Historic Seattle

Historic Seattle is a Seattle, Washington public development authority focused on preserving Seattle's architectural heritage.^[1][2] For many years, they issued a monthly online magazine, Preservation Seattle^[3] and are involved in advocacy and education.^[1]

As a public development authority, Historic Seattle is a government-owned corporation.^[4] Its 12-member board includes 4 members appointed by the Mayor of Seattle, 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."^[2]

According to their website, as of 2006 they had completed 44 projects "in capacities ranging from owner/developer to consultant."^[5] Among these were their own headquarters, Dearborn House.^[6] Other prominent Seattle buildings with which they are or have been involved include the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, a former Catholic girls' home, which Historic Seattle owns and operates mainly as office space for non profit organizations;^[7] the Cadillac Hotel in Pioneer Square, now the visitor's center of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park;^[8] and Town Hall, a former Christian Science church that now functions as a 900-seat venue for lectures and performances;^[9] They have also been involved in one or another capacity with numerous houses including the Carpenter Gothic 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 immigrants at Smith Cove; and Egan House with which Historic Seattle has ever been involved.^[10]