Historic Seattle
Encyclopedia
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
public development authority
Public development authority
In the U.S. state of Washington, a public development authority is a government-owned corporation...
focused on preserving Seattle's architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
heritage. They issue a monthly online magazine, Preservation Seattle and are involved in advocacy and education.
As a public development authority, Historic Seattle is a government-owned corporation
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
. Its 12-member board includes 4 members appointed by Seattle's mayor, 4 appointed by the PDA Council, and 4 elected by its constituency. All board members serve 4-year terms. Its mission is the "Preservation and enhancement of the historic heritage of Seattle for the mutual pride and enjoyment of all citizens, and creation of a more livable environment within the historic areas of the city."
According to their website, as of 2006 they had completed 44 projects "in capacities ranging from owner/developer to consultant." Among these were their own headquarters, Dearborn House. Other prominent Seattle buildings with which they are or have been involved include the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle's Wallingford
Wallingford, Seattle, Washington
Wallingford is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, named after John Noble Wallingford . The QFC supermarket at the corner of N 45th Street and Wallingford Avenue N may be regarded as the center of the neighborhood; its large WALLINGFORD neon sign is made in part from letters in the...
neighborhood, a former Catholic girls' home, which Historic Seattle owns and operates mainly as office space for non profit organizations; the Cadillac Hotel in Pioneer Square
Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington
Pioneer Square is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It was once the heart of the city: Seattle's founders settled there in 1852, following a brief six-month settlement at Alki Point on the far side of Elliott Bay. The early structures in the neighborhood...
, now the visitor's center of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park commemorating the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. The gold rush was in the Yukon Territory, and this park comprises staging areas for the trek there, and routes leading in its direction...
; and Town Hall, a former Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
church that now functions as a 900-seat venue for lectures and performances; They have also been involved in one or another capacity with numerous houses including the Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
Twenty-third Avenue Houses, originally built in 1892-1893 as inexpensive housing; the Fourteenth Avenue Houses, a remnant of a late 19th century community of mostly Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
immigrants at Smith Cove
Smith Cove (Washington)
Smith Cove is a body of water, the northern part of Seattle, Washington's Elliott Bay, immediately south of the area that has been known since 1894 as Interbay...
; and Egan House, a 1958 modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
home, the newest building with which Historic Seattle has ever been involved.
External links
- Historic Seattle, official site