Friends of Naval Air Station Seattle Historic District
Friends of Naval Air Station Seattle Historic District
Community Advocacy Awardgroup, representing neighborhood and Navy interests, has grown to an organization with over one hundred supporters, and merged with Friends of Magnuson Park to work on common goals of preservation, celebration and reuse of the historic base. The Friends advocated for the historic district’s listing
Friends of NAS Seattle Historic District / Photo: Marissa Natkin.
The 2011 Community Advocacy award was presented tothe Friends of Naval Air Station Seattle Historic District for their efforts in preserving and honoring a significant part of Seattle's aviation and naval history.
Friends of Naval Air Station Seattle Historic District formed in 2008 when changes were proposed to the historic district overlay at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station that would allow for demolition of historic buildings for redevelopment. At the time, most neighbors did not realize that the historic district was not protected under the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the last two and a half years the “Friends” in the National Register of Historic Places and Washington Heritage Register, supporting Seattle Parks and Recreation’s voluntary nomination in 2009. In 2010, Naval Air Station Seattle (NAS Seattle) was formally listed as a historic district in the Washington Heritage Register and in the National Register with national significance.
Galvanized by the federal and state register listings, the Friends (led by intrepid Board member Lynn Ferguson) took the next step and submitted a landmark district nomination (based on the National Register document) to the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board in 2010. This was a major effort for a grassroots, all-volunteer organization to undertake and the Friends were successful. The designation process was completed in March 2011 when the Board voted to designate the former Sand Point Naval Air Station as a Landmark District, the first historic district in Seattle in twenty-three years. A parallel effort by the Friends has been to work with the City to find appropriate adaptive reuse solutions for the buildings so that the site can realize its potential.
The 2011 board members of Friends of NAS Seattle Historic District are Rusty Williams (President), Ken Sparks (Vice President), Peggy Printz (Treasurer), Lynn Ferguson (Secretary), Jorgen Bader, Nancy Bolin , Vern Bouwman, Nicolette Bromberg, Arden Forrey, Captain Ron Miller, Charles Ng (Seattle Parks and Recreation Representative), and Julianna Ross.
