Anyone who meets Dan Say immediatelysees that he is a passionate person. Dan brings passion and sensitivity to the structural design for every individual project. This means if a traditional structural approach is best for the project, great. But if an unusual, edge-of-the-box approach will better serve the design intent and maintain historic integrity, then that’s what you’ll get.
With 39 years of structural design for historic buildings under his belt, Dan has amassed an expansive resume. He and his team have touched a number of iconic places including the Pike Place Market redevelopment, King Street Station, more than a dozen buildings in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, six Carnegie Library renovations for Seattle Public Library, the Washington State Legislative building both pre- and
post-Nisqually Earthquake, the original Rainier Brewery, the Cherberg Building in Olympia, and multiple county courthouses throughout the state.
Dan is a native and second-generation Seattleite – his grandfather was an immigrant tile setter who worked on the original King Street Station lobby in 1906. He grew up on Beacon Hill in the shadow of the historic Pacific Tower (then called the Pacific Medical Center), attended O’Dea High School, and completed his education at Seattle University. His passion for local history combined with his love of people led him straight to a historic preservation career path. When Dan looks at a historic building, he not only sees the building’s bones but also the people that occupied that building and its relation to its neighborhood. He understands that the goal is not just to save the building, but to preserve the neighborhood’s history for future generations.
Building restoration is a key element in preserving a community’s history. Dan’s ability to provide practical design solutions with minimal intervention and his people skills are a winning combination for a successful renovation endeavor. Whether it’sproviding preliminary historic structure evaluations, or inserting seven stories of braced frames to the FX McRory’s project while removing only minimal portions of the
existing structure, or tracking down the original 1941 Yesler Terrace Steam Plant chimney stack drawings from the Chicago cons
truction company critical to the analysis that preserved the stack (resulting in $800,000 savings for Seattle Housing Authority), Dan and his team’s thoughtful approach for every project results in preserving the historic fabric for Seattle’s neighborhood gems.
In addition to being a founding principal with Swenson Say Fagét (SSF) for the past 25years, Dan’s community commitments include six years on the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Board of Directors ( he is currently still a non-board member volunteer), four years on the AIA Seattle
Board of Directors, and two years on the Design-in-Public Board of Directors.
Nicholas Vann, AIA, Washington State’s Historical Architect with the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, speaks to Dan’s unrivaled approach to preservation state-wide:
“Dan Say truly sets the gold standard when it comes to sensitive, practical, innovative approaches to structural challenges in historic buildings. His diligence and attention to detail are unrivaled as evidenced by his outstanding accomplishments in Seattle and Washington State. He possesses characteristics that breed success in every project he touches, and he inspires others to approach historic rehabilitation projects with the same care and sensitivity as he does.”
So, raise a glass to Dan (an Italian red, he’d likely suggest) and all his accomplishments on behalf of historic places!
Pictured top to bottom, from Dan’s extensive portfolio: Pike Place Market, Metropole Building (Pioneer Square), aerial view of FX McRory’s (Pioneer Square); Fran’s Chocolates (the original Rainier Brewery and Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Company building, known collectively as Seattle Brewing and Malting Co, in Georgetown); the Green Lake and Columbia City Carnegie libraries
Each recipient was featured on our blog & social media throughout September – click the links below to learn more about these inspiring people & projects!
Building 9 (now called Mercy Magnuson Place) at Magnuson Park, originally a barracks building for Naval Station Puget Sound on Sand Point, is now home to 148 units of affordable housing, the Denise Louie early learning education center, and a Neighborcare Health community health clinic – thanks to the outstanding work of the project team in partnership with Mercy Housing Northwest. Read more about their incredible effort.
Lincoln High School, a Seattle Landmark and the city’s oldest high school, first opened in 1907 to accommodate the rapid growth in North Seattle that came with the streetcar extension to Wallingford and relocation of the University of Washington campus. 113 years later, another wave of growth called the historic school back into action. Read more about this project.
The Community Investment Award is presented to the Louisa Hotel project team for their restoration of this contributing building to the Seattle Chinatown National Register Historic District and the International Special Review District. Read more about the project.
The South Park Yacht Club building was originally built in 1954 as a 13-unit mid-century apartment building. Over time, it fell into disrepair and was completely dilapidated, becoming a blight for the neighborhood. Read more about the rehabilitation.
After operating in the existing building for 15 years, Town Hall’s leadership realized that – while the building’s historic character helped define the organization – the building had many liabilities that limited programming opportunities. After a major preservation-friendly renovation, including seismic retrofit, Town Hall now has the facility it needs to further its mission for many years to come, earning the project team our Exemplary Stewardship Award. Read more about this project.
Wa Na Wari is an active center for Black art and culture sited in a 5th-generation Black-owned home in Seattle’s Central District. By providing space and resources for Black artists to collaborate, exhibit their work, and network with other artists, collectors, and patrons, Wa Na Wari is advancing the community in the face of such challenges. To support their ongoing efforts in homeowner advocacy, Wa Na Wari also receives a $3,000 Community Advocacy prize alongside this award. Read more about their inspiring work.
Good Shepherd Center Voluntary Seismic Retrofit Project
Project Mission
The Main Building and South Annex of the Good Shepherd Center (GSC) were both constructed in an era when unreinforced masonry buildings (URM), in which brick structures carry gravity loads but no steel is present to strengthen structural connections during seismic events, were common practice. Today, the City of Seattle strongly encourages, and will soon require, seismic retrofitting of these URM buildings. To protect our tenants and this historically significant site, Historic Seattle has elected to begin the seismic retrofit process now. We appreciate your cooperation and support in our efforts to make the Good Shepherd Center a safe and welcoming place for all.
Existing Conditions
The Main Building is divided into thirds with a south, central, and north wing. Each wing is divided by a firewall extending the entire height and width of the building. The Main Building is constructed of unreinforced masonry and is subject to our voluntary seismic retrofit project. The South Annex, assumed to be constructed shortly after the main building, is a single-story structure consisting primarily of concrete masonry units (CMU) walls with some unreinforced masonry exterior walls. Like the Main Building, the South Annex is subject to our voluntary seismic retrofit project. The North Annex, designed in 1953, consists of a two-story building with solid, reinforced brick masonry unit walls on the east and west facades of the building and tilt-up concrete panels providing shear resistance to the north and south facades. The North Annex does not require any seismic retrofit.
Project Team
The following firms and individuals are key members of our project team:
Architect: BuildingWork-Matt Aalfs, Elise Novak Structural Engineer: Swenson Say Faget-Dan Say, Zane Kanyer Testing: Otto Rosenau-Judy Rosenau-Payseno, Christopher Pratt Hazardous Materials Testing: Migizi Group-Doug Henry Cost Estimation: RC Cost Group-Andy Cluness, Mark Richardson
Project Summary
To help protect the occupants of the building, Historic Seattle is conducting a voluntary seismic retrofit of this important property. Historic Seattle first hired structural engineers, Swenson Say Faget, to analyze the existing structural condition of the buildings. We then conducted exploratory demolition and hired Otto Rosenau to conduct load-testing of specific structural attachment points throughout the buildings to verify seismic status and load capacity.
Once this testing was completed, we assembled a Good Shepherd Center Seismic Retrofit Advisory Board tasked with helping Historic Seattle interview and select a project architect. The group selected BuildingWork, a local firm with extensive experience in seismically retrofitting historic, community structures. BuildingWork utilized our preliminary structural analysis and created a schematic design, which was used for a preliminary cost estimate. This estimate provided the necessary information to develop a project budget, and Historic Seattle began our fundraising efforts. Once funds were secured, BuildingWork created a more detailed set of drawings and applied for and received a building permit from the City of Seattle.Before we finalized our grant contracts to be used to fund the project, we hired RC Cost Group to conduct an updated cost estimate. Historic Seattle then was able to define the first phase of construction more accurately. Our first phase will consist of a full seismic retrofit of the South Annex, out-of-plane anchorage on the fourth and fifth floors of the building, and installation of steel “strong backs” within the Good Shepherd Center former chapel space.
Project Bidding Schedule
Bid Package Distribution: March 5, 2024
Pre-bid walk-through (not mandatory): March 12, 2024 – 10 am, Room 202, Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Seattle); a second walk-through date TBD
Bid opening: March 26, 2024 – Dearborn House (1117 Minor Ave, Seattle)
Bidding Information
Questions about the bidding process? Contact David McClain, Historic Seattle’s Director of Real Estate, at davidm@historicseattle.org or 206.622.6952, ext 228.
We expect construction to first take place in the South Annex from June 24, 2024 through August 12, 2024. The overall construction window is 180 calendar days from the June 24 start date.
Funders
Historic Seattle would like to thank and recognize our generous funders for this important project:
4Culture
Raynier Institute and Foundation
Washington State Historical Society’s Heritage Capital Projects program
City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
FEMA
Murdock Trust
Norcliffe Foundation
Joshua Green Foundation
Support Historic Seattle’s advocacy efforts! Contributions to our advocacy fund were essential in securing landmark status for The Showbox. Your gift also enables us to continue to fight to protect other cultural spaces in Seattle.
You can also show your support by purchasing a Showbox shirt. 100% of proceeds fund our advocacy work! PLEASE NOTE: Due to COVID-19’s impact on our operations, fulfillment of Showbox shirt orders may be delayed. Please allow 1-2 weeks for your order to ship.
WHAT’S NEW? The Showbox still needs YOU!
The Showbox is a designated City of Seattle Landmark, but it is still not saved! Like we said in the November 22 Seattle Times Open Letter* and the December 4 Stranger Open Letter**, featuring a broad cross-section of the local arts & culture community, we need YOU to help change that. Urge the Landmarks Preservation Board to place “controls” on the property. Controls are a part of the landmarking process and describe the protections to the physical elements of the building. Without controls, The Showbox can be torn down. Like designation, there are specific rules on what can be considered for this part of the process. Send your comments to Sarah Sodt, the City’s historic preservation officer, at sarah.sodt@seattle.gov or plan to attend the next LPB meeting (TBD) to provide your comments in person.
Don’t know what to say? Here are some ideas you can pull from (and add in your personal stories!):
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“Landmarks deserve protection. Place controls on The Showbox.”
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“The teardown trend is out of control – place controls on The Showbox to keep this landmark safe.”
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“I read the relevant sections of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and believe that controls will not prevent The Showbox property from reasonable economic use. With controls, the venue can still continue to serve as an active, thriving home for music. Placing controls makes business sense, in addition to being critical to protecting this landmark for the benefit of our city’s arts & culture community. The Landmarks Preservation Board should place controls to ensure its protection.”
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“SAVE THE SHOWBOX. PLACE CONTROLS.”
(*Correction: Due to an inadvertent error, Benaroya Hall is incorrectly listed and has not signed on to this advocacy effort. **Since publication, Tom Douglas has added his name in support.)
February 2020
The property owner has requested a second extension for negotiating controls and incentives with the City of Seattle. Due to the owner’s delay, the Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) will not make a recommendation on controls and incentives at its February 19, 2020 meeting. The LPB was first scheduled to consider controls and incentives at its December 18, 2019 meeting.
We are now seven months into the controls and incentives process. We know that the property owner doesn’t want controls placed on the property, but how long will this go on? Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a limit in the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance so long as the LPB grants the owner’s requests for extension.
Historic Seattle continues to vigilantly monitor the process and is ready to make the case for placing controls on the Showbox
November 2019
On November 19, Historic Seattle announced a new partnership with Seattle Theatre Group (operators of the Moore, Neptune, and Paramount Theatres) in our efforts to save The Showbox. Together, we submitted a formal offer to purchase the property in October 2019. If accepted, the partnership would retain AEG as the operating tenant through at least 2024.
Separately, negotiations with the current property owner continue to play out with the Landmarks Preservation Board in a process known as “controls and incentives.” Controls protect the character-defining features of the landmark, in exchange for incentives for the property owner, which can include access to grants, special tax valuations, and transfer of development rights.
“We are thrilled to have such a strong partner as STG in our effort to purchase The Showbox,” said Eugenia Woo, our director of preservation services. “As we continue our due diligence and look forward to the opportunity to negotiate with the property’s owner, Historic Seattle will not back down in our fight to protect The Showbox. Landmarks deserve protection. We will advocate for ‘controls’ to be placed at the public meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) scheduled for December 18 and ask people who care about arts and culture to continue to fight alongside us,” Woo added.
“Seattle is not Seattle without The Showbox,” said Chad Queirolo, a 20-year Showbox employee and vice president of AEG Presents Northwest. “The rich musical history of the Northwest, that has shaped this city and the world, wouldn’t be what it is without this venue and the community around it. There are very few places like it left in the country. We fully support this partnership between Historic Seattle and STG and look forward to working with them to ensure this venue continues to thrive for years to come,” Queirolo added.
“Historic preservation is not solely about protecting a physical building, it’s about preserving the nature of what happens within it,” said Ricardo Frazer, board chair of STG. “That is why we are compelled to stand beside Historic Seattle in this effort. In an era when the redevelopment of cultural space is far too common, we fear what the loss of this iconic venue would mean to our region. Securing controls will protect the space, while our purchase and partnership will ensure it continues to be used for live performances, not only honoring its history but guaranteeing its role in our community for future generations,” Frazer added.
As we’ve always said, saving The Showbox is a marathon, not a sprint. Thank you for running with us!
October 2019
On October 8, the City announced its settlement with the owner of The Showbox regarding his lawsuit over the property’s temporary inclusion in the Pike Place Market Historic District. In a separate agreement, the City agreed to an option to purchase the property for an assignee (a third party such as Historic Seattle or a developer) if the Landmarks Preservation Board places NO controls on the The Showbox.
To be clear, the City’s agreement with the owner of The Showbox does NOT supersede the landmarks ordinance. We are continuing to fight for controls on the building’s physical elements that were designated by a unanimous vote of the Landmarks Preservation Board.
Furthermore, this agreement between the City and the owner of The Showbox does NOT prevent us from moving forward with our offer to purchase the property. For months, we have been doing our due diligence – including appraisals of the property’s value – and hope to be able to announce our plan soon.
July 2019
LANDMARK STATUS REACHED FOR THE SHOWBOX!
Thanks to the tireless dedication of a community of advocates, music lovers, and passionate preservationists over the past year, Historic Seattle is thrilled to announce that The Showbox is now the City of Seattle’s latest landmark. At the Landmarks Preservation Board’s (LPB) July 17 meeting, the LPB voted unanimously to designate The Showbox based on criteria C and D of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (C: It is associated in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, City, state, or nation, and D: It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or a method of construction). The elements identified for preservation include the exterior of the building as well as select interior portions.
During the LPB meeting, Historic Seattle presented a timeline of The Showbox’s rich history. The Streamline Moderne building originally opened in 1917 for Charles and Emma Frye, founders of the Frye Art Museum, to open the Central Public Market, framed as a competitor to the Pike Place Market. Over the 102 years since, it has served as an entertainment venue for 57% of that time (58 years). The Showbox has housed performances of every significant genre of modern and emerging music, including jazz, big band, blues, rock-n-roll, rock, pop, punk, new wave, grunge, and alternative musicians, in addition to serving as a comedy club and a bingo hall.
Since news broke of the threat to The Showbox, the music community has been at the forefront of Historic Seattle’s efforts to save the venue. Following the LPB’s vote, Historic Seattle’s director of preservation services Eugenia Woo said, “We are ecstatic that our city, through today’s designation by the Landmarks Preservation Board, has formally recognized what so many people have known and said all along: The Showbox is a landmark and this place matters. Over the past year, it has been Historic Seattle’s honor and privilege to work alongside the music community, Friends of The Showbox, Vanishing Seattle, and Friends of Historic Belltown to fight to protect this beloved place.”
Woo added, “While we celebrate this exciting victory, we know that our work is far from over. Although landmarking offers protections for the physical elements of the property and not its use, this is a critical step that helps to save the building that houses The Showbox. To preserve its use as a thriving home to the music community, Historic Seattle is continuing our due diligence to purchase the property through a fundraising campaign. We have decades of experience in operating, rehabilitating, and maintaining historic properties, including unreinforced masonry buildings, that make us confident we can keep The Showbox safely in use for the public benefit for generations to come.”
June 2019
Alongside our coalition of advocates (Vanishing Seattle, Friends of Historic Belltown, and Friends of The Showbox), Historic Seattle is thrilled to announce successful outcomes of two major elements in the fight to #SaveTheShowbox that happened in early June.
On Tuesday, June 4, dozens of people gathered in front of the City Council’s Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development & Arts Committee for a public hearing about a proposed 6-month extension to the temporary expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District to include The Showbox. The original expansion was passed unanimously by the full City Council in August 2018. The Committee voted to advance this proposed extension to a full City Council vote on Monday, June 10. At this vote, the extension passed 8-1.
In speaking before the Committee, Historic Seattle noted the geographic, historic, and economic rationale behind such an expansion. There, Eugenia Woo, Historic Seattle’s director of preservation services, noted, “We researched the history of The Showbox which was originally known as the Central Public Market, built in 1917, ten years after the [Pike Place] Market was established in 1907…The City needs more time to conduct its due diligence in this process. Historic Seattle supports a six-month extension of the temporary district expansion in order for the study to occur properly.”
Continuing to speak on Historic Seattle’s behalf, Naomi West, the organization’s director of philanthropy and engagement, added, “All of the Pike Place Market directly benefits from The Showbox. Because of proximity, a thriving Showbox is inextricably linked to a thriving Market. 422 artists performed at The Showbox last year alone, and those bands love to head to the Market to explore upon arriving in Seattle. Bars, restaurants, retail spaces, hotels, and coffee shops all benefit from Showbox guests who like to go out in the neighborhood before attending a show. The Showbox brings 1,000 guests to the area approximately 200 nights each year. That’s 200,000 people spending their dollars in and around the Market annually. These data points aren’t new – there’s an 80-year history filled with local impact. The venue also provides 200 people with employment.”
West went on to deliver a statement submitted to Historic Seattle by Macklemore: “And, as a wise man named Ben Haggerty, aka Macklemore, told us in his statement regarding this issue, ‘The Showbox is also a venue that is critical in attracting many national acts to route their tours through Seattle. Losing it would mean fewer shows and lost revenue for the city…As our city continues to grow in density, it’s imperative that we protect the spaces that give Seattle its cultural identity. This is true of The Showbox, and it’s true of other important places in the city, especially in communities where displacement and gentrification are dramatically reshaping neighborhoods. If we value our musical heritage and want to leave the next generation with a piece of authentic Seattle, this is our fight.’”
Update: On June 21, the temporary expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District to include The Showbox was struck down in King County Superior Court. Eugenia Woo, Historic Seattle’s director of preservation services, released the following statement:
Since last August, we have supported including The Showbox property in the Pike Place Market Historic District. Today’s ruling by Judge Patrick Oishi was disappointing and we did not expect there would be a decision today on the motions for summary judgment. The ruling was about land use and not about whether The Showbox is a significant music venue and cultural resource worth preserving.
We’ve always said that saving The Showbox would require a multi-prong strategy. We continue to focus on the landmark designation process and look forward to the designation hearing on July 17. We’ll continue to keep open communication channels with the property owner’s representatives and hope to discuss Historic Seattle’s serious interest in purchasing the property.
For 45 years, our organization has had a proven track record of real estate development involving the saving and rehabilitation of historic properties throughout Seattle. We currently own and operate eight historic properties that are community assets and contribute to the cultural health of Seattle neighborhoods. The Good Shepherd Center, Washington Hall, and the Cadillac Hotel are a few of our key properties.
We hope to add The Showbox property to our portfolio so that it may continue its long history as a significant music venue and cultural space—it cannot be replicated or replaced.
The Landmarks Preservation Board (LPB) considered The Showbox nomination at its Wednesday, June 5 meeting. Historic Seattle submitted the nomination in August 2018 alongside co-nominators Vanishing Seattle and Friends of Historic Belltown. At the LPB meeting, Historic Seattle stated, “No place can better represent the cultural history of music in Seattle.”
Collectively, public comment provided at the LPB meeting was overwhelmingly in support of the landmark nomination, including a statement submitted by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and presented by Showbox employee Misha Dumois. “There is so much history at Seattle’s Showbox and it would be a monumental loss to the city if the doors closed. I have so many great memories, not only from playing that stage with Pearl Jam and Flight to Mars, but I’ve also seen countless incredible shows over the years. To me, The Showbox is a vital landmark to Seattle’s rich music history, as well as today’s thriving community. Those doors should stay open, and those amazing employees should keep their jobs,” McCready’s statement noted.
Following public comments, the LPB voted unanimously to nominate The Showbox as a landmark.The LPB will meet on Wednesday, July 17 at a public hearing to consider designation, which, if approved, would bestow landmark status upon this iconic venue. Historic Seattle will provide additional information for the public as that date approaches.
While recognizing these victories and the ongoing effort to protect this meaningful place, on Wednesday, June 5, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation also announced its addition of The Showbox to its “Most Endangered Places” list.
In response to that news and the outcome of this week’s events, Kji Kelly, Historic Seattle’s executive director, said, “We agree that The Showbox, despite our recent victories, is as endangered as it gets in Seattle right now. More City Council and Landmarks Board votes remain; there is a lot of work left to do. As we’ve said since the beginning of this fight, the best outcome is a preservation-friendly buyer, and that’s why we stepped up to say we’re ready, willing, and able to take ownership of the building to keep The Showbox thriving as a venue for the next 80 years. We remain eager to work with the current property owner to make a deal happen.”
What You Can Do NOW!
Send comments in support of landmark designation to Sarah Sodt by Thursday, July 11 or speak at the Landmarks Preservation Board designation hearing on Wednesday, July 17. We’ll share the agenda for that hearing once it’s published.
May 2019
Remember when we said this would be a marathon? It’s been nearly 10 months since the development plans for The Showbox first made the news…The Showbox is still under threat of demolition, and we still need YOU to help us save it. (Need more proof of why this place matters? Check out Ethan Steinman’s documentary “No Reentry: The Irreplaceable Showbox,” which premiered at The Showbox on May 22 and is sponsored in part by Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture.)
Historic Seattle submitted a landmark nomination in conjunction with Friends of Historic Belltown and Vanishing Seattle in August 2018, following an announcement that the building housing The Showbox was being considered for redevelopment. Contrary to several reports, a sale of the property has not yet taken place.
Recently, Crosscut reported on the City of Seattle’s efforts to negotiate with the owner of The Showbox building to reach a standstill on the owner’s litigation and the City’s permanent historic district expansion. Since that report, Historic Seattle reached out to the property owner with a preliminary offer to buy The Showbox. We have not received a formal response to that offer.
The LPB meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:30PM and is the first of two steps to successfully turn The Showbox building into a landmark. Following a successful nomination, the LPB will schedule another meeting regarding designation.
To support the nomination, you can submit written comments in advance of the meeting to LPB Coordinator Sarah Sodt by May 30 or attend the meeting at City Hall to provide your comments in person.
To be considered relevant, what you write or say must pertain to how The Showbox meets at least one (or more) of the six designation criteria of the City’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The focus of our nomination is criteria C and D.
The criteria are:
a) location of, or association in a significant way with, a historic event with a significant effect upon the community, City, state, or nation;
b) association in a significant way with the life of a person important in the history of the City, state, or nation; c) association in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, City, state or nation; d) embodiment of the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or a method of construction;
e) an outstanding work of a designer or builder;
f) because of prominence of spatial location, contrasts of siting, age, or scale, it is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the city and contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of such neighborhood or the City.
In your comments, share your personal experiences at The Showbox in ways that relate to the architecture, the neighborhood, and the cultural significance.
In addition to the newly scheduled LPB meeting date, the City of Seattle provided public notice in the Daily Journal of Commerce on May 2 for a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 4 on a six-month extension of the interim expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District to include The Showbox. Historic Seattle has advocated for this expansion since August and continues to support it as the study on permanent expansion remains underway. Comments in support of this extension may be directed in writing to Councilmember Lisa Herbold by Monday, June 3 or presented at the public hearing on June 4 at 5:30PM at the City Council Chambers in City Hall.
PAST UPDATES
August 2018
On the morning of August 10, a group of more than 150 local and national artists signed onto an open letter in the centerfold of Friday’s Seattle Times urging Seattle residents to take action to #SAVETHESHOWBOX. The list is reflective of the depth and breadth of The Showbox’s history.
The group is led by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, Duff McKagan of Guns n’ Roses, Macklemore, and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam.
The letter notes, “For nearly 80 years, The Showbox has been home to some of Seattle’s biggest cultural moments, from Duke Ellington to Buffalo Springfield, The Police, The Ramones, James Brown, Heart, Ellen DeGeneres, Eminem, Soundgarden, Coldplay, Robin Williams, Chris Stapleton, Prince, and beyond. Despite this venue’s iconic status, it is under threat. The Onni Group, a BC-based developer, plans to tear down The Showbox, to build a 44-story luxury residential tower in its place. We cannot let this happen.”
The group is working with an advocacy coalition led by Historic Seattle to advance several policy solutions that can help protect The Showbox. In addition to designating the venue as a historic landmark, the letter urges people to take meaningful action to support the effort by contacting Seattle’s City Council and Mayor Jenny Durkan.
Update (August 29): Your calls, emails, and public comments worked! The City Council voted unanimously to temporarily expand the Pike Place Market Historic District to include The Showbox site, in effect adding protections for its use. On August 24, Mayor Durkan signed the temporary expansion into law.
This expansion, advancing the landmark nomination we submitted, and finding a Showbox-friendly offer to present to the property owner is our comprehensive approach to this effort. We’ll need your continued support throughout the landmarks process (stay tuned), and we continue to seek ideas on alternative purchase options.
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On August 9, at a press conference, Historic Seattle announced its advocate coalition – including Vanishing Seattle and Friends of Historic Belltown – submitted a landmark nomination for The Showbox. The nomination was submitted Wednesday afternoon, August 8.
“This is an exciting moment for the effort to Save The Showbox. We submitted the nomination ahead of the developer, allowing our advocates more time to demonstrate the significance of this iconic place and to make the case for why it must be protected as a landmark,” said Eugenia Woo, Historic Seattle’s Director of Preservation Services, at the press conference.
“We thank everyone who made this possible: our co-nominators, Friends of Historic Belltown and Vanishing Seattle; King County Executive Dow Constantine, a music enthusiast and preservationist; Jay Middleton, who organized the Change.org petition that now has nearly 91,000 signatures; City Councilmembers who have been working with us on this effort; Northwest Vernacular, who prepared this nomination, and last, but certainly not least, the donors who have given generously to our advocacy fund. Their support is what empowered us to hire the team that treated this as an emergency, working tirelessly to turn a research and writing process that can sometimes take months into 10 days,” Woo added.
Historic Seattle has said several times that saving The Showbox is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. There are three elements to the group’s strategy: successfully landmark The Showbox; create policy solutions that can also help save The Showbox, and places like it in the future; and identifying a Showbox-friendly buyer, investor, or donor that can help address the property owner’s concerns over finding an offer at fair market value.
The landmark nomination, while a victory in itself, is like coming to the end of the first mile. The effort to Save The Showbox still has a long way to go. In the coming weeks, we’ll be rallying the public behind the landmarks process, starting with the nomination hearing.
Historic Seattle will also continue working with the City on advancing policy solutions that can save The Showbox, as well as places like it in the future. The first proposal is the expansion of the Pike Place Market Historic District. City Council will vote on this plan on Monday, August 13. Historic Seattle encourages them to support it and asks those who care about saving The Showbox to contact their councilmembers and the Mayor to voice support for this expansion.
Beyond this, Historic Seattle asked the City to “work with us to strengthen protections for our historically significant places. People often say preservationists are stuck in the past, but we’ve been spending our time looking to the future,” Woo said at the press conference.
“As our City continues to grow, it is critical that we work together to further define the controls element of the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance to include protections for categories of use, including cultural venues,” Woo continued.
Historic Seattle also announced another policy recommendation, advising the City to proactively work with Historic Seattle to address the issue of unreinforced masonry (URM), by introducing an environmental impact fee on demolitions and new development projects that will help fund the seismic retrofitting needs of Seattle’s 1,100 URM buildings, including The Showbox.
“These are real solutions to real problems facing our City’s historic places, and we are eager to partner with the right people to see them through,” said Woo. “As we’re seeing with The Showbox, we are stronger when we come together. Seattle needs that strength now more than ever. Let’s work together to change the narrative from ‘preservation is an obstruction’ to ‘preservation is part of the solution.’”
As these policy and process elements unfold, Historic Seattle remains eager to work with interested investors, buyers, or donors to make an alternative offer to the property owner. “We are aiming to find a win-win solution that satisfies the current property owner while still saving The Showbox.”
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July 2018
All of Seattle woke up on July 25, to the news that The Showbox is endangered. Onni Group, a Vancouver, BC-based developer, had filed plans to demolish the building and replace it with a 44-story residential tower. They also intend to submit a nomination to determine landmark status.
The HistoryLink essay on The Showbox describes the significance of The Showbox well. Here’s an excerpt: “Founded in 1939 as the Show Box, Seattle’s historic Showbox Ballroom (1426 1st Avenue) is one of the town’s very few extant entertainment venues that can lay claim to having provided local music fans such an astonishing breadth of music over the decades. From the Jazz Age to the hip-hop and grunge eras the storied ballroom has featured shows by touring icons like Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, and the Ramones, and up-and-comers like Coldplay, Katy Perry, Moby, Lady Gaga, and Lorde, as well as concerts by homegrown talents ranging from the burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee to Merrilee Rush, the Sonics, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Macklemore.”
On July 30, Historic Seattle met with Vanishing Seattle and Friends of Historic Belltown to discuss the demolition plan and developer effort to submit The Showbox for landmark nomination* (see more on this below).
To harness and channel all the community energy into productive action, Historic Seattle will be serving as the lead organization to SAVE THE SHOWBOX. We are the city’s largest historic preservation nonprofit and have been working to save meaningful places that foster lively communities for more than 40 years.
What does this mean for you/what can you do for now? If you aren’t on our mailing list, sign up. We’ll be posting updates throughout the landmarks process on Facebook and this page as well.
As the landmarks process unfolds, we will ask you to submit comments, testify at hearings, and help us make the case for preserving this community icon.
Also last week, Historic Seattle connected with City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s office regarding her rally at City Hall today and her statement indicating support for landmarking The Showbox.
Historic Seattle appreciates the intent behind CM Sawant’s statement and upcoming resolution. As the city’s leading organization in preservation, we also want to clarify a point made within the original statement.
In particular, the statement says, “Because The Showbox has so much historic value, the Landmarks Preservation Board should agree to landmark it if they hear from a large enough community of people. However, the board often preserves only the outside of buildings, and in this case we need the Board to also preserve the music venue inside.”
Historic Seattle’s Director of Preservation Services, Eugenia Woo, clarifies, “We’ve spoken with Councilmember Sawant’s office to let them know a non-binding city council resolution cannot influence the independent Landmarks Preservation Board, which is bound by the regulations of the City’s Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The ordinance in its current state does not afford the opportunity to protect a property’s use, as much as we wish it did.”
Woo adds, “The limitations of the landmarks ordinance are on display in this case, and the City Council and Mayor Durkan have the ability to pursue policy solutions to the problems highlighted by The Showbox’s possible demolition. We encourage them to work with us on such solutions to our city’s teardown trend. Use policy, in addition to the pulpit.”
Historic Seattle believes that CM Sawant, all other councilmembers of the City of Seattle, and Mayor Durkan can work effectively to strengthen protections and create legislation that addresses the many issues brought to light through the development plan submitted for The Showbox site. Opportunities include revising the current zoning code, expanding the Pike Place Market Historic District and other historic districts, providing protections and support for legacy businesses, and enhancing elements of the landmarks preservation ordinance related to cultural impact. Historic Seattle welcomes the opportunity to work alongside the City Council and Mayor to protect places that matter while building for our city’s future.
*It is important to understand a few things about this chess game we call preservation. 1) Developers often submit nominations to determine landmark status with the intent of controlling the process so that the nomination fails. By channeling your energy into following the process correctly, you can help counter that strategy. We will advise you on the best ways to do this, down the line. 2) Landmarking does not protect use. If the building is not landmarked, it is a certainty that The Showbox will be demolished. If it IS landmarked, it is still possible that AEG could lose its operating rights when its lease ends in a few years. We would like to connect with any Showbox-friendly investors who could put forth an offer to buy the building and keep The Showbox in place. 3) This is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. The landmarks process will take months. Please work with us to see it through to the end. It’s the best chance this important place has to remain in our community for generations to come.
Following the landmarking news, we’ve updated the list of FAQs.
The Pongo Poetry Project teaches and mentors personal poetry by youth who have suffered childhood traumas, such as abuse, neglect, and exposure to violence. The following is an interview between Historic Seattle (HS), Pongo’s founder Richard Gold (RG), and its interim executive director Barbara Green (BG). The Pongo Poetry Project is a tenant within Historic Seattle-owned Washington Hall in Seattle’s Central District.
Pongo graduate Maven Gardener. Photo by Michael Maine
HS: In the video “The Impact of Trauma and How Pongo Helps” on your website, Richard says, “As an impact of trauma, the emotions are all balled up inside our clients — in our writers’ hearts. They feel horrible, and confused, and mistrustful. But when they externalize into a poem their experiences, they are engaged in a transformative process from, ‘I’m a terrible person, to this is a terrible thing that happened to me.’ And in that process, they see themselves as writers. They see themselves as people whose creative work can make a difference in the world.”
What do you have to add to these words in light of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and other current events?
BG: I think that the Black Lives Matter movement has done a great job of raising awareness about the trauma of systemic racism. I’m hoping that this will help youth of color see the difficulties that they’re experiencing in a different light, with a broader perspective. And I think that now, because of the increased awareness of systemic racism, more people can appreciate how relevant our work is. I also think writing poetry is a way for the youth to say, “I matter,” and for people to hear that they matter. We can help amplify their voices so that others can understand what their experiences have been.
The Black Lives Matter movement has also increased awareness of the racism that is inherent in the criminal justice system. One of my hopes is that this will lead to fewer youth — fewer everybody — being incarcerated and lead to the creation of alternatives. I think that the Pongo poetry method could be a great part of a diversion program for youth to help them deal with the trauma that they have experienced.
RG: I would just add that at its heart, Pongo is about listening. I think the killing of George Floyd was a revelation for many white people. And when we really listen respectfully, and understand one another better, it’s a way of healing society as well as individuals.
HS: How has the pandemic uniquely impacted your work and the communities you serve?
BG: I don’t want to presume to talk about the communities we serve because I’m not really part of that, but I do know that for everybody the pandemic has created a lot more anxiety, depression, and trauma. And that has been particularly true in the Black community because of the disproportionate impact that COVID has had in communities of color. Furthermore, the youth that we are serving are primarily in institutions, and the pandemic has only made it scarier and lonelier for people who are living and working in those institutions.
On the other hand — and I hate to say this – but in some ways there have been positive impacts on our work. Even though we are no longer able to go into the institutions where the kids are living, we have been working with them remotely. The surveys they complete after they have gone through the program have demonstrated that the work has been just as impactful, if not more so, since we’ve been working remotely. The other “silver lining” is that in our last round of volunteer recruitment we recruited volunteers from around the country. As a result, the skill level of our volunteers has increased exponentially.
RG:Yes, what we’re saying is that we now have a set of volunteers from all over the country who are working in King County Juvenile Detention with us. These are people who believe in the work, but they are also learning the work. We have now taught Pongo nationally and internationally. Our work, that we know of, is now being done in 11-12 different countries.
HS: According to Historic Seattle’s executive director Kji Kelly, “Pongo joined us at Washington Hall in August 2016. As a result of our space planning efforts before Phase 3 of construction, we identified areas within the building that we could offer to organizations matching the mission of the project. Washington Hall’s mission is to create a transformative space in Seattle’s Central District that honors the history of The Hall and is a home for arts & culture that reflects its legacy. Richard, and now Barbara, sit on our Hall Governance Board along with Creative Justice and our anchor partners.”
What would you like to add to this background story of the relationship(s)?
RG: It’s been a real honor to join that community and learn from the arts organizations there. For example, we began with a focus on healing individuals, and part of our growth has been to recognize that the trauma that these individuals have – mostly youth of color, is from social injustice. They are part of a community of people of color in Seattle that has suffered. The organizations in Washington Hall are serving that very community, and it has been a privilege to be there and be part of that work.
BG:I would add that I am really looking forward to partnering with Creative Justice and the other tenants in the building on both programmatic and anti-racism work.
HS: A lot of Pongo’s programming takes place at juvenile detention centers, hospitals, homeless shelters, supportive housing, etc. That said, what is the connection/significance of Pongo being based in Washington Hall?
RG: Washington Hall is our place for meeting as an organization. We (normally) interview volunteers there, we plan our work there, we communicate from there with donors, and people internationally who are doing the work. We bring people in there a lot and always talk about the history of the Hall. It is our home, and the history of the Hall is now part of our story. As I was saying earlier, we are working with individuals in institutions, but our goal is to be more present for the community and Washington Hall is an opportunity for us to do that.
It is also fun to be based in Washington Hall. These historic buildings, these places with history, places that have the edginess and imperfections that come with time and occasional neglect in some cases, they’re very soulful places. And thanks to Historic Seattle many have now been made available for artwork, and community work, and there’s energy there. We deal in healing people, so we know that there is a lot of beauty in imperfection, and the response to it, and the opportunity within it. That’s how I think about restoration too, it’s all very soulful.
BG: I have two points to add to that. One is, as you know, Washington Hall is a space that’s dedicated to arts and culture for people of color, and so is Pongo. So, I think in terms of that, it’s a really good fit. And secondly, the juvenile detention facility is our neighbor – it’s right down the street from where we are. Pongo is providing services for youth in our neighborhood, and they are some of the youth that could benefit from it the most.
HS: Were you aware of Washington Hall before the Pongo Poetry Project took up residency there? Do you have any “first Hall experience” stories to share?
RG:I was a longtime subscriber to On the Boards. While it is not a social justice organization, On the Boards is a highly innovative, edgy, creative, arts organization – always stimulating, always interesting, so I always had that connection with Washington Hall.
BG:And I used to go to political events there, you know, back in like the 80s, and would also occasionally go to On the Boards performances there. So, when Richard told me where the office was located, I knew exactly where it was. And it sure looks great now!
HS: What interests you about the history of Washington Hall?
RG: I think I’m most moved by, and appreciative of, the iconic Black performers – Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Dinah Washington – the people who performed there. That that was their venue. They were not allowed to perform in white clubs in Seattle. So much of art is a response to challenges, and to exploration of ourselves. And at that time, it was a response to racism and the racist history of this country. I’m just very connected to that part of the Hall’s history and the beautiful bittersweet art that came out of that landed in the Hall because it couldn’t be somewhere else.
BG: I echo what Richard said and will add that, as a Jew, I was very interested to learn that Yiddish theater was performed there, and that the neighborhood was a largely Jewish neighborhood when the Hall first opened.
A Yiddish theater performance at Washington Hall, ca 1920s. Image courtesy of University of Washington, Special Archives.
HS: Do you consider yourself a preservationist? Why or why not?
RG: I never would’ve thought to apply that word, “preservationist,” to me, but we publish books, we take people’s stories, and we give them a concrete life of their own beyond the moment. And it’s actually a very important part of healing. Preserving the stories. With the difficulties they’ve had in their lives, our writers may not have had a parent to put their creations on a refrigerator with a magnet. But every story, and there have been something like over 8,000 poems written now, is saved. Anyone that comes to me and says, “In 2004, I did work with you in juvenile detention,” I can say, “Of course, tell me your name,” and I can send them their poetry. So, it is part of acknowledging people’s value, to preserve. And maybe that’s the best way to compare Pongo’s work to Historic Seattle’s, we’re both acknowledging value, and preserving stories and manifestations.
BG: I would add that I think it’s important to preserve historic buildings so that they can continue to benefit community. And I think that’s at the core of what Historic Seattle does. It’s not about preserving a fancy home so that one person can live in it, it’s about restoring it to its original beauty so that it can benefit the community.
To read or hear the work of some of Pongo’s teen writers, to get involved, or to donate visit https://www.pongoteenwriting.org. There is also an opportunity to learn the Pongo method at a virtual workshop on Saturday, October 17. Learn more and register here.
The italicized text above is paraphrased, not directly quoted. The meaning has been preserved.
For the last few years, Kevin Daniels has been leading groups of volunteers in helping to rebuild houses in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is still very evident. There is still much to do to revitalize this community. Kevin is leading another team of volunteers April 5-9. For more information on how you can participate, please read this message.
From Kevin Daniels:
As preservationists we have a common love of the built environment and all of the rich and diverse cultural heritage stories that go along. Many of us have been involved in numerous battles to save a piece of the architectural heritage that we personally hold dear; and most of us have felt the painful sting when we lose the battle. (more…)
Egg chair and ottoman by Arne Jacobsen, designed in 1958. Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art
Check out these Modern architecture and design-related events!
May 16 – August 31, 2014: Danish Modern Exhibit
The Nordic Heritage Museum goes “Mad Men” with the eye-catching and interactive exhibition Danish Modern: Design for Living. On view from May 16 through August 31, the exhibit highlights the unique furnishing designed and made in Denmark during the 1950s and 1960s. Learn more.
Exhibition–Related Programs at the Nordic Heritage Museum:
PechaKucha Night: Living Loving Nordic Design: Thursday, June 5, 6:00 p.m.
PechaKucha Night Seattle returns to the Museum, this time focusing on Scandinavian Design, inspired by the Danish Modern exhibit now on view. First formed in Tokyo in 2003, this 20×20 format features simple presentations of 20 images shown for 20 seconds accompanying presenters’ talks. These informal and fun gatherings have since spread around the world.
Docomomo WEWA Night: Wednesday, June 25, 7:00 p.m.
An evening of Danish design, remarks, reception, and special viewing of the exhibit Danish Modern: Design for Living. This event is co-sponsored by Docomomo WEWA, a local community of individuals who share a passion for Northwest Modernism. Their mission is to promote appreciation and awareness of Modern architecture and design in Western Washington through education and advocacy. $5 suggested donation.
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June 13 and 14: Mid-century Modern Resources Workshop
The Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) along with the City of Everett is proud to bring a workshop to both sides of the state on Modern Resources. Everett, through a CLG grant, contracted with the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions to plan the workshop. Wade Broadhead from Colorado and Professor Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll from the University of North Carolina will join Washington State’s Architectural Historian, Michael Houser, to explore how to recognize, identify, evaluate, and apply the Secretary of the Interior Standards to Post WWII Resources.
The workshops will be held in both Spokane and Everett. The Spokane workshop will be held on Friday, June 13th from 9 am to 3 pm at the Spokane City Hall Council Chambers. The Everett workshop will be held on Saturday, June 14th from 9 am to 3 pm in the Everett Performing Arts Center.
For more information and to register online, go to DAHP’s website.
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Saturday, June 14: Modern Queen Anne Architectural Tour
On June 14, from 2 pm to about 6 pm, the Queen Anne Historical Society will offer Modern Queen Anne, a new tour that focuses on two mid-century structures with unrivaled views, Canlis and the Swedish Club, while stopping by five recently completed homes to learn from the architects who designed them about program goals and the place of their work in the contemporary idiom. (Interiors are not on the tour). The automobile tour starts at 2 at Canlis. The bike version begins at 1:30 at the Swedish Club.
An enthusiastic group gathers in front of the Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge to declare, "This Place Matters!" / Photo: Jean Sherrard (Click on the photo to enlarge)
The mantra of “This Place Matters” was uttered repeatedly by 201 people gathered to experience history-in-the-making at a mass photo shoot on the street in front of the landmark Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge in West Seattle. Many wore buttons declaring “This Place Matters.” The preservation gods must have been paying attention because gray skies gave way to sunshine during the program and photo shoot. The community event attracted people of all ages who came together to say, “This Place Matters.” There were those who remembered the building before it was a restaurant. Many others present had fond memories of gatherings in the Homestead Restaurant. There were even a few attendees who were not yet born when the structure suffered fire damage and closed in January 2009. (more…)
The following is the final in a series of guest blog posts submitted by members of the Historic Seattle community. The views and opinions expressed in guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Historic Seattle.
These days it seems the whole state of Washington (and sometimes even the president of the United States!) has eyes on historic Cal Anderson Park, an unassuming patch of public green space located in the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill. Only one block wide and three blocks long, these cherished 7 acres have been in service to the public since 1897 when the city purchased the land to construct its first hydraulic water pump. Cal Anderson was designated a City of Seattle landmark in 1999 and is making history again today. On June 8, 2020, protesters calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality occupied the park and declared it part of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone or “CHAZ” (later changed to the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest or “CHOP”). The following is a history of Cal Anderson Park told through images comparing the past to the present.
Cal Anderson Park northeast entrance (CHOP tents seen beyond), June 2020. Image courtesy of author.
One of CHOP’s early demands was the return of land to the indigenous Duwamish people. Up until the 1850s the area that Cal Anderson Park sits on today went largely unchanged, used by indigenous peoples for hunting. In 1855, German immigrant John H. Nagle (pronounced “Nail”) settled on Donation Land Claim No. 233 located in today’s Capitol Hill. Nagle had arrived in Seattle just two years prior when the federal census counted a white population of 170 including 111 white men over the age of 21 who were U.S. citizens eligible to vote in King County. Nagle had been living in the U.S. since age 3, but he was not listed in that 1853 King County census and would not have been eligible to vote until he lived in Seattle for at least six months. Nagle was a bachelor who raised cows and cultivated vegetables and fruit trees on Land Claim No. 233. He also helped found the city’s first church (Methodist Episcopal) in 1854 and served as King County Assessor from 1857 to 1861. In 1874, he was deemed “dangerous” and committed to the newly-constructed Washington Hospital for the Insane at Fort Steilacoom. Nagle would spend the remaining 22 years of his life institutionalized before dying at the age of 66 because of “exhaustion due to acute mania.” Meanwhile, the City of Seattle was looking for land to build a reservoir that would prevent another disaster like the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 and, upon Nagle’s death in 1897, the City decided to purchase his remaining acres of land for this sole purpose. The cost was $10,800.
The Seattle P-I wrote in 1898, “In a little hollow which has been a noxious marsh for several years lie four acres of land which are to be a park. They lie on the Nagle tract. Eight or nine feet of surface dirt will be applied, thus extinguishing the marsh. The surface will be adorned with the usual accompaniments of a public pleasure ground.”
Below is one of the earliest known photographs of the land that became Cal Anderson Park, taken in 1899 when construction of the reservoir began. The view looks northward from where the Oddfellows Building is today on the corner of Pine Street and 10th Ave. On the horizon, one can see the twin tudor-style peaks of Pontius School which later became Lowell Elementary School.
In 1901, just at the turn of the century when Capitol Hill got its official name, the city’s water department announced completion of a low-service 21-million-gallon reservoir and the city’s first hydraulic pumping station, the linchpin in the city’s elaborate municipal water system sourced from the 20-mile Cedar River Pipeline in the Cascade mountains. They named it Lincoln Reservoir and the land to its south would be reserved to develop into a public space called Lincoln Park (present-day Cal Anderson Park). In preparation for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush. In 1903, the city council contracted with the famed landscape architecture firm of the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts (descendents of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. who was best known for designing New York’s Central Park). The Olmsteds were to plan a Seattle park system and design the A-Y-P fairgrounds, as well as develop many of the city’s parks – one of which was the tract of land reserved to be Lincoln Park. In preparation for the influx of 3.7 million visitors expected for the exposition, the city wanted to put its best face forward. Up until then, the city only had Denny Park (a cemetery converted into a park in 1883).
Initially, the 1904 preliminary plan for Lincoln Park (below) included only walking paths and ornamental plantings but no sports facilities. The Olmsteds received feedback that an informal playfield children had appropriated to the south of the reservoir absolutely needed to be retained. Like Nagle in 1855 (and even the protesters of 2020), the children had simply taken over the dirt plot. The city was successfully influenced by this organic “occupation” and a second revised proposalwas drawn up (also below) that included a real fenced baseball field at the southern end and a crescent-shaped span that included a wading pool and shelterhouse area devoted entirely to recreation. The original shelterhouse remained until 1962.
In 2020, the same ballfield demanded by the children of early 1900s Seattle is where CHOP protesters gravitated to occupy again. The central crescent-shaped area near the shelterhouse has been populated by a small village of occupier tents, and the area where the original wading pool existed has been converted into several circular guerilla community gardens (image below).
Cal Anderson actually has a history with tents! While the park was being built, the City of Seattle erected a giant canvas tent over the field so that Broadway High School students (what was Broadway High is now the Broadway Performance Hall on the corner of Pine Street and Broadway) could use it for gymnastics in all seasons, regardless of rain. However, the first use of the canvas structure was by the Christian Endeavor for a 3,000-person convention held in July 1907 (image below).
Between 1900 and 1910, Seattle’s population tripled. The public couldn’t wait for the park to be completed so the city installed a cinder running track around the reservoir to tide them over. The following image is from 1906 looking southward from present-day E. Denny Way and Nagle Place. To the left of the 90-foot geyser, one can see Central Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity on the corner of present-day Olive St. and 11th Ave., a frame building opened only three years earlier in 1903 (and which still exists today). The original stone gatehouse that housed the prized hydraulic pump can be seen on the right.
Lincoln Park Reservoir postcard. 1906. Image from author’s personal vintage postcard collection.
In 2005, the reservoir was covered and replaced with grassy lawns and wrought-iron lamp-lined walkways, as well as a water feature. Below is a view in June 2020 with the fountain turned off due to COVID-19 pandemic-related health restrictions.
Cal Anderson Park gatehouse, June 2020. Image courtesy of author.
The park was completed in time for the 1909 A-Y-P Exposition, becoming Seattle’s first supervised playfield, following a trend of public parks opening across America. The following year, it hosted Seattle’s first “Inter-Playground Athletic Meet” for over 100 schoolchildren and 1,500 spectators (the event is pictured below with children waving American flags and spectators holding umbrellas and watching from 11th Ave. Central Lutheran Church is in the background to the left).
The baseball and football fields turned out to be so popular that teams had to schedule a game ten days in advance. The image below from 1911 roughly shows the same view of the park as the first image in this article, Nagle Place is to the left with Pine Street on the lower right. The reservoir gatehouse and geyser can be seen at the far end and Central Lutheran is to the right. The baseball diamond is where protesters in 2020 would set up their encampment 110 years later.
In 2020, Pine Street was the main thoroughfare in which protesters were dispersed by police and National Guardsmen armed with chemical agents, flash-bang devices, and rubber bullets. Following a lengthy standoff, the precinct left the premises and protesters occupied the area, painting “Black Lives Matter” across the width of Pine Street on the southern border of Cal Anderson.
Back in the early 1900s, the park quickly became a natural gathering place for events. Pictured below in 1912, spectators watch “modern woodmen” drills on the playfield, facing northwesterly with the shelterhouse at the top right and the line of buildings at left on present-day Nagle Place.
Modern woodmen drills, Lincoln Park playground (Now Cal Anderson Park), Seattle, 1912. Image via Pinterest.
The below image is roughly the same view of the playfield in 2020 when CHOP occupied the baseball field (the line of buildings at left are on Nagle Place, and the new shelterhouse can be seen at right).
Bobby Morris Playfield at Cal Anderson Park, June 2020. Image courtesy of author.
Much like the CHAZ-turned-CHOP, the park has also contended with naming issues. In 1922, to avoid confusion with another Lincoln Park in West Seattle, the recreation area was renamed “Broadway Playfield” (the playfield would be re-named again in 1980 to “Bobby Morris Playfield” to honor a local graduate of Broadway High that served as president of the Seattle Chapter of the National Football Foundation). The entire park would be named Cal Anderson Park in 2005 to honor Washington’s first openly gay state legislator, who died of AIDS in 1995.
By the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) found many opportunities to put men to work improving the public space. In 1932, tennis courts were added, and in 1938 and 1939, the wading pool was replaced and new fencing, football field turf, and outdoor electric lighting were installed. Pictured below in 1938, men can be seen working at the park, facing east. Central Lutheran Church can be seen to the right and, to the left on 11th Ave., one can see the spire of present-day Calvary Chapel which was known in 1906 as First German Congregational Church and offered services for immigrants entirely in German until the two World Wars when German-speaking people were viewed with suspicion and services were curtailed.
Pictured below in 1950 are the neighborhood’s children swimming in the much beloved wading pool south of the reservoir gatehouse. Just two years earlier in 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racially restrictive covenants were unenforceable (since 1924, over 500 racially restrictive covenants and deed restrictions were written in Seattle alone, with Capitol Hill’s restrictions ultimately covering 183 blocks. In 1948, most of the covenants in Capitol Hill were up for renewal but a petition to extend them failed, with one local resident writing he could not “be party to deprive any one of their rights”). Even though the city established its first integrated municipal pool in 1944 (Colman Pool, coincidentally in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park), as one can see from the image below, informal segregation still occurred. It was not until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968 and the resulting unrest in the Central District that an open housing ordinance was passed in Seattle.
The same wading pool still exists today (pictured below empty in June 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic-related health restrictions).
Cal Anderson Park wading pool, June 2020. Image courtesy of author.
The park descended into a decades-long period of disrepair beginning in the 1960s. Kay Rood, a neighborhood local and community park activist pivotal in the rebuilding of the park, recounted her impression of it in 1993: “The park looked like a prison yard from an old black and white movie, with rusted double fencing, a cinder sports field, a small rundown playground, an ugly and dangerous brick restroom building often covered with graffiti, and a semi-permanent population of transients and druggies dotting the landscape.”
Rood along with a neighborhood coalition known as Groundswell Off Broadway began working with the city to advocate for improvements to the park beginning in 1996 when they secured “10 new World’s Fair benches appropriate to an Olmsted park, and 25 new trash containers to replace the beat-up metal cans chained to trees.” They succeeded in getting the park designated as a City of Seattle landmark in 1999. In 2003, a new shelterhouse was dedicated and the park’s new name was unveiled, just as work began on burying the reservoir in an underground vault (the first of Seattle’s reservoirs to be covered). The reservoir replacement and new water feature were completed in 2005. Landscaping was developed to honor the original Olmsted vision, including walking paths lined by historic lighting fixtures and a recreated parapet wall describing the historic reservoir’s perimeter. Once again, the park became a local attraction.
In 2016, the Capitol Hill station of Link light rail was opened on the northwest corner of the park at Nagle Place. Special attention was paid to preserve the Chinese Scholar tree (sophora japonica) on the corner, which was designated a Seattle Heritage Tree in 2003 and was most likely originally planted by the Olmsted firm. Several very old cherry trees that were also removed from the area to clear way for the station may have been from the original orchard cultivated by John H. Nagle more than 150 years ago.
Cal Anderson Park continues to bear witness to key moments in the city’s history today, acting both as a crossroads and a destination. Once Seattle’s central beating life source for water, this public area remains a canvas reflecting the city’s evolving identity and needs. Every day at the park during the CHOP era seems to be different, and the future is yet unknown, but each generation shares one thing in common: an inexplicable draw to gather and converge here.
Taha Ebrahimi was born and raised in Seattle, and happens to live across the street from Cal Anderson Park.
Earthquake, the original Rainier Brewery, the Cherberg Building in Olympia, and multiple county courthouses throughout the state.
only sees the building’s bones but also the people that occupied that building and its relation to its neighborhood. He understands that the goal is not just to save the building, but to preserve the neighborhood’s history for future generations.
ucture, or tracking down the original 1941 Yesler Terrace Steam Plant chimney stack drawings from the Chicago cons
d of Directors, and two years on the Design-in-Public Board of Directors.
does.”
