Even before Mayor Greg Nickels announced the 2003 Fire and Emergency response levy, the city's legal and legislative staff worked on a resolution committing the City to the preservation of historically significant stations.

The original proposal for a $229 million levy vote on this November's ballot was pared back to $167 million after City Council questioned whether now might be the right time to ask voters for a substantial tax increase equaling about $73 a year for owners of median-priced homes.

In a May 9th Seattle Times article, Jan Drago, Chair of the Finance, Budget, Business and Labor committee stated that she supported a reduced plan, more Ford or Chevy than Rolls Royce. Whatever the model, the historic value of the many older fire stations included within this levy package will be recognized, both in nominations to the city's landmarks register, and in a commitment to support limiting alteration of significant features as a part of the Controls and Incentives element of landmarks designation.

Why Now?

The levy ask comes after a few golden years of public spending on capital improvements. The Housing Levy, renewed in 2002 after voters' approval in 1981, 1986 and 1995, has helped pay for a number of historic rehabilitation projects - more than 50% of Housing Levy funds have gone toward the upgrade of older buildings rather than new construction. The Libraries for All bond initiative, which passed in 1998 has led to the nomination of a number of branch libraries to the Seattle Landmarks register and helped pay for rehabilitation and Landmarks Board-reviewed additions to many historic branch libraries.

The Seattle School District's Building Excellence capital improvement program, first funded by levy vote in 1995, was reinvigorated by another levy vote equaling $150 million in 1998. Another initiative directly affecting historic resources, the Pro Parks Levy was approved by voters in 2000 and will generate $198.2 million for park improvements including rehabilitation of historic structures and landscapes. In the last decade, capital improvements of public buildings have generally incorporated historic preservation into plans for the future.

The 2001 earthquake sped up plans for seismic upgrades to a number of public and private buildings. The fire department has not added to or upgraded its facilities in the past 15 years. Federal mandates for public safety crafted in the wake of 9/11 have generated new guidelines for homeland security. This local plan for fire stations is but one of many intersections between preservation of historic buildings and monuments and increased emphasis on public safety and security.

Significant Buildings Included in the Levy

In April of 2003, prior to the Mayor's levy announcement, city staffers drafted a resolution committing the city to do the right thing by the many historic buildings included with the levy's Master Plan. In a letter written to City Council President Peter Steinbrueck, Mayor Nickels underscored the value of the resources and resolution language pledging landmark nominations for all potentially eligible station not yet listed:

"Seattle's historic neighborhood fire stations are rich representatives of the City's architectural history, and the history and development of the Seattle Fire Department. Designating the facilities now helps assure a degree of protection of the historic fire stations into the future, whether they will be renovated and expanded, or conveyed to a non-City entity. In addition, it is a pro-active measure that ensures that nomination by a third party subsequent to project inception will not delay or conflict with the City's planned or future projects."

Already, two of the older stations included within the levy plan are protected by landmarks regulations. These include the aforementioned Fire Station 10 in Pioneer Square which is a "contributing" resource within the district designation, and Fire Station 2, in Belltown, which is the city's oldest operating fire facility.

At a recent community meeting in Pioneer Square, Jim Compton provided the neighborhood with information about the future of Fire Station 10, an extremely important building within the district although its construction post-dates the 1889 fire that led to the rapid construction of many of the neighborhood's brick buildings.

He explained that Fire Station 10 will be retained, not surplused, as a part of the planning behind the levy and that it will house administrative offices for the fire chief. Many of the historic fire stations included within this levy will be surplused, and threat of this at Fire Station 10 has provoked some community concern. At least one Pioneer Square resident felt that the neighborhood would lose a lot if the building's historic function were discontinued.

According to the City of Seattle's website, and the fire department employees who have promoted the levy within the community, the city plans to surplus four historic fire stations. New stations will be built nearby that better comply with contemporary standards for emergency response.

Potentially historic stations not yet on the City's landmarks register will be nominated for official recognition. These include:

Station 6, Central District: Built in 1930, this station reflects a number of art deco design features popular at the time, including its vertical striped detailing and dynamic metalwork surmounting the two bays. The siting is significant in its neighborhood. The station, located at 101 23rd Avenue South, sits across from the Douglass Truth Carnegie Library which is now undergoing landmarks review for an expansion.

Station 13, Beacon Hill: A 1925 design, the Beacon Hill station was expanded and renovated in 1987, but fails to meet current standards for seismic safety. The design is similar to the Green Lake and Ravenna/Bryant stations. The building is located at 3601 Beacon Avenue South.

Station 14, SoDo or Industrial District. Located at 3224 Fourth Avenue South, this 1922 battalion station is one of the more elaborate historic buildings included within the levy package. The battalion station currently serves a number of functions. It is a training facility for the entire department, home to a dive unit, and a rescue unit serving Seattle's south end, and includes one of two tunnel rescue units. Because the building occupies a large lot, expansion of the building is planned with hopes of minimalizing impact to the building's historic character.

Because the station is located within a liquefaction zone, engineers will determine whether or not a new foundation needs to be a part of seimic upgrades. The building currently rests on underground pilings. The proposal includes significant alterations to the station's apparatus bays.

What happens at this particular station, should the levy pass, will be a challenge - though not insurmountable. Given the architectural character of the building, and its significant siting in the industrial district, landmarks designation is quite likely.

Station 16, Green Lake. Located at 6846 Oswego Place NE, the Green Lake station was built in 1927. The station is small, as is the site, which makes expansion virtually impossible. The plan calls for interior reconfigurations. According to the City, the façade (which is one of the building's most character-defining features) will not be retainable if the station's current medic unit cannot be relocated.

Station 17, University District. Prominently sited at 1050 NE 50th Street, the 1929 University District station was renovated in the late 1980s, but seismic work included within this update was not sufficient to bring the building up to current seismic standards. The levy calls for a number of adaptations to current programmatic ideals, and an expansion. The station is vaguely art deco in design.

Station 37, West Seattle/High Point: This station, located at 7300 35th Avenue SW is an iteration of the California style popular in a number of local apartment buildings in the 1920s. The proportions of the buildings are like those of a large ranch-style house. Alterations that would upgrade the building to accommodate the width of new fire trucks would degrade the nearly perfect architectural integrity of this neighborhood resource.

Station 38, Ravenna/Bryant. This station, which includes a central single bay, and is relatively small - only 2,700 square feet. During the planning for the levy, architects determined that any expansion to the building would deteriorate the historic character of the building, and significantly disrupt the surrounding single-family residential neighborhood. The City intends to sell this building and use the proceeds to fund the purchase of a new site.

Station 41, Magnolia. Located at 2416 34th Avenue NE, the streamlined Magnolia station is stylistically unique among the many historic facilities included within the levy. The 1936 design includes a wide, continuous bay unlike other older stations in this package. The plan calls for an addition to the building that will respect its historic character. Like other buildings in this group, the building saw some seismic upgrades in the late 1980s, but requires more to bring the building up to current codes.

Precedents

Seattle is full of surplused historic fire stations now serving new purposes. In the 1970s, Historic Seattle developed two of these, Fire Station 18, Fire Station 25.

Fire Station 3, located at 301 Terry Avenue, and Fire Station 33, located at 10235 62nd Avenue South are both City of Seattle landmarks, and both have been adapted to new uses.

Adaptive reuse of historic emergency facilities is oftentimes the only way these buildings can be preserved, in any form, for the future. As the levy language notes, alterations that would bring these facilities up to code and rework them to accommodate state of the art trucks and other large equipment would too significantly degrade the building's historic character.

While adaptations of other public buildings, like libraries and schools, also require some alteration to continue service in their historic roles, programmatic requirements for these building types are not directly related to life safety or large, heavy equipment and vehicles. Though challenging, upgrades to these public buildings are possible without significant loss of historic fabric.

If the levy gains voter approval in November, look forward to a number of landmark nominations of the buildings listed above, and eventually, certificates of approval for those landmark stations continuing their historic service to the community.

View last month's Pending Landmarks article

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