Historic Seattle is excited to continue our yearly program series honoring our Preservation Celebration Award winners! For this series, expect an opportunity to learn more about the incredible people and places that were honored at our 2023 Preservation Celebration.
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Byrd Barr Place | 2023 Outstanding Stewardship Award
We look forward to joining you for an in-person tour of our 2023 Outstanding Stewardship Award winner’s project, Byrd Barr Place.
The old Firehouse #23 was built in 1908, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and is a Seattle Landmark. The building was leased to the Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP) in the 1960s, giving a place to an important social organization formed by Seattle’s Black community to alleviate poverty and racial inequality in the Central District.
Today, Byrd Barr Place is a community action agency supporting the diverse Central District neighborhood of Seattle with housing and energy assistance, a food bank called The Market which utilizes the client choice model that centers community as they are called upon to choose their items like a typical market as well as offering financial education for residents. The organization is named after Roberta Byrd Barr, a community leader, educator, and journalist who became a passionate advocate, elevating the voices of the Black community and the marginalized.
Throughout its history, the organization has continued to serve the neighborhood and Seattle’s urban core, completing its first major firehouse remodel since its original renovation to a community center in 1970.
The building renovation represents outstanding stewardship of a historic and cultural resource, revealing and accentuating the building’s original structure while providing for new programs and equitable public circulation.
We look forward to this in-person tour and celebration of Byrd Barr Place.