Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board

Last updated

Some designated Seattle Landmarks. Top to bottom and left to right:
1. Space Needle
2. St. Spiridon Russian Orthodox Cathedral
3. Volunteer Park Conservatory
4. Georgetown PowerPlant Museum (interior view of turbine hall)
5. 1409 East Prospect Street, immediately across the street from the south entrance to Volunteer Park
6. The P-I Globe Seattle Landmarks.jpg
Some designated Seattle Landmarks. Top to bottom and left to right:
1. Space Needle
2. St. Spiridon Russian Orthodox Cathedral
3. Volunteer Park Conservatory
4. Georgetown PowerPlant Museum (interior view of turbine hall)
5. 1409 East Prospect Street, immediately across the street from the south entrance to Volunteer Park
6. The P-I Globe

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]

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.

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.

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]

Related Research Articles

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Washington Ship Canal</span> Waterway in Seattle, Washington, United States

The Lake Washington Ship Canal, which runs through the city of Seattle, connects the fresh water body of Lake Washington with the salt water inland sea of Puget Sound. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks accommodate the approximately 20-foot (6.1 m) difference in water level between Lake Washington and the sound. The canal runs east–west and connects Union Bay, the Montlake Cut, Portage Bay, Lake Union, the Fremont Cut, Salmon Bay, and Shilshole Bay, which is part of the sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission</span> Agency charged with administering New York Citys Landmarks Preservation Law

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them after designation. It is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. As of July 1, 2020, the LPC has designated more than 37,000 landmark properties in all five boroughs. Most of these are concentrated in historic districts, although there are over a thousand individual landmarks, as well as numerous interior and scenic landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic districts in the United States</span>

Historic districts in the United States are designated historic districts recognizing a group of buildings, archaeological resources, or other properties as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects, and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts vary greatly in size and composition: a historic district could comprise an entire neighborhood with hundreds of buildings, or a smaller area with just one or a few resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contributing property</span> Key component of a place listed on the National Register of Historic Places

In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district significant. Government agencies, at the state, national, and local level in the United States, have differing definitions of what constitutes a contributing property but there are common characteristics. Local laws often regulate the changes that can be made to contributing structures within designated historic districts. The first local ordinances dealing with the alteration of buildings within historic districts was passed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manning's Cafeterias</span>

Manning's Cafeterias was a chain of about 40 cafeteria-style restaurants in nine western U.S. states. The chain started in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1908; that location became Lowell's in 1957 and is still in operation. Another one in Ballard, a suburb of Seattle, was constructed in 1964 in the futuristic Googie architectural style, reopened as a Denny's in 1984 and was designated a City of Seattle Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board on February 20, 2008.

The City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, established in 1977, is the Omaha city government's a nine-member board responsible for recommending official Omaha Landmarks to the Omaha City Council. The Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission is that was established by ordinance in 1977 to review and recommend to the City Council on all matters pertaining to the designation of individual buildings, sites, objects, or entire districts of local historical significance. The commission is staffed by the Landmarks Division of the Omaha Planning Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pike Place Market</span> Public market and tourist attraction in Seattle, Washington

Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Puget Sound, it serves as a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. It is named for its central street, Pike Place, which runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street on the western edge of Downtown Seattle. Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world, with more than 10 million annual visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norvell House</span>

Designated a Seattle, Washington Landmark, the Norvell House was built in 1908 and is a late example of the Swiss chalet style of Architecture. Located in the community of Ballard, in the vicinity of Sunset Hill, it sits on its original-sized lot with impressive heritage trees and retains its flanking carriage house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Districts Council</span>

The Historic Districts Council (HDC) is a New York City-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves as the advocate for New York City's historic buildings, neighborhoods, and public spaces. HDC's YouTube channel provides a large catalog of free walking tour videos, Preservation School classes, conference panels, and other educational programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport Register of Historic Properties</span>

This is a list of the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in Davenport, Iowa, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Seattle</span> Overview of the architecture in Seattle

The architecture of Seattle, Washington, the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S., features elements that predate the arrival of the area's first settlers of European ancestry in the mid-19th century, and has reflected and influenced numerous architectural styles over time. As of the early 21st century, a major construction boom continues to redefine the city's downtown area as well as neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Ballard and, perhaps most dramatically, South Lake Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neptune Theatre (Seattle)</span> Performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington

The Neptune Theatre, formerly known as U-Neptune Theatre, is a performing arts venue in the University District neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened in 1921, the 1,000 capacity venue hosts a variety of events, including dance and music performances, film screenings, and arts education. It was primarily used for screening classic films prior to a 2011 renovation. In 2014, the theater and building were designated a Seattle landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glendale Register of Historic Resources and Historic Districts</span>

The Glendale Register of Historic Resources and Historic Districts consist of buildings, structures, bridges, statues, trees, and other objects designated by the City of Glendale, California, as significant historic resources or historic districts.

The Columbus Register of Historic Properties is a register for historic buildings and other sites in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Preservation Office, and was established in 1980. Many of these landmarks are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks, providing additional federal oversight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonnade Hotel (Seattle)</span> United States historic place

The Colonnade Hotel first known as the Stimson Block then later the Standard Hotel, Gateway Hotel and Gatewood Hotel is a historic hotel building in Seattle, Washington located at the Southeast corner of 1st Avenue and Pine Streets in the city's central business district. One of the earliest extant solo projects of architect Charles Bebb, it was built in 1900 by Charles and Fred Stimson, owners of the Stimson lumber mill at Ballard, for use as a hotel. It served that purpose under its various names until the early 1980s and after a brief vacancy was restored into low-income housing by the Plymouth Housing Group. Once owned by the Samis Foundation, it was sold to various LLC owners who would convert it back into a hotel in 2017, currently operating under the name Palihotel. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 2007 and became a City of Seattle Landmark in 2017.

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.