Best of '09: Architecture

This round-up celebrates only the best--check out everything that captured our attention this year

Building Restorations of the Year
Make new friends, but keep the old

The condos cropping up everywhere may be part of our urban landscape, but shouldn’t we also preserve our historical roots? After all, one is silver, and the other’s gold. Thanks to a number of hometown-hero organizations and developers, a handful of Seattle’s historical landmarks will live to see another year.

Carmack Gold Rush House This unassuming 1902 house, tucked away amongst First Hill’s towering medical buildings, belonged to George Washington Carmack, who staked the first major claim of the Klondike Gold Rush and subsequently sparked Seattle’s first economic boom. The house was declared a Seattle landmark last spring, and although Historic Seattle hopes to buy and relocate the house, it still remains in danger of being torn down. The Sanctuary Maybe it is possible to have the best of both worlds. The First Church of Christ, Scientist on Capitol Hill was built in 1906 and home to a Christian Scientist congregation until its sale in 2006. Developers Joe Sacotte and Joel Lavin of First Church LLC preserved the architecture and converted the building into a 12-unit townhouse complex, which will be completed and ready for owners to move into this month. The cost of having your own stained-glass window at home? Priceless. Washington Hall If these walls could talk, they’d be singing. Washington Hall in Seattle’s Central District was center stage for African-American performers such as Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown when they weren’t allowed to play elsewhere in the city. Historic Seattle bought the 1908 property in June and intends to reopen it to the public in early 2010. As James Brown would say, “I feel good!”

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Green building of the year
The Terry Thomas office building in South Lake Union was named one of the nation’s top 10 sustainable projects for 2009 by the American Institute of Architects Committee. Built by local firm Weber Thompson, the four-story building even forgoes energy-sapping air conditioning in favor of open windows and natural airflow. Talk about living outside the box.

There’s much more Best of ’09 where this came from – click here!

By: Kate Calamusa, Brangien Davis, Karen Johnson, Deanna Duff, Rachel Hart, Allison Austin Scheff, Lei Ann Shiramizu and Virginia Smyth
With: Amelia Apfel, Madeline Boardman, Thea Chard, Amy Minor and Jacquie Perez