City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board

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The City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board is responsible for designating and preserving structures of historical importance in Seattle, Washington. The board recommends actions to the Seattle City Council, which fashions these into city ordinances with the force of law. The board is part of the city's Department of Neighborhoods. [1]

Seattle City Council Legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington

The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-large positions; all elections are non-partisan. It has the sole responsibility of approving the city's budget, and develops laws and policies intended to promote the health and safety of Seattle's residents. The Council passes all legislation related to the city's police, firefighting, parks, libraries, and electricity, water supply, solid waste, and drainage utilities.

Contents

The board consists of eleven members appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. By its establishing ordinance, the board must include at least two architects, two historians, one member of the City Planning Commission, one structural engineer, and one person each representing the fields of finance and real estate management. [2] As of 2015, more than 450 individual Seattle sites, buildings, vehicles, vessels, and street clocks have been designated as Seattle Landmarks subject to protection by city ordinance. [1]

History

The board was established in 1973 as part of a rise in consciousness about historic preservation in Seattle and elsewhere. In 1966 the federal government passed the National Historic Preservation Act. In Seattle, Allied Arts, Victor Steinbrueck, Ralph Anderson, Richard White, and Alan Black, among others, reacted to proposals to radically redevelop Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market by agitating for a more preservationist approach. These two districts were designated as "historic" by the city in 1970 and 1971, respectively. The city then passed a Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, establishing what was originally the Office of Historic Preservation [3] and now consists of the Landmarks Preservation Board and some other portions of the Department of Neighborhoods.

Historic preservation preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), heritage preservation or heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavour that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. This term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

Allied Arts of Seattle is a non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington, USA. The organization advocates for public funding of the arts, better urban planning and architecture, and other civic improvements. The organization claims to be the "oldest non-profit organization in Seattle dedicated to urban livability", but, in any case, at 50+ years old is certainly a venerable organization by the standards of a city barely older than 150 years It was a major force in establishing the Seattle Arts Commission, creating Seattle Center on the grounds of the Century 21 Exposition and preserving historical landmarks and neighborhoods, particularly Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market, as well as defeating the 2012 Seattle Olympic bid.

Victor Steinbrueck American architect

Victor Steinbrueck was a Seattle architect and University of Washington faculty member. Steinbrueck is best known for his efforts to preserve the city's Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market.

Designated landmarks and historic districts

Besides individual landmarks, Seattle has eight historic districts: Ballard Avenue, Columbia City, Fort Lawton, Harvard-Belmont, the International District, Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, and Sand Point. [4] Pioneer Square is a neighborhood dating back to Seattle's earliest years and contains many buildings from shortly after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889; the adjacent International District is the historic center of Seattle's Asian and Pacific Islander community, with many buildings dating from 1905-1910 after the neighborhood was regraded; Pike Place Market is a public market founded in 1907 and including some buildings older than that; Fort Lawton (in Discovery Park) and Sand Point (in Magnuson Park) are the sites of former military facilities; Ballard Avenue and the Columbia City district were the urban centers of separate cities that Seattle annexed as it grew; the Harvard-Belmont district includes some of Seattle's most prestigious residential buildings.

Ballard Avenue Historic District United States historic place

The Ballard Avenue Historic District is a section of downtown Ballard in Seattle, Washington, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The district consists of Ballard Avenue N.W. between N.W. Market Street and N.W. Dock Place, and is located near to and along Salmon Bay. After initial work by the Ballard Avenue Association and the city of Seattle's Urban Conservation Division, former Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman signed the ordinances that led to the national recognition of the area. The neighborhood of Ballard is known for a large historic population and presence of immigrants from Sweden, and King Gustaf of Sweden read the proclamation inducting the district to the historical registry in 1976, and at the same time dedicated the new bell tower at Ballard's Marvin's Garden Park, which housed the original bell from Ballard's old city hall. The historic markers that can be seen on 26 of the buildings were created and erected by the Ballard Historical Society.

The Harvard-Belmont Landmark District is a part of Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Great Seattle Fire major fire in Seattle, Washington in 1889

The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, and during the same summer as the Great Spokane Fire and the Great Ellensburg Fire. Seattle quickly rebuilt using brick buildings that sat 20 feet (6.1 m) above the original street level. Its population swelled during reconstruction, becoming the largest city in the newly-admitted state of Washington.

Terracotta clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic

Terracotta, terra cotta or terra-cotta, a type of earthenware, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic, where the fired body is porous. Terracotta is the term normally used for sculpture made in earthenware, and also for various practical uses including vessels, water and waste water pipes, roofing tiles, bricks, and surface embellishment in building construction. The term is also used to refer to the natural brownish orange color of most terracotta, which varies considerably.

Arctic Building United States historic place

The Arctic Club Building is a nine-story hotel in Seattle, Washington located at the Northeast corner of Third Avenue and Cherry Street. Built in 1916 for the Arctic Club, a social group established by wealthy individuals who experienced Alaska's gold rush, it was occupied by them from construction until the club's dissolution in 1971. It is entirely faced with cream white terra cotta with submarine blue and orange-brown accents. It has terra cotta walrus-heads lining the third floor of the building and was also adorned with a polar bear. It is one of the finest examples of multi-colored matte glaze terra cotta work in the city. Recently restored, the building has been adapted for use as a luxury hotel, Arctic Club Seattle. A roof garden used by the social club was replaced with a penthouse office suite.

Seattle Times Building

The Seattle Times Building is the former headquarters of The Seattle Times, located in Seattle, Washington, United States. The three-story building was occupied by the newspaper from 1931 to 2011, replacing the Times Square Building. It was originally built in 1931 and later expanded to accommodate more office space and larger presses.

Designation process

Any building, object, or site must be at least 25 years old to be considered as a landmark, considered to be a lower minimum age than those of landmark listings in other major cities. [5] Any person or group may nominate a potential landmark by filling out a standard application, which the City Historic Preservation Officer reviews for adequacy. Once a building is nominated, any alterations to the features that were approved for nomination require a Certificate of Approval. [1]

All correctly completed nominations are scheduled for consideration by the Board; formal consideration occurs at a public meeting. The board considers six criteria, any one of which can be sufficient to designate a landmark: association with a significant historic event; association with an historically important person: association with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, city, state or nation; that it "embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or a method of construction; that it is an outstanding work of architecture or design; or that it is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood that contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of such neighborhood or the city. [1]

The board may approve the nomination (that is, choose to consider it) in whole or in part. A second public meeting is scheduled to occur 30 to 60 later to finalize a decision. If the board disapproves a nomination, then the property cannot be considered for nomination for five years, except at the request of the owner. If the board designates a property, a Controls and Incentives Agreement for the landmark is negotiated by the board staff with the property owner; this is also subject to board approval at a public meeting. The agreement defines features to be preserved, outlines the Certificate of Approval process for changes to those features, and may grant incentives. [1]

The property owner can appeal to the city's hearing examiner, who may modify the board's recommendation; either the board or the property owner may appeal the hearing examiner's recommendation to the City Council. In any case, landmark status is made official only by a designating ordinance passed by the Seattle City Council. [1]

Restrictions and benefits

According to the city, the goal of the landmarks program is "to manage change, not to eliminate it." [1] For some buildings, only the exterior is given landmark designation; for others, the interior is also included. [1] Buildings and structures that are either landmarked in their own right or that fall within city-designated historic districts require a Certificate of Approval to make any exterior change, add or modify signs, change paint color, make changes to the public right-of-way (e.g. sidewalk displays, street lights), etc.; in some cases establishment of a different business on the premises also requires a certificate. [1]

These restrictions stand in contrast to a listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). NRHP designation does not restrict use, treatment, transfer, or disposition of private property, nor does the NRHP list properties whose owner objects. [6]

However, besides restrictions, Seattle Landmark status can convey certain benefits. Among these are that the Department of Planning and Development may authorize a use not otherwise permitted in a certain zone, or may waive or modify standards for open space, setbacks, parking, etc., and may modify specific requirements of the building code for landmark buildings; Downtown landmarks can transfer certain development rights more freely than other buildings; and "special valuation" can delay increased property taxes for newly rehabilitated historic buildings by up to a decade. [7]

These are much more substantive than the benefits of NRHP listing. The latter is mostly a matter of prestige, although there are some federal tax benefits for NRHP-listed commercial buildings. [6]

Limitations on authority

The Landmarks Board does not have authority over certain buildings owned by certain other government entities. For example, the Metropolitan Tract in Downtown Seattle is owned by the University of Washington and therefore exempt from the Board's authority. [8]

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National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Landmarks". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Landmarks Preservation Board Records, 1891-2002". Archives West (Orbis Cascade Alliance). Retrieved December 17, 2015. This page is a finding aid for a collection at the Seattle Municipal Archives.
  3. ↑ Marueen R. Elenga (2007). Seattle Architecture. Seattle Architectural Foundation. ISBN   9780615141299.
  4. ↑ "Historic Districts". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ Tizon, Tomas Alex (January 13, 2008). "Denny's fans hunger for a historic grand slam". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Julie Meredith; Lynn Peterson (January 16, 2014). "SR 520 Program: Montlake Historic District Survey and Nomination for the National Register of Historic Places" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Preservation Incentives". City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Retrieved December 17, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "94 Wn.2d 162, 615 P.2d 461 State vs. Seattle". Washington State Supreme and Appellate Court Decisions. August 14, 1980. Retrieved December 17, 2015– via Municipal Research and Services Center.
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