Ronnei-Raum House
Historic Seattle’s Role:
The Ronnei-Raum House is the first Preservation Action Fund project undertaken by Historic Seattle. The Preservation Action Fund (PAF) is a unique and proactive revolving fund dedicated to purchasing, restoring, protecting, and reselling historic properties throughout King County. The fund is administered by the PAF Advisory Team: Historic Seattle, 4Culture, King County’s Historic Preservation Program, and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. Historic Seattle is responsible for acquiring, landmarking, rehabilitating, selling the property. When the project is completed and the property is sold, the sales proceeds return to the fund to acquire the next project.
The Ronnei-Raum House is among the oldest surviving residential structures in the King County community of Fall City. It was built at the heart of the original town plat, just a block from the banks of the Snoqualmie River and adjacent to Fall City Masonic Lodge #66. The house has been a single-family residence since it was built in 1904. It was home to the caretaker of Fall City Masonic Lodge #66 for decades and was most recently used by the Masons as a rental.
Historic Seattle’s plans to rehabilitate the house were well underway in 2020 when a Fall City resident made an offer to purchase it and finish the “to the studs” restoration project. The house was designated a King County landmark in October 2019, and as part of the terms of the sale Historic Seattle will hold a preservation easement on the property indefinitely.
Current and Future Uses:
Learn more about the Ronnei-Raum House’s new owners and future plans for the property in our blog post from August 2020, and explore the findings of an archaeological survey conducted at the site in the spring of 2020 here.
Photo: The Ronnei-Raum House as it appeared in 1950. Courtesy of the Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Branch.