District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold shared news of legislation passed on Nov. 28 to complete the landmark process for the Campbell Building at the north east corner of Alaska Street SW and California Ave. SW

Campbell Building Historic Landmark Legislation

On Tuesday, November 28 the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee passed legislation to complete the landmarks designation process for the Campbell Building. The Full Council will vote on Monday, December 4th.

The Campbell Building was built in 1911, and is an iconic location in the Alaska Junction, at the corner of Alaska and California (Cupcake Royale is located there).

The Landmarks Preservation Board earlier approved designation as a historic landmark in April, and found that it met four of the six standards for designation in the Seattle Municipal Code section 25.12.350:

It is associated in a significant way with the life of a person important in the history of the City, state, or nation; or

It is associated in a significant way with a significant aspect of the cultural, political, or economic heritage of the community, City, state or nation; or

It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectural style, or period, or of a method of construction; or

Because of its prominence of spatial location, contrasts of siting, age, or scale, it is an easily identifiable visual feature of its neighborhood or the City and contributes to the distinctive quality or identity of such neighborhood or the City.

Only one standard is necessary to be met for landmark status. The Council’s action imposes controls on the exterior of the building, the final step in the Landmarks process.

I requested that this legislation be heard in the committee I chair to ensure the Full Council could vote on it before the end of the year. The property owners have invested in the property at a level that allows for tax credits, provided the Council acts before the end of the year. So I wanted to bring it forward, even though landmarks usually go to another committee, to make sure it didn’t fall through the cracks before the final Full Council meeting of the year on December 11.

The origins of the nomination were unique, and came as a result of community efforts. The Southwest Seattle Historical Study Group, a collaborative effort by the SW Seattle Historical Society, SW District Council, West Seattle Junction Association, the Junction Neighborhood Association (JuNO), and ArtsWest, resulted in a report, “What Makes the West Seattle Junction Special”, which included a property-by-property analysis, and recommendations for landmark status. Thank you to the West Seattle Junction Historical Survey Team: Clay Eals, Chas Redmond, and Deb Barker and Susan Melrose for all their work, and to Jack Calvo of the building ownership group for participating in the committee discussion, which you can view here on the Seattle Channel archive.

In February, before the Board’s action, I wrote letter to the Board in support of landmark status for the Campbell Building, and for the Crescent-Hamm building across the street, the home of Easy Street; legislation for that building is expected soon.

Here’s a link to the power point presentation shown in committee; the Landmarks Preservation Board report has interesting historical background.