Northwest Preservation Resource Center/Library

Northwest Preservation Resource Center/Library /
Photo: Marissa Natkin.

Since completing the restoration of the First Floor Music Room in the Dearborn House in August 2006 we have turned our attention to the renovation of the 1,750 sf basement and future home of the Patsy MacKay Memorial Historic Preservation Library. Ms. MacKay, a mainstay of First Hill and a good friend of Historic Seattle, passed away on September 30, 2003 after a short illness. Through her generosity, Historic Seattle is able to proceed with the renovation and upgrades to the House that will accommodate a unique research library on architectural design and preservation issues.

The transformation of the basement includes, but is not limited to, the preparation and painting of wall and ceiling surfaces, electrical and telecom upgrades, library book stack installation as well as new carpet and base. The renovated basement, scheduled for completion by November 2006, will house the ever expanding collections of Historic Seattle which include periodicals, books, maps, and documents focusing specifically on the preservation of Seattle’s built environment and in general on historic preservation throughout the country. The basement will provide public access to these records as well as a conference room, an office and storage area, a media room and a public reception room.

The original 1907 construction of the Dearborn House utilized cast in place concrete walls and ceilings throughout the basement. The area was used as storage until 1985 when the area was converted into a hair salon. Since Historic Seattle received funding through a generous patron donation to acquire the property in 1997, the basement has once again been used as a storage area.

The renovation of the Dearborn House basement through Patsy MacKay’s generous gift will provide Historic Seattle with a much needed and anticipated venue to provide the general public with information in a variety of formats all supporting the organization’s mission of preserving our architectural heritage.

 

Library Cataloguing Volunteer Position

 

 

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