Carolyn Geise, Architect and Community-Builder

Posted on by Marga Rose Hancock
Carolyn in a recent photo

A Queen Anne resident since 1980, architect Carolyn Geise has designed homes and housing in Seattle neighborhoods including Queen Anne.  A professional activist since her UW architecture student days, when she staffed the American Institute of Architects (AIA Seattle) booth at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, she has taken an active role in neighborhood planning and community development, in and beyond Seattle’s Belltown community.

Born in Olympia as Carolyn Lee Deuter, by age 27 she had climbed Mount Rainier three times, and had worked as a popular cook at Snoqualmie Lodge and as a ski instructor with climbing legend Jim Whittaker.  She married and later divorced Jonn Geise, father of their son Matt Geise. …Continue reading “Carolyn Geise, Architect and Community-Builder” →

Reunions & Farewells

Posted on by Kim Turner

I spent a recent weekend splitting my personality between American Radio Theater’s annual Radio Studio, held at Pioneer Hall by Madison Park, and with 80+ members of my high school graduating class of 1961. The latter event was our 55th anniversary of graduation from Queen Anne High School. It brought back some warm memories of good teachers and classes which ‘rocked’ as far as both learning and entertainment can co-exist.

We talked about the many changes on and around Queen Anne Hill – looking across from the south end of Magnolia Bluff at the Seattle Yacht Club’s marina headquarters. A number of classes have held their reunions here, and it was a welcome venue in both site and hour choice – 4-8 p.m. Most could drive home while it was still fairly light out. …Continue reading “Reunions & Farewells” →

Modern Queen Anne

Posted on by Nicole Demers-Changelo

Living in Seattle is exciting because we can be both preservationists and modernists. In Queen Anne we have idyllic Revival and Craftsman homes that sit pretty next to the Modern homes. It works well for our city and our future, but all this being said, things can get a little confusing and only time can be the true judge of good design.

Reichert house ext rendering
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Robert Reichert House/Studio

You can imagine in 1954, when the Reichert house/studio was completed, the sheer disorientation the neighbors experienced. Robert Reichert claimed that the design for his home at 2500 3rd Ave West was primitive, natural, and symbolic. It revealed a love for traditionalism and history. He also claimed that his home complimented the scale of the neighborhood and landscape, and that the design intention was to create a religious atmosphere. …Continue reading “Modern Queen Anne” →