Buildings and structures include:

-- The Sisters of Providence Hospital, Squire Park, Central Distict

-- The Primate House, Woodland Park Zoo, Phinney Ridge

-- Seattle Public Library Additions

-- The 1962 Seattle Monorail

Providence Hospital

The Seattle Landmarks Board met on Wednesday, February 5th to consider whether or not to nominate the Sisters of Providence Hospital, now known as the 1910 Building, for designation on the city's landmarks register. The building is highly visible from a great distance, and recognizable to many Seattlites, not just those who live in the Squire Park neighborhood within the Central District.

The building, located at 528 17th Avenue, has received many additions over time, which is common with hospitals both historic and new. As a member of the team presenting the nomination explained, the hospital form has evolved into a "system" rather than an "object building" prototype. The original design, stemming from medical advances following the Civil War, created a heirarchy of spaces that were clearly defined and symmetrically configured in a double loaded corridor plan with a H-shaped footprint.

Subsequent additions altered original and early building components.

The Sabey Corporation recently purchased a portion of the property, including the 1910 building, from Swedish Hospital. According to representatives from Sabey in attendence at the meeting, the project is moving toward its Master Use Permit, and is taking care of the landmarks component pre-emptively. Given the size of the project, and its visual prominence, it would have, most likely, had to go through the nomination process eventually.

The project team, which includes BOLA Architecture and Planning as the historic preservation specialists, clearly presented the complex evolution of the building over time with a semi-animated Power Point presentation.

After reviewing the nomination, city staff recommended that the building be nominated because it met three of the six criteria required including: its significant association with cultural, political or economic heritage of the community, city, state or nation; its embodiment of distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, period or method of construction; and because it maintains a prominent spatial location and is an easily identifiable visual feature of the neighborhood or the city as a whole.

The Board agreed with this assessment, but determined that Board members who had not toured the building should do so before the particulars of the nomination are established.

A few key points were raised as a part of the Board's discussion of the Providence Hospital nomination.

There were no community members, that is, representatives from Squire Park at the meeting to speak on behalf of the nomination. A few people were in the audience at the meeting, but no one commented on the value of the building. Board Chair Lorne McConachie noted the significance of this, considering the building's prominence within the neighborhood.

A member of the project team explained that Sabey met with the Squire Park Community Council on a few occassions to go over plans for the redevelopment of the site. The community seemed supportive. Ideally, from the standpoint of a Landmarks Board discussion, a comment letter from the community, or individual letters from neighbors, would have contributed to the Board's understanding. The Board makes decisions based on information received.

McConachie raised another point about designating parts of the interior. He warned against getting too caught up in saving bits and pieces of original features and losing sight of the big picture. Preservation, he noted, is not about saving small precious details, but rather, is about saving the whole so that it is legible.

The Sabey Corporation's representative provided a brief overview of proposed changes to the building. These involve removing most of the additions that are now obscuring full comprehension of the historic core structure. Though Sabey does not want the building landmarked, the corporation does not seem to be interested in tearing down the 1910 building. In fact, their scheme would most likely be more sympathetic to the 1910 building than the current "carbuncles" (word used by McConachie).

The Board will most likely consider designation of Providence Hospital on March 19, 2003.

Primate House, Woodland Park Zoo

The Landmarks Board will consider a nomination for Woodland Park Zoo's Primate House on Wednesday, February 19. The nomination is a part of a long range plan for future zoo development.

Proponents for the preservation of the building point to its age (1911), its significance as a reminder of a now-historic way of presenting animals as "curiosity objects" in zoos, and to some degree, the connection between the building and the original plan for Woodland Park Zoo, which is associated with the Olmsted Brothers.

Opponents of the nomination cite the degree to which the building has been altered over time, that is, its lack of architectural integrity. The building was based on a suggestion by the Olmsteds, but was not designed by them.

Whether or not the primate house is preserved as a part of Woodland Park Zoo, the issues raised by its nomination are compelling, and the discussion will be lively.

The Landmarks Board will also be considering a number of proposals for additions and alterations to local landmark libraries. Those under consideration at the February 19th meeting include: the Northeast Library at 6801 35th Avenue; the West Seattle Library at 2306 42nd Avenue SW; and the Green Lake Library at 7364 E. Green Lake Drive North. The Board will also be briefed on progress with designs for the Douglass Truth Library at 2300 East Yesler Way.

The public library system maintains a regularly updated webpage indexing ongoing library projects. A stream of proposals and updates has gone through the landmarks board over the past few years since the onset of its "Libraries for All" program. The programmatic improvements stemming from this voter-approved bond measure have had great impact on local historic libraries. Being sensitive to the city's many historic libraries, while at the same time expanding space and enhancing assessability, is a challenge requiring substantial input from the Landmarks Board and the neighborhoods who will be their primary users.

The February 19th meeting will begin at 3:30pm and will take place on the 10th Floor of the Arctic Building. The next meeting is scheduled for the same time and place, on March 5, and will probably be very well attended, so get there on time if you want a good seat.

The 1962 Monorail

The Landmarks Board will consider a nomination for the 1962 monorail on March 5.

The 1962 monorail has long been identified with this city's identity, and its future-forward exposition of 1962. Now that we've entered century 21, the modernistic theme for the early sixties expo, the once-futuristic structure is now a part of planning surrounding the route of the proposed new monorail. The Landmarks Board's decision will play a significant role in plans for the new monorail.

The monorail's popularity, its distinctive visual presence, its connection with the 1962 exposition, are difficult to deny. The actual, physical pieces of the monorail that may be protected under a designating ordinance may take up the bulk of their considerations. Do they protect the cars, the structure, both, or parts of both?

To receive email agendas of Landmarks Board or Landmarks District Board meetings, contact Beth Chave, Seattle's Landmarks Coordinator, at beth.chave@seattle.gov.

View last month's Pending Landmarks article

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