State Panel Forwards Three Local Historic Sites to National Register
October 24, 2008 — A structure on the University of Washington campus in Seattle that once housed a small nuclear reactor is now on the Washington Heritage Register, and may well be added to the National Register of Historic Places. The building was one of three King County sites added to the register this month by the Governor's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), which met Oct. 17 to consider the applications for Moore Hall Annex (commonly called the Nuclear Reactor Building), as well as the Preston Community Clubhouse and Redmond City Park.
The 1961 Nuclear Reactor Building is at the center of a controversy that pits preservationists against the University's desire to expand its facilities. Abby Martin of Seattle, who earned her masters degree in architecture from the UW School of Architecture last June, nominated the building because of its place in the history of nuclear energy and its distinctive poured concrete architecture.
The University argued that the Nuclear Reactor Building was not a significant historic structure. But Martin says the ACHP ruling vindicates her view. "It was incredible to see the overwhelming support for the building and its significance by the reviewing board, and by the Washington Trust [for Historic Preservation], Historic Seattle, and Docomomo Wewa," Martin says.
Two other nominations - Redmond City Park and the Preston Community Clubhouse - were submitted by the City of Redmond and the King County Historic Preservation Program.
Redmond City Park park in the rapidly growing community on Lake Sammamish. Established in 1928, the park includes three log buildings: a caretaker’s house, a picnic shelter, and a meeting house, all built in 1938 as Works Progress Administration projects. The WPA was a Great Depression-era public agency formed to jump-start the economy by creating jobs for unemployed workers. The WPA worked with local Redmond volunteers to expand the park and design the structures.
Preston Community Clubhouse – Also built as a WPA project, the Preston Community Clubhouse was constructed in 1938. It is closely associated with the early days of King County’s Parks and Recreation Division. The clubhouse is one of eight WPA-built field houses erected throughout the county, five of which still stand. Built in the familiar log and masonry style of rural WPA projects, the Preston clubhouse still functions as a popular recreational facility in Preston.
The National Park Service will now review all three nominations and may place the sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Listing on the National Register is largely honorary, and does not prevent owners from altering the buildings or demolishing them.
For more information on the Governor's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, contact Michael Houser at 360-586-3076.
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