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Nuclear Reactor: losing the battle butwinning the warTHE GOLDFINCHSTANDARDBest moments in preservation from 20174We’ve made a tradition of using theJanuary issue of this publication to takea look back at success stories from thepast year. Previously, this list has beenreferred to as the “Best Moments inPreservation” for any given year—andthat premise will remain the same—butwe wanted to give the feature a moredistinct and memorable title to goalong with the new name and look forour newsletter.Un for t u nate ly, 2017 w it nessedseveral examples of poor behav iorleading to destruction of our culturalheritage. These “Heritage T urkeys”,as they have elsewhere been dubbed,remind us how vital the work of historicpreservation and heritage stewardshipremains in 2018. Stick ing w ith theavian theme, we have decided to honorthe Washington State bird by renamingour list acknowledging the good workaccomplished over the past year: theGoldfinch Standard.We present to you the WashingtonTrust’s list of exciting and inspirationalpreservation achievements from thispast year. These stories are setting the“gold standard” for preser vation inWashington State, and we hope theyenergize you, our statewide community,for the upcoming year.The Nuclear Reactor Building on the Universit y ofWashington (UW) campus stood as an exceptional example ofthe Pacific Northwest interpretation of Brutalist Architecture.The Washington Trust twice featured the building as a MostEndangered Place, first in 2008 and then again in 2015.A non-profit advocacy group for modernist architecture,Docomomo WEWA, nominated the building as a City ofSeattle landmark, prompting a legal battle over whether UWis subject to local preservation ordinances. An early courtruling in UW’s favor cleared the path for demolition, so sadly,the building came down in 2016. The City of Seattle appealedthat ruling (joined by the Washington Trust, Historic Seattle,and Docomomo WEWA), which eventually worked its wayto the Washington State Supreme Court in June 2017. In ahuge victory for Washington’s preservation community, ourSupreme Court Justices unanimously decided that UW isindeed subject to local landmark laws. While the ruling won’tbring back the Nuclear Reactor Building, it sets an incrediblyimportant precedent for protecting other university-ownedproperties across the state. Public universities not only havehistoric buildings on their campuses, but also own propertiesin downtowns of Washington communities small and large.Spokane’s Mid-Century ProjectIn 2016, the Spokane City/County Historic PreservationOffice and Spokane Historic Landmarks Commission receiveda grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology& Historic Preservation to start the process of identifying anddocumenting the Modern Movement in Spokane. The goalof the project was to understand why the city attracted somany revolutionary architects, learn about some of theirbest projects, and help the public develop an appreciationfor this more recent vintage of historic preservation. Thefinal selections for the survey and inventory included 53properties, and the accompanying website created as partof the project – midcenturyspokane.org – highlighted oneproperty each week during 2017. In addition to helping raiseawareness for modernist architecture in Spokane, the projectcreated a visually-engaging, interactive online databasecataloging the survey information and photos. Learn moreabout this project on page 10!The Sanctuary Opening GalaIn 2003, Seattle’s First United MethodistChurch was listed as a Most Endangered Place;a booming downtown real estate marketand the financial strain on the congregationdue to costly repairs created an uncertainfuture. Though clearly a landmark structure,a State Supreme Court ruling exemptingchurches from local preservation ordinancesthreatened its future. Thankfully, a developercommitted to preserving the church steppedin with an offer to purchase the site. Today,a nearly completed 48-story tower standson one corner of the site, with the freshlyrehabilitated historic church mirrored inthe glass exterior. In November 2017, over 400preservation-minded party-goers attendeda grand re-opening of the historic house ofworship, renamed The Sanctuary. The galaprovided a golden opportunity to re-envisionand re-embrace the value of historic structureswithin our urban fabric. More importantly, itserved as a celebration to cap a decade-longeffort to save the oldest remaining churchin Seattle’s downtown core. Special thanksto Daniels Real Estate and all the partnersinvolved in making The Sanctuary gala one of2017’s truly special moments!Panorama of the Sanctuary Opening Gala.Photo from Daniels Real Estate.5

Launch of Revisiting WashingtonThe Washington Trust first undertook the RevisitingWashington project nearly a decade ago by adapting theclassic 1941 guidebook, Washington, A Guide to the EvergreenState, into a CD-ROM. Last year, we launched the newestiteration of the project: an interactive website and mobileapp. The app is designed to promote historic preservation andheritage tourism throughout the state by improving accessto the information contained in the original guidebook andmaking updates for an even richer heritage experience. Whilestill firmly rooted in the original 1941 tour material, we addedinformation about heritage barns, National Register‑listedsites and historic districts, and all our state’s Main Streetcommunities. We also plan to develop additional thematiccontent and add sites and stories related to histories thatmay not be traditionally well-represented through historicpreservation. Go to revisitwa.org on your phone, tablet, ordesktop to try it out!6These five images were featuredin our most “liked” post this pastyear on our Revisiting WashingtonInstagram account: @revisitwa. Thephotos highlight locations from the“Mount Rainier National Park toTacoma” tour. Dominated by majesticMount Rainier at every turn, thisAll-American Road traces the historicNaches Trail trading route betweenEnumclaw and the Naches Valley.Upper right image of Mount Rainierby Ty Grobmeier (@ tygroby).Save Weyerhaeuser Campus CampaignThis past year, a group called Save Weyerhaeuser Campus(SWC) nominated the historic Weyerhaeuser Corporate Campusto our list of Most Endangered Places. The group was createdin response to the sale of the property and the new owner’sproposed construction of a 7.2-acre warehouse sited inalarming proximity to the landmark headquarters buildingand its historic landscape. SWC rallied the communityto oppose the project, highlighting the addition’s lack ofsensitivity to the historic campus. Their efforts were rewardedand the project was scuttled, although now the developerhas applied for five warehouses covering more than 100acres that are currently forested. SWC has established awebsite and social media presence; created a robust internalcommittee structure with volunteers of diverse backgroundsand professional expertise; and most importantly created anetwork of partnerships including state legislators, the City ofFederal Way, King County, Forterra, and the Washington Trust,to name a few. The dedicated volunteers of SWC have beenexemplary in their advocacy efforts from initiating meetingswith stakeholders to attending public meetings to holdingtheir own events to raise awareness. Through these efforts,they have helped garner 2 million in city and county fundstoward the potential purchase of 54 acres along North Laketo preserve public use of the forest and trails. It is one thingto declare a resource threatened and include it in the MostEndangered Places list, but it is often more difficult to sustainlong-term preservation advocacy efforts. SWC has beenstalwart in their defense of the campus for well over a year,closely monitoring all development proposals, and shows nosigns of easing up on their call for thoughtful developmentof the site. SWC is setting a standard (dare we say a “GoldfinchStandard”?) for community organizing.7Above upper: Kim Carl Erickson and TaShawna Nash attendedthe first annual Save the Campus Earth Day Walk this past yearon April 22. Supporters of Save Weyerhaeuser Campus raisedawareness of the need to preserve and maintain the uniquecharacter of the campus, collected donations to support advocacyefforts, and collected several bags of trash along the 2.5-mile route.Above lower: The Save Weyerhaeuser Campus group celebrateswith the Federal Way City Council after the council unanimouslyadopted a motion that moves the city closer to obtaining 1 millionin matching funds from the county’s Conservation Futures Program(CFT) for the potential purchase of 54 acres along North Lake.

Main Street Tax Credit Bill Passes8The Cortona Building in Renton was recently renovated,opening up new spaces and opportunities for retail indowntown Renton. In addition to being located in a communitythat recently established an interlocal agreement with KingCounty, this project also used the Historic Tax Credit.With passage of the state budget in June, the WashingtonState legislature included a measure aimed at improvingthe Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program (MSTCIP). TheMSTCIP has enabled businesses to contribute to Main Streetcommunities, in return for a 75% credit on their Business& Occupation (B&O) taxes, and support small businessdevelopment, historic building rehabilitation, designimprovements, marketing, and community events. Withdonations to Main Street communities on the rise, the successof the program resulted in a race among businesses to securetax credits. Recognizing the impact of the MSTCIP for ourhistoric downtowns across the state, legislators embarkedon a bi-partisan effort to raise the previous 1.5 million capon the total amount of tax credits allowed each year, easingcompetition among donors. Special thanks to the bill’s primesponsors, Senator Ann Rivers and Representative SharonWylie, as well as the other 17 senators and 25 representativeswho co-sponsored the bill. The new measure increasesthis cap to 2.5 million, ensuring that eligible Main Streetorganizations will have increased access to donations, whichare in turn re-invested in our historic town centers. TheWashington Trust is proud to administer the Main StreetProgram on behalf of the Washington State Department ofArchaeology & Historic Preservation.In an effort to help bring fresh and diverse voices into thefield of preservation, last year the Washington Trust createda fellowship program to support first-time attendance bystudents and young professionals to Washington’s annualpreservation and Main Street conference, RevitalizeWA.We selected our distinguished group of fellows througha competitive process, awarding each a complimentaryconference registration as well as travel and lodgingassistance. All fellows were in turn paired with a mentorselected specifically to match their interests and careerobjectives. The program was a great success, and we are sopleased that two of last year’s fellows are now serving asWashington Trust Board members! See page 14 to read an articleby one of our Fellows (four other articles can be found in our Julyand October issues), page 15 to learn about this year’s PreserveWAFellows application, and page 22 to read the bios of our new youngprofessional and student board members.Partnering for Preservation in King CountySaving the Federal Historic Tax CreditThe King Count y Historic Preser vation Off ice hasa program through which smaller cities can share inpreservation resources available at the county level. Citiescan enter into an “interlocal agreement” with the countyand thus utilize county staff to assist in the developmentand implementation of a local preservation ordinance. Thistool allows cities to write and codify a historic preservationordinance to meet their needs; establish a local historicbuilding register and landmarks commission; and usecounty staff to assist in landmark designation and propertyreviews. The partnership helps cities to efficiently engagein preservation activity without the often restrictive costsassociated with hiring additional city staff to manage theprogram. Though more than half of King County’s suburbancities already participate in this regional preservationprogram, 2017 witnessed a significant uptick in interest.Renton and Federal Way officially established interlocalagreements, and negotiations are underway w ith t woadditional communities hoping to establish agreements in2018. We believe these partnerships are evidence of a growinginterest in preserving our collective Washington heritage.Interlocal programs also exist in Thurston, Pierce, Clark, andSnohomish Counties.In late 2017, Congress seriously began efforts to overhaulthe nation’s tax code and to the alarm of preservationistsacross the country, the “blueprint” for national tax reformcalled for repeal of the Federal Historic Tax Credit, or HTC.Established over 40 years ago, the HTC encourages ownersof historic buildings to engage in rehabilitation activitiesin exchange for credit against their federal income tax. Theprogram is widely touted as being the most effective toolfor private investment in historic properties nationwide,attracting over 131 billion in private capital since inception.Fear became reality when the tax plan passed by the Houseof Representatives failed to retain the HTC. Preservationistsmobilized, engaging in a nationwide effort to educatelegislators on the economic power and cultural importanceof the program. Thankfully, the Senate’s version of the taxreform bill included the HTC, and through the heroic nationaleffort put forth by preservation advocates, the HTC survivedin the final tax bill. In Washington State alone, there areover 40 rehabilitation projects representing 900 millionin capital investment that have recently been completedor are currently under way, including the Elks Building inWenatchee, the Publix Hotel in Seattle’s International District,and Cheney High School in Cheney; many of these projectswould not have occurred without the HTC. Special thanksgoes to our colleagues at the Washington State Departmentof Archaeolog y & Historic Preser vation for providingcritical data on tax credit projects and helping to educatepolicymakers. We are grateful to our entire WashingtonState congressional delegation, especially RepresentativesDave Reichert and Suzan DelBene, both of whom serve onthe Tax Policy Subcommittee of the House Ways & MeansCommittee; and to Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray,both of whom served on the Joint Congressional Committeeestablished to resolve differences on tax reform. While thebill ultimately passed along a party-line vote, Washington’scongressional delegation on both sides of the aisle understoodthe importance of this program.Upper left: Senator Ann Rivers celebrates the recent passageof the Main Street Tax Credit bill at a meeting, in Camas lastJuly, of Main Street directors from around the state.Center left and lower: Before and after of the Publix Hotelin Seattle which underwent a 24 million renovation usingthe Historic Tax Credit. The Publix Hotel was a “single roomoccupancy” hotel built in 1927 to house migrant workers.“Before” image from Flickr user “four12” and “after” imagefrom Spectrum Development Solutions.PreserveWA Fellows Program9

MID-CENTURYSPOKANEAppreciating a new era of historic preservationBy Megan Duvall, Spokane City/County Historic Preservation OfficePhotos by Diana Painter, Painter Preservation10To say that Spokane had an unusual amountof architectural design talent residing, working,and building in the mid-part of the 20th centurywould be an understatement. It isn’t a secretthat Spokane is home to many remarkable midcentury architectural masterpieces, however, thequestion as to how they came to be in this ratherconservative, mid-sized Western city had not beensufficiently answered. In 2016, the Spokane HistoricLandmarks Commission and Historic PreservationOffice applied for a grant from the Departmentof Archaeology & Historic Preservation to exploreour mid-century architecture, its designers, andperhaps answer the question of “why Spokane?”In the most simplistic of terms, World War IIwas the economic boost Spokane had been waitingfor. The city had gone through its share of boomand bust; weathered the doubling of the populationfrom 1900 to 1910; endured the 1918 flu epidemicthat claimed over 1000 victims; created an electricinter urban t rain system, whic h a l lowed forincreased travel and recreational opportunities;and survived the Great Depression and a 25%unemployment rate in the city. With New Deal reliefprograms like the Works Progress Administration,the Public Works Administration, and the CivilianConservation Corps, Washington State began tomove away from a resource-based economy to onein which manufacturing rose to prominence.With the rise of Nazi Germany came intellectualrefugees, among them prominent ModernistsLudw ig Mies van der Rohe and, of particularimportance to Spokane, Walter Gropius. Gropiusfounded the Bauhaus design school in 1919 inGermany with curriculum that included practicalinstruction in the handling of materials as wellas formal instruction in nature, plane geometry,volumes, colors, and composition. Gropius servedas director of the Bauhaus until 1928; facing anincreasingly unstable political climate in Germany– which ultimately contributed to the closing ofthe school in 1933 – he fled the country in 1934,landing first in Britain before arriving in theUnited States four years later. Bauhaus principlesfound a more receptive audience in Cambridge,Massachusetts, where Gropius took on leadership ofthe Harvard Graduate School of Design. There, from1937 to 1952, he taught the likes of Philip Johnsonand I.M. Pei, as well as three of Spokane’s mostinfluential Modern architects: Royal McClure, BruceWalker, and Bill Trogdon.In the mid-1950s, the influence of EuropeanModernists like Mies van der Rohe and WalterGropius began to spread. Richard Neutra appearedmidcenturyspokane.orgon the cover of Time magazine in 1949 as “one of the world’shalf-dozen top modern architects.” In Spokane, architectsKenneth Brooks and Bruce Walker teamed up for the designof 1959 Washington Water Power’s (W WP) Central ServiceFacility and Headquarters (now Avista Utilities), a sign thatModernism was no longer the sole purview of New York orChicago or Los Angeles.A s ment ioned, t h ree of Gropius’ st udents helpedpopularize the Modern Style in Spokane in the 1950s: RoyalMcClure, Bill Trogdon, and Bruce Walker. And in the work ofBrooks, who worked for the firm of Skidmore, Owings andMerrill in New York before opening a practice in Spokane,can clearly be seen Miesian tenets. There was a more directEuropean influence as well: Moritz Kundig’s Swiss educationincluded six years of Latin, five of French, four of English,and one of Italian, along with German literature, history,math, and sciences – and that was before he even enteredcollege. Kundig earned an architecture degree from theEidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, a school thatboasts Albert Einstein as one of its alums.It wasn’t long before the architectural press began to payattention to what was happening in Spokane. “Your workis excellent,” reads a telegram from John Entenza, editor ofArts & Architecture, to Royal McClure. Appearing in Entenza’smagazine meant more than a publishing credential – itmeant that McClure’s ideas had the implicit approval of aneditorial board that included the likes of Charles Eames,Richard Neutra, and Eero Saarinen. Other magazines, likeSunset, House Beautiful, and Time were also noticing Spokane’sModernists – a testament not only to their talents, but also totheir reach.Joining McClure (John F. Kennedy Pavilion, UnitarianChurch, Cornelius House), Walker (W W P Headquarters,Farm Credit Bank, Wesley J. Fleming House), Brooks (W WPHeadquarters; First Church of Christ, Scientist; Vern W.Johnson Residence), Trogdon (Salvation Army Headquarters),11Upper: The 1959 five-story Washington Water Power (WWP) CentralServices Company Headquarters building (now Avista Utilities)was designed as part of a suburban-style campus that providedfor everything from the corporate offices to the construction yardfor the WWP, the largest public utility in the Pacific Northwest inits day.Lower: The split-entry Cornelius House was designed by the firmMcClure & Adkison in the Contemporary Style – a name adopted inthe post-war era for modern, high-style houses.

12and Kundig (Spokane Civic Theatre, Matthews House) werearchitects whose names might not be as widely known, butmade their mark on Spokane’s architectural fabric. Theseadditional architects include: Warren Heylman (Parkade,Wells House); John McGough (Farm Credit Bank as Walker &McGough); Frank Yoshio Toribara (Tombari Dental Clinic);Caroll Martell (Sacred Heart Catholic Church); Carl Vantyne(Fairmont Sunset Chapel and Mausoleum); James “Kim”Barnard (Barnard House); and Tom Adkison (Expo ’74 siteplan), amongst others.Spokane was home to several nationally recognizedModernists. The only Richard Neutra-designed building inthe entire state is in Spokane, along with what the America

Goldfinch Standard. effort to save the oldest remaining church We present to you the Washington Trust’s list of exciting and inspirational preservation achievements from this past year. These stories are setting the “gold standard” for preservation in Washington State