Update
May 17, 2009
On June 17, 2009, the (former) 7th Church of Christ, Scientist
located at 2555 8th Avenue West, designed by Harlan Thomas (Thomas & Grainger)
in 1926, was designated a City of Seattle Landmark by unanimous
vote of the Landmarks Board at their semi-monthly meeting. The
landmark report was prepared and presented by Larry Johnson,
AIA, principal of The Johnson Partnership, with the assistance
of Queen Anne Historical Society Landmarks Preservation Committee
members, Char Eggleston and Leanne Olson. Also in attendance
were two granddaughters of architect Harlan Thomas (Koque Thomas
Todd and Edith Williams Shuman) as well as Jay Kelly, Minister
of the Seattle Church of Christ (current owners of the property).
All ten board members present voted unanimously to approve the
designation based on the building meeting three of the six designation
criteria specified by the City of Seattle Landmarks ordinance.
The board agreed that the property meets criteria D, E and F
because it embodies distinctive visible characteristics of an
architectural style, it is an outstanding work of a designer
and it is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood.
The exterior of the building; main entrance foyer including the
two cloakrooms; the auditorium including the speaker's platform
and the site are covered by the designation. The Queen Anne Historical
Society would like to express gratitude to the many community
members and representatives of heritage organizations who helped
to make this designation possible.
Update
May 1, 2009
Next Wednesday, May 6th, the 7th Church of Christ Scientist
Building will come up for landmark nomination with the City of
Seattle. We ask for your support of this nomination and designation--the
current owners of the building, the Seattle Church of Christ,
have agreed for the building to be landmarked, which should increase
its chances for future generations to enjoy this
key piece of Queen Anne's heritage. Send your support email to Beth
Chave at the Landmarks Board by May 5th. For details on attending,
or further information on the nomination, consider the two links
below. A hard copy of the nomination document is also available
for viewing at the Queen Anne Library. Thanks for your support!
Landmarks
Board Meeting - 7th Church of Christ Scientist Nomination
7th
Church of Christ Scientist Nomination Document
Update
January 29, 2009
by Leanne Olson,
Queen Anne Historical Society Landmarks
Preservation Committee
On August 28, 2007, this historic Queen Anne community church
was saved from demolition following a long campaign by the Queen
Anne
Historical Society in collaboration with other preservation groups
and concerned neighbors. The Society’s Landmarks
Preservation Committee, chaired by Char Eggleston, first became
involved in this undertaking in October 2006 in response to a City
of Seattle Department of Planning & Development notice of application for
demolition permit posted in front of the building. A significant amount of effort
was expended including publicizing the process and soliciting letters to the
DPD requesting denial of the demolition permit, making a formal appeal to DPD
following their subsequent decision to allow the demolition, and nominating the
church for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation ‘s 2007 Most
Endangered Historic Properties List. The publicity generated from the church’s
inclusion on this list, in conjunction with the direct involvement of Chris Moore,
Field Director for the Washington Trust, culminated in agreement by the congregation
of the 7th Church of Christ, Scientist to sell the property to the Seattle Church
of Christ.
The Seattle
Church of Christ, under the leadership
of Reverend Jay Kelly, has agreed to support the decision of
the Queen Anne
Historical Society Board of
Trustees to pursue City of Seattle Landmark designation for the property, thereby
enabling this wonderful legacy of architect Harlan Thomas to endure for future
generations. The congregation has maintained and upgraded the building during
their period of stewardship and is actively engaged in fund raising efforts
to allow stabilization of the structure. The most crucial element
requiring attention
is the roof, which must be addressed in order to prevent further water damage.
In addition, earthquake retrofitting is needed. The congregation applied for
a King County 4Culture grant in 2008 to aid in this restoration effort and
was awarded $19,000 to help build the funds required for this
major project.
A Landmark Nomination Report is being prepared by Larry Johnson,
AIA, principal of The
Johnson Partnership, with the assistance
of Society members Char Eggleston, Leanne Olson and Bruce Jones.
We anticipate that the nomination will be presented to the City
of Seattle
Landmarks Preservation Board during the 2nd
Quarter of 2009.
At that time, we will be asking Society members and the Queen Anne community
to contribute to this effort by writing letters supporting Landmark designation
for the church.
For further information, contact Char
Eggleston, Queen Anne
Historical Society President, at 206-378-1618.
Update
September 1, 2007
by
Leanne Olson
Following a long campaign by the Queen Anne Historical Society
in collaboration with other preservation groups and concerned
neighbors, this historic Queen Anne community church, has been
saved from demolition!
The Society’s Landmarks/Preservation Committee, chaired by Char Eggleston,
first became involved in this undertaking in October 2006 following Board approval.
A significant amount of effort was expended including publicizing the process
and soliciting letters to the Seattle Department of Planning & Development
requesting denial of a demolition permit, making a formal appeal to DPD following
their decision to allow the demolition, and nominating the church for the Washington
Trust for Historic Preservation ‘s 2007 Most Endangered Historic Properties
List. The publicity generated from the church’s inclusion on this list,
in conjunction with the direct involvement of Chris Moore, Field Director for
the Washington Trust, culminated in the agreement of the 7th Church of Christ
Scientist’s congregation to sell the property to the Seattle Church
of Christ.
Please consider a
donation to our organization to help keep up this important
work. See our "donate" icon on the home page.
We are grateful to numerous members of the Queen Anne community
and Queen Anne Historical Society for their support. In addition,
the Landmarks/Preservation
Committee would like to thank the following individuals and organizations
for their dedication to this preservation effort:
Craig Hanway, David Delfs and Ellen Monrad, Queen
Anne Community Council
Kemp Hiatt, Queen
Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth
Fellow appellants: E. Tyler Crone & Jorge Baron, Danyelle & Stacy O’Neal,
Chuck Kolb and Byron Coney
Christine Palmer, Larry Johnson and Dennis Andersen, Historic
Seattle
Chris Moore and Jennifer Meisner, Washington
Trust for Historic Preservation
Susan Boyle, BOLA Architecture
+ Planning
Todd Perbix, Perbix
Bykonen Structural Engineers;
and most especially to the Boards and members of the Seventh
Church of Christ Scientist and the Seattle
Church of Christ for enabling this wonderful legacy
of architect Harlan Thomas to endure for future generations.
For further information, contact Char Eggleston, Landmarks/Preservation
Chair, at 206-378-1618 or char@qahistory.org .
Articles on the saving of the church:
Seattle
P-I article on saved 7th Church(Aug 31)
Seattle
Times article on saved 7th Church(Sep 1)
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