project that serves as an excellent model for the treatment of historic properties.

Pioneer Building Interior Storm Windows – The Exemplary Stewardship Award goes to Dr. Richard and Mrs. Dorothy Sikora, owners and stewards of the Pioneer Building, and their supporting partners for an outstanding interior storm windows project that serves as an excellent model for the treatment of historic properties.

HT Kubota Building – The Preserving Neighborhood Character award goes to HTK Management, LLC and its supporting partners preserving and enhancing the HT Kubota Building into a new mix of retail, restaurants and artist studios.

Alliance for Pioneer Square – The Community Advocacy Award goes to the Alliance for Pioneer Square for its leadership in revitalizing Seattle’s first neighborhood.

Kevin Daniels - The Community Investment Award goes to Kevin Daniels for his long-term commitment investing in, preserving and revitalizing Seattle neighborhoods and landmark properties.

Seattle Center Historic Landmark Study

Seattle Center recently released the Seattle Center Historic Landmark Study, prepared by the joint consultant team of Artifacts Consulting, Inc. of Tacoma and HistoryLink.org. This report is important because: a) it provides a comprehensive evaluation of historic resources at Seattle Center within the context of the site’s World’s Fair history and its history since the Fair; and b) serves as a solid planning tool for Seattle Center moving forward. The study clearly states which buildings, structures, features, etc. are significant and and which resources are eligible for Seattle Landmark nomination.

Download a pdf of the Seattle Center Historic Landmark Study. (7.1MB)

The study calls out two clusters of resources based on “small historic concentration areas encompassing a concentration of properties designed by a single architecture firm.” According to the report, “The Paul Thiry (Thiry) concentration area around KeyArena and the Kirk, Wallace, & McKinley (Kirk) concentration area around the Playhouse and the Exhibition Hall present the most uniform groupings of properties.”

Landmark nominations for each cluster is a possibility and may be more beneficial for Seattle Center’s planning purposes. The study also discusses historic district nomination and individual nominations. In MAin2′s opinion, given the Seattle Center’s association with the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and the number of resources that would be considered “contributing” to a historic district, it makes more sense to have a historic district rather than individual landmarks dotted throughout the site. If the existing designated landmarks (Space Needle, Pacific Science Center, Horiuchi Mural, Monorail and Kobe Bell) are incorporated into a potential district, then a stronger case can be made. In a designated historic district, changes to the site (including new construction) and not just the buildings would be reviewed by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB). Individual landmarks are reviewed in isolation.

Seattle Center will be presenting the study and findings to the LPB on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, during a regular Board meeting. The meeting is open to the public and begins at 3:30 pm. It is held in the Seattle Municipal Building, 700 Fifth Avenue, 40th Floor, Room 4060. The item is far down on the agenda. Download the LPB agenda.

For further reading, Knute Berger wrote about the study in his Crosscut article, “Seattle Center–Is Historic District Designation Ahead?”

Here’s the Seattle Center Historic Landmark Study Press Release.