Garden House

About the Property:

The Garden House, originally known as the Turner-Koepf House, served the Jefferson Park Ladies’ Improvement Club and Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs for decades. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a City of Seattle landmark.

Historic Seattle’s Role:

A longstanding covenant that had guaranteed the property’s use for community purposes was deemed invalid in a 2016 lawsuit, and the property was listed for sale in 2018. Despite making the higher offer to purchase the property in 2018, Historic Seattle was unsuccessful in that bid, and a private party took ownership instead.

After a three-year community advocacy effort which included landmarking and work to secure funding to acquire the property, Historic Seattle took ownership on December 23, 2021.

The $2M deal was made possible through grants from the King County Conservation Futures program, contributions from more than 100 private donors, and City of Seattle seed funding, which was championed in 2018 by then-president of the City Council Bruce Harrell. Historic Seattle will retain ownership of the property, and Seattle Parks and Recreation will hold an easement to permanently protect public green space in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Current and Future Uses:

Under its ownership of the property, Historic Seattle will restore and repair the house and grounds and will work with community partners to reactivate the space for community use. Learn more about the Garden House Renovation Project here.