Seattle preservation nonprofit Historic Seattle announced today that it had, along with Vanishing Seattle and Friends of Historic Belltown, officially submitted a landmark nomination for music venue the Showbox. The parcel, located across the street from Pike Place Market, has been eyed by developer Onni for a 44-story apartment tower.
Onni had planned to submit its own nomination—and while the developer wouldn’t clarify an end goal to Curbed Seattle, it’s a tactic often used by developers to gain preservation incentives for including elements of the building in the finished product. The developer did not immediately return a request for comment on this specific landmark nomination.
Historic Seattle’s nomination, which was filed before Onni’s, calls for preservation of both the exterior and the interior of the building, which Historic Seattle director of preservation services Eugenia Woo said at a press conference has been “essentially unchanged since 1939.”
“We’re doing this to make the case for the preservation of the interior as well,” said Woo. “The site isn’t that large and the zoning, the height allowed is very high, it’s 44 stories or 440 feet, so we do have concerns that what’s being discussed and what’s going to happen. Will a 44 story tower on top of this even work structurally without ruining the space that we’re seeing? And what would that look like?”
“Ideally the developer finds somewhere else downtown,” Woo continued. “We’re not trying to save every old building.”
The announcement comes as a proposal to loop the Showbox parcel into the Pike Place Market historic district winds through the Seattle City Council process. Woo said Historic Seattle supports this proposal as well, as well as other longer-term solutions for historic preservation.
“We ask the city to work with us to strengthen protections for historically significant places,” said Woo, adding that Historic Seattle is also asking the council to impose an environmental impact fee on new development to fund seismic upgrades to unreinforced masonry (URM)—a major safety issue for historic buildings. (The city’s office of emergency management is currently exploring funding options to assist URM building owners.)
Vanishing Seattle founder Cynthia Brothers added to the call for long-term change in historic preservation, saying the city needs to “realize policy and systemic change so we don’t keep playing whack-a-mole.”
Woo was joined by stakeholders, including regional public-private arts funding organization 4Culture, Seattle City Councilor Lisa Herbold, and King County Executive Dow Constantine at the conference.
Constantine, stepping up to the podium, rattled off a list of shows he’d seen at the Showbox.
“We have a great record of saving historic theaters in this city,” said Constantine, but “there are some tragic exceptions.”
While much attention has been given to the building’s 1930s elements, press was also given a tour of an attic room tucked into the top of the building, which includes relics from the venue’s past—including a Cheap Trick setlist, a portrait of early grunge band Malfunkshun (Temple of the Dog was formed in memorial for frontperson Andrew Wood), and others. Contributions to the “secret graffiti room” date back to the 1970s, surviving the venue’s brief transition into a comedy club between 1990 and 1995.
Burger anarchy, a Cheap Trick setlist, a portrait of early/proto grunge band Manfunkshun, and other goodies in the Showbox’s “secret graffiti room” pic.twitter.com/nwttHTwQ6J
— (@sarahannelloyd) August 9, 2018
Woo said that if the Landmarks Nomination Board accepts the nomination—she said it’s “a very thorough nomination,” but the board could still call for revisions before it’s considered complete—that the group of nonprofits will be the formal applicant.
But if it’s accepted, there’s still a long way to go before landmark designation. A public hearing will follow if the nomination is accepted, and the board will have to debate and vote.