We thank the King County Council staff for providing this official summary.
On March 7, 2018, the King County Council’s Committee of the Whole considered Proposed Ordinance 2018-0086. As originally drafted, this proposed ordinance would make a number of changes to oversight of 4Culture, a cultural development authority formed by King County in 2003 to steward public art, the arts, heritage, and historic preservation funding and programs:
4Culture budget. The proposed ordinance would require that the Council accept by motion 4Culture’s board-adopted budget, prior to transferring funding to 4Culture in the next fiscal year.
4Culture Board appointment process. The proposed ordinance would modify the process to include one board appointment each by County Councilmembers by district and six appointments by the County Executive. The requirements for a specific balance of expertise on the board would be eliminated.
4Culture Executive Director. The proposed ordinance would provide for the County Executive to appoint and the Council to confirm the 4Culture Executive Director recommended by the 4Culture Board. Provide for the County to remove the Executive Director by ordinance.
The Committee of the Whole approved the proposed ordinance as amended, and forwarded the proposed ordinance to the full Council. The amendments approved by the Committee of the Whole were:
Striking amendment S1.2 was approved. It would make a number of changes to the proposed ordinance:
4Culture budget. The striking amendment would stipulate that the 4Culture budget be transmitted to the Executive 125 days before the end of each fiscal year and then to the Council, rather than directly to the Council 95 days before the end of each fiscal year. It would require the 4Culture budget review and acceptance process to begin in 2020, rather than on the effective date of the proposed ordinance. It would allow transfers to continue in the next fiscal year if the Council did not act on the motion by November 30; transfers would only discontinue if the Council rejected the 4Culture budget by motion by November 30.
4Culture Board appointment process. The striking amendment would provide for a process for notification and input from the 4Culture Governance/Nominating Committee on board vacancies, and also require that the current 4Culture process for nominating vacancies to the Board occur only by request of the Executive or Councilmember making the appointment.
4Culture Executive Director. The striking amendment would eliminate the ability of the County to remove the 4Culture Executive Director.
Amendment 1 was approved. It would establish a task force to conduct a community stakeholder process to be staffed by an independent consultant funded by King County and 4Culture. The task force report would be transmitted to the county by February 1, 2019. If the Council passes a motion acknowledging receipt of the report by April 1, 2019, then the 4Culture budget transmittal/ review process would begin in 2019. If the Council does not pass the motion by April 1, 2019, the 4Culture budget transmittal/ review process would begin in 2020.
Amendment 2 was approved. It would add policy language to the King County Code stating that, “King County recognizes that meeting its goals for regional distribution of cultural activities requires regional planning, outreach to cities and communities throughout the county, and a regional investment strategy.”
Next Steps The proposed ordinance as amended has been forwarded to the full Council for further deliberation and possible action. Following the regular calendar would bring the proposed ordinance to the Council meeting on Monday, March 19, 2018.
Choreographer Dani Tirrell received an Art Projects grant for Black Bois, a new dance piece based on the stories of black male bodies traumatized by living in the United States.
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Recently we shared some of the work we are doing to become a more equitable agency. Now, we are highlighting you—the individuals and organizations throughout King County who put their 4Culture grants to work centering the stories of those who have been excluded from the narrative.
That’s a lot of grant recipients! The projects, people, and organizations doing this hard but invaluable work are numerous and wide-ranging, and this represents just a small sampling. We encourage you to spend some time exploring our Past Grants page, where you can see everyone we’ve funded over the last three years. In addition to including the King County Public Art Collection and Gallery 4Culture, we’ve divided this list up by King County legislative district—who is doing equity work in your community?
District 1
Percussionist and Master Drummer, Charles Armah received a Community 4Culture Individual Fellowship to share the music of West Africa with North King County neighborhoods in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.
Mercy Housing NW is turning former Navy barracks at the Sand Point Naval Air Station Historic District into 149 affordable housing units with help from a Landmarks Capital grant
The Arab Center of Washington used their Equipment grant to purchase Arabic Darbukah drums, so they can offer hands-on classes for youth.
The Bataan, Corregidor Survivor’s Association + Their Families organization received an Open 4Culture grant to produce a Filipino-American World War II museum inside the Filipino Community Center of Seattle.
Yadesa Bojia’s Truth Be Told exhibition, funded through Art Projects, grappled with the stereotypes that people of color have to fight against in our society.
District 2
SEED Arts received a Facilities grant to fabricate and install an antenna for KVRU 105.7, their low power FM radio station serving the diverse communities of Southeast Seattle.
Onyx Fine Arts Collective celebrates work of artists of African descent from the Pacific Northwest, and recently openedGallery Onyx in Downtown Seattle with support from a Community4Culture grant.
The Eritrean Association In Greater Seattle received a Facilities grant to create an outdoor gathering space at the Eritrean Community Center, increasing the Center’s capacity to provide event space for Eritreans and other immigrant groups.
The Refugee Women’s Alliance used Heritage Project funds to produce Their Very Existence, a documentary telling the stories of four refugee and immigrant women resettling in King County as they try to understand life in the U.S. while preserving their cultural heritage and identity.
Choreographer Dani Tirrell received an Art Projects grant for Black Bois, a new dance piece based on the stories of black male bodies traumatized by living in the United States.
District 3
Tasveer’s mission is to inspire social change through thought-provoking South Asian films, art, and storytelling—they received an Art Project grant for the 12th Annual South Asian Film Festival.
As a first time applicant, the Seattle Chinese Chorus received an Open 4Culture grant for a Chinese language performance of Where Am I?, going on to receive Art Sustained Support funding.
Art Project funds are at work in the Vedic Cultural Center’s annual Ananda Mela—the Joyful Festival of India—presenting the arts and cultural traditions of India for multicultural audiences.
Anna Maria Campoy received an Art Projects grant to stage a bilingual Spanish/English production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof on front porches across King County.
Garinaga Houngua, an organization set up to preserve and promote the Garifuna culture, utilized Community 4Culture funds to pay teaching artists to offer free, dance and language workshops.
Arts Sustained Support recipient The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas provides literacy classes serving low-income, minority, and immigrant youth.
The Bailadores de Bronce’s Heritage Projects grant helped produce A Cultural Treasure, a film documenting the organization’s 35-year history, as an outreach tool to youth.
District 5
Sabori Mohammad received an Open 4Culture grant to use his jewelry making skills to teach immigrant women from Afghanistan a traditional art form that they can use to generate income.
Des Moines-based graffiti and hip-hop artist Sneke received an Art Projects grant for Murals Masters III, where he worked with youth to make murals on a temporary wall space in Burien’s Art Alley.
Circle of Indigenous People received Community 4Culture funding to advance their work bringing Native and non-Native people together through a cultural gathering at Northwest Folklife Festival.
An Art Projects grant helped fund Sharon Williams’ The Consciousness of Love: A Maze in Me, a short documentary about navigating depression as a black person.
District 6
Published Taiwan-born author Vanya Wu received a community 4Culture grant to support her work as a Chinese language novelist.
After receiving an Open 4Culture grant to frame paintings for his exhibit Birds in Flight at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center, José Orantes went on to receive a Community 4Culture fellowship.
Srivani Jade received Art Projects funding for Soul Raga, four new multi-part compositions combining Indian raga vocals with Greek clarinet, Latin piano, Senegalese drums. and Tabla to create a new sound.
District 7
The Federal Way-based Korean Music Association received a Community 4Culture grant that will help support their mission of healing, entertaining, and empowering a wider immigrant community through musical events.
Open 4Culture support helped the Filipino Cultural Dance Group of the Filipino American Community of Puget Sound pay for dancers to participate in the Algona Days Festival.
An Open4Culture grant led the Iraqi Women Association to apply for and receive Arts Projects funding to participate in the Kent International Festival, celebrating the cultural diversity of South King County.
District 8
The Friends of Mukai received Preservation funding to save and restore the Mukai Farmstead, the historic home and strawberry farm of B.D. and Kuni Mukai, Japanese immigrants who overcame adversity and discrimination.
With support from a Community4Culture grant, Latino Theatre Projects worked to engage Latino audiences in theatre activities, going on receive Arts Sustained Support funding.
After receiving an Open 4Culture grant to screen The Lobby, her film about a woman wearing a hijab, Faria Absie went on to receive a Heritage Projects grant for her collaboration with Eat with Muslims, a project to document the lives of King County Muslims
Duwamish Tribal Services are the recipients of Heritage Sustained Support funding, advocating for the survival of the Duwamish Tribe and sharing their history and culture with all peoples.
The Filipino Cultural Dance Group of the Filipino American Community of Puget Sound received Open 4Culture support to pay for dancers to participate in the Algona Days Festival.
Eunice Kim is a printmaker living and working in Ravensdalewho received a Tech Specific grant for her Nontoxic Printmaking workshop at Cedar River Watershed.
Maria Louisa Batayola received an Open 4Culture grant for a film project about Filipino and Latino farmworker history.
King County Public Art Collection
The Cultural Heritage Collection is a component of the King County Public Art Program at Harborview Medical Center. The Collection features artists from across the United States who explore their own cultural traditions through art-making. King County artists represented in the collection include Akio Takamori, Connie Watts, and Donald Varnell.
In 1976, King County instituted the Honors Program which recognizes visual artists who have made significant contributions to our region through the sustained production of high-quality artwork. As budget allows, new pieces are purchased for the King County Public Art Collection. Artists in the collection include George Tsutakawa, Patti Warashina, and Jacob Lawrence.
Poet Chenxi Liu hosted a bilingual Community Poetry Workshop at the Redmond Senior Center and Chinese Information Services Center as part of our Poetry on Buses public art program.
David Jaewon Oh’s January 2017 Gallery 4Culture exhibition Combatants captured the strength, honesty, and endurance of women in combat sports.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 9:30—11:30 am
King County Courthouse, Council Chambers, Room 1001 (10th floor)
516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
The King County Council will debate and vote on proposed ordinance #2018-0086, which proposes changes to how 4Culture is managed, at a meeting of theCouncil’s Committee of the Whole on March 7. There will not be time for public comment. You can view the meeting agenda and other materials on the Council’s website.
Our Board of Directors has made a statement about this proposed ordinance, and we’ve compiled information about how the ordinance would affect 4Culture.
2018 Arc Artist Fellows from left to right: Michael Rowe, Earl Debnam, Angel Alviar-Langley, and Tara Hardy.
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We’re proud to announce the recipients of our new grant program, the Arc Artist Fellowship!
The 2018 Arc Fellows are:
Angel Alviar-Langley, Performing Artist
Earl Debnam, Visual Artist
Tara Hardy, Literary Artist
Michael Rowe, Theatre Artist
Jim Kelly, our Executive Director, is excited about this first cohort, saying, “Through their own medium, each of these artists tackles challenging issues including sexism, violence, racism, LBGTQ liberation, and rights for people with disabilities. We are grateful to these artists for their work and we are proud to offer them this prestigious award.”
Arc provides critical—but rare—unrestricted financial support, helping King County artists dedicate energy to their creative practice. A new cohort of Arc Fellows will be selected each year, with an eligibility requirement that will change annually. This year, Arc was open to artists with physical, developmental, cognitive, intellectual, and/or emotional disabilities; next year, the 2018 cohort will help us determine the eligibility requirement. With 98 applicants for the four $12,000 grants that were available, the pool was extremely competitive in this first year.
This new grant brought new 4Culture applicants: 70% had never applied to 4Culture before. We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to build new relationships with King County artists, and we can’t wait to see their names on future applications.
Congratulations to Angel, Earl, Tara and Mickey! Stay tuned to learn more about them and how you can connect with their work.
Theresa Ball is a student in the University of Washington Museology graduate program, and one of the first participants in our new rural heritage internship program, part of our T.I.P.S. initiative. Here, she shares insight into her experience:
As with many students in the U.W. Museology program, I have relied heavily on the Museology Student Newsletter to stay informed of internship and networking opportunities. This past fall a particularly interesting opportunity caught my eye. 4Culture, the cultural funding agency for King County, was offering a six month internship with a small, mostly volunteer-run institution in the area. The rural internship is part of 4Culture’s T.I.P.S. program which was launched in 2018 to help provide technical assistance, inspiration, and professional development to cultural workers in King County.
My specific project of interest was based at the Neely Mansion in Auburn, Washington. Neely Mansion was built by the Neely family, a group of early settlers to the White River Valley, in the late 1800s. The Neely’s left the property in the early 20th century and over the next 75 years, they leased the property to a succession of families, most of which were immigrants to the US from Europe, Japan, and the Philippines. The proposed internship involved research and interpretive planning to highlight the stories of the immigrants who lived, worked, celebrated, and suffered at the site.
This was the exact type of project I was looking for, one that would allow me to utilize my previous experience in research and exhibit development while developing new skills in interpretive planning. I was also inspired by the institution’s commitment to spotlighting the experiences of PNW immigrant families and the fact that, even as interns, we were given some ownership and real creative input in the final goals and deliverables of the project. Even better, it was paid!
The project has more than lived up to my expectations. After a series of orientation meetings with the staff at 4Culture and the Neely Mansion, I and my partner intern—a Seattle University student receiving her M.F.A. in Arts Leadership—devised a plan for the research and potential reinterpretation of the site. At present, we are working on the first portion of this plan which involves in depth primary and secondary research into each of the families. I consider this the forensic work of the project; finding and piecing together the genealogical and contextual story of the families, discovering why and how they came to the US, what drew them to the White River Valley, and what their lives might have been like living at the Neely Mansion. The next step in this process, which will begin in the next couple weeks, involves compiling a narrative from this research. From here, we will discuss possibilities for interpretive changes at the site which will focus on the stories of the families and present a more complete and diverse narrative of the Neely Mansion. These changes may take a few different forms. First, a new docent script will be created to help guide site tours. We have also discussed updating the exhibits and displays themselves, writing new labels, and creating new programming which emphasizes the impact that immigrants have had on the Neely site specifically and in the White River Valley as a whole. Finally, we plan to conduct training with the site docents and implement an evaluation plan to determine the success of the project as well as areas for growth in the future.
I could not have asked for a better opportunity to round off my graduate school experience. I am personally committed to discovering and sharing the diverse stories which enrich the Neely Mansion and I know that the experience will help me to become a better museum professional overall. It will be an exciting six months!
Working with mentor artists, King County youth engage in intensive art practice centered around race and incarceration as part of our Creative Justice program, now in its third year. Photo by Timothy Aguero.
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As we, like many cultural organizations, wrestle with how to become a more equitable* agency, transparency is key. Being open about this process helps us improve, holds us accountable, and builds community around equity work. In that spirit, we’re sharing some of the work we’re doing to transform the way we serve King County:
Internal Equity: Transforming How We Work
These are all efforts we’re making to change the way our staff works, every day—we feel strongly that equity should be woven into the fabric of our organization.
Beyond Integrity
Our Preservation team is facilitating an effort to ensure the places we honor as historic landmarks tell a complete and inclusive story. In a field where architectural significance is often emphasized over cultural significance, we’ve identified several sites of value to marginalized communities and are in the early stages of working to protect them.
Racial Equity Training
Working with Norma Timbang and Scott Winn—educators and activists with decades of experience—4Culture staff and board have begun a year-long training series around racial equity, with a goal of becoming an organization that is actively working to dismantle racism. So far, we’ve completed two groundwork sessions, with training on implicit bias coming soon.
Cultural Access Consortium
This task force of cultural funding organizations and community agencies began meeting in 2017 to identify ways to broaden access to cultural programs for people with cognitive, intellectual, behavioral, emotional, and physical disabilities. Participating organizations currently include ArtsFund, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, 4Culture, and the Washington State Fathers Network, a program of Kindering.
Website Accessibility
After launching our new mobile-friendly website last year, our Communications team worked with a Technology Accessibility Specialist at the University of Washington, to assess the site’s accessibility for users with disabilities. Among other changes, the site is now more compatible with screen readers.
External Equity: Serving All of King County
An essential start to equity work is recognizing that many communities have been excluded from the cultural field in general, and underserved by our programs. These offerings begin to address those inequities.
Arc Artist Fellowship
This annual fellowship helps offset costs of living for artists in King County, with a new cohort of Arc Fellows selected each year. This year, Arc was open to artists with physical, developmental, cognitive, intellectual, and emotional disabilities—this focus will change annually, and Fellows will help shape the program for subsequent years.
Artists Up
Artists Up is a collaborative effort between 4Culture and the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture to expand capacity and networks for artists in our region. The program works to support artists of color and artists from other marginalized communities with resources, services, and programs.
Community4Culture
Community 4Culture aims to better sustain an arts and cultural community that reflects King County’s diverse population. This grant has an ongoing deadline, a more flexible application process, and supports community-based groups with both funding and technical assistance.
Creative Forces
4Culture staff serves on Washington State’s Creative Forces Task Force, a federal initiative that places arts therapies at the core of care at 11 military medical facilities across the country. Through this work, we seek to expand creative opportunities and therapeutic support for veterans residing in King County.
Creative Justice
This arts-based program builds community with youth who are most impacted by mass incarceration. Under the guidance of mentor artists, court-involved young people stay out of jail and in their communities, focusing on the positive role their voices can have in building a more equitable society.
Hello 4Culture
4Culture staff hold office hours every third Tuesday of the month in different locations throughout King County to answer questions about our programs and reach more people.
Open4Culture
Individuals and organizations who have never been funded by 4Culture can apply for this program. It’s designed to be an introduction to our process, with a simplified application and ongoing deadline.
Poetry on Buses
This public art program celebrates diverse poetic traditions and creates a more inclusive record of local voices in a vital shared space—the bus. Out of our work with community liaisons and in bilingual workshops, poems from King County residents across ages, backgrounds, and languages are presented on transit and online.
Rural Internships
4Culture is providing four paid internships to graduate students to work at all-volunteer heritage organizations located outside the city of Seattle. The Neely Mansion and the Tolt Historical Society are host sites for interns this year.
*We define equity as a system in which everyone has access to what they need to be successful—it recognizes and celebrates our differences.
The second in a short series of videos on basic preservation practices, this video breaks down the often complex investigative processes of condition assessments, with help from property managers who’ve been there. You’ll learn how assessments can be used to plan for future work and where to find resources that can help.
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The second in a short series of videos on basic preservation practices, this video breaks down the often complex investigative processes of condition assessments, with help from property managers who’ve been there. You’ll learn how assessments can be used to plan for future work and where to find resources that can help.
If you haven’t already, you may also want to check out our video on the landmarking process. And let us know what you think. If these are helpful we will do more!
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 9:30—11:30 am
King County Courthouse, Council Chambers, Room 1001 (10th floor)
516 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
King County Ordinance #2018-0086, which proposes changes to how 4Culture is managed, will be discussed at a meeting of the King County Council’s Committee of the Whole. One hour will be made available for public comment. You can view the meeting agenda and other materials on the Council’s website.
Our Board of Directors has made a statement about this proposed ordinance, and we’ve compiled information about how the ordinance would affect 4Culture.
As the citizen volunteer Board of 4Culture, we are dedicated to reflecting King County’s values of public service, participation, transparency and government accountability to our residents.
Proposed Ordinance #2018-0086 states “the 4Culture board, executive director, staff and advisory committees have demonstrated a commitment to addressing racial, geographic and income related funding inequities and creating an environment in which all King County residents participate actively in cultural opportunities.” We believe all of this is accurate.
4Culture is defined by its commitment to the public process. The County Code that governs our funding programs requires distribution of public funding through annual competitive processes that invite applicants from all disciplines, and from all sectors of the county. Those proposals are evaluated by dozens of independent citizen review panelists who generate funding recommendations, which are then reviewed by volunteer expert Advisory Committees before we as the Board review and approve them.
Each of us who serve as board members has been recommended by the King County Executive and confirmed by the County Council after nomination by a Board Nominating Committee that includes board members, three county councilmembers, and the liaison to the King County Executive’s office, all of whom are voting members of the committee.
We are proud that both our financial accountability and compliance with state law have been audited 23 times, and that the State Auditor has lauded 4Culture and its board of directors for its commitment to sound financial management.
We take immense pride in navigating complex financial challenges throughout the past 15 years, in our stewardship of public funds, in retaining superb staff, and in the trust we believe we have earned from the arts, heritage and preservation communities throughout King County for our commitment to accessibility, fairness and equity.
The significant changes required by Proposed Ordinance #2018-0086 would result in an agency with very different governance and budget processes, and could very well reduce, instead of improve, community transparency. It is clear that the County Council desires to have closer oversight and involvement in this agency, and a path to grow arts, heritage and preservation capacity in districts throughout King County so that 4Culture funds can be distributed in a way that promotes equity and social justice, including geographic equity.
We have no doubt that the Executive and Council desire to see 4Culture succeed in its service to county residents.
We ask that the King County Executive and Councilmembers take a pause in acting on this ordinance and join together to work with us in a public process that will address the Council’s primary concerns about including geographic distribution of cultural funds and any other matters of concern.
The King County Council introduced Ordinance #2018-0086 on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. It states the Council has “determined that public funding for the cultural programs necessitates greater oversight and accountability to the public.” 4Culture is a respected public agency (Public Development Authority, PDA) with an excellent record of accomplishment and proven fiscal responsibility and accountability. The ordinance proposes changes to 4Culture’s charter and its by-laws that will have a significant impact by shifting responsibilities for budgeting, staffing, and board appointments from the 4Culture Board of Directors to the King County Council.
All 4Culture funding grants are approved through a three-step process. Applications are evaluated by peer-panels, the selections are reviewed by community advisory committees, and finally approved by the 4Culture Board of Directors, comprised of fifteen leaders in the business and cultural sector.
The Auditor’s Office of Washington conducts an annual audit of 4Culture’s activities, financials, and compliance. 4Culture has been audited 23 times with only one finding—an outstanding record of governance and financial oversight. State Auditor Brian Sontag said in 2008, “This accomplishment shows 4Culture’s dedication to sound financial operations and timely financial reporting.”
Three King County Council members sit on the Board of Directors as ex-officio members and have full access to review operations,give input on grant activities and the budget, and report back to the full council. King County Council members have sat on the Board since 2003.
The selection and removal of the 4Culture Executive Director is the sole responsibility of the Board of Directors.
4Culture presents two annual reports to the King County Council on programs, awards, revenues, expenses, initiatives, and activities. 4Culture’s senior leadership is called upon on a regular basis to meet with and advise the King County Council and Executive on arts and cultural related matters.
Our three ex-officio Councilmembers also sit as voting members on the Board Nominating Committee, which presents two to three recommendations to the King County Executive for each open position. Our existing charter calls out a careful process to consider geographic and racial diversity as well as maintaining a balance of expertise in the agency’s four program areas: arts, heritage, preservation and public art.
The proposed ordinance will:
Give the King County Council the right to accept or reject 4Culture’s annual budget. If 4Culture’s budget is rejected, King County lodging tax, public art, and other funds to 4Culture will not be released until the 4Culture board submits a new budget for council approval. Withholding revenues would disrupt annual grant programs and Public Art projects.
Give the Council the authority to remove the Executive Director with or without 4Culture Board approval. The King County Council does confirm King County Department heads, but does not have the authority to remove them. Under this ordinance, the Executive Director would serve at the discretion of the King County Council and not the 4Culture Board.
Give the King County Council the ability to appoint the majority of the 4Culture board—nine of fifteen members—by council district, eliminating the 4Culture Nominating Committee’s recruitment process. It reduces the nominations of the King County Executive to six members.
There are 14 public agencies similar to 4Culture located in King and Pierce Counties. If this ordinance is passed, 4Culture will be the only one with a governing authority—in this case, the King County Council—that has direct political veto power over the Executive Director, can remove professional staff, can veto program or capital budgets, and can appoint Board Directors by elective district.
For More Information:
Proposed Ordinance #2018-0086
See the full text of the ordinance, as introduced by the King County Council on January 24, 2018.
Proposed Changes to 4Culture Charter
See the full text of 4Culture’s charter, with the Council’s proposed additions marked in blue, and proposed deletions marked in red.
Proposed Changes to 4Culture Bylaws
See the full text of 4Culture’s bylaws, with the Council’s proposed additions marked in blue, and proposed deletions marked in red.
As our 2018 grant calendar gets underway with Project grants, our Historic Preservation team is offering up some resources especially for those interested in learning about the benefits of preservation.
This video is the the first in a short series of overview videos on basic preservation practices. One of the first challenges faced by owners of historic buildings and properties is landmarking: getting your property locally designated as a landmark allows you to take advantage of more opportunities and grants, but where do you start? With help from a property owner who successfully navigated the process, we walk you through the basic steps in the video above. You can also take a look at our Saving Places Through Landmarking reference sheet for guidance—it includes links to other agencies, tools, and resources that can help you landmark your historic property.
Stay tuned to our blog in the coming weeks for more historic preservation how-to videos, and let us know if they’re helpful! Applications for Preservation Special Projects grants are due Wednesday, February 28.
Photo of the front of 5129 Ballard Avenue NW for a 1991 County assessment. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Stokes.
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Charlotte Stokes put a 2017 Preservation Special Projects grant to work assessing the seismic integrity of a historic building in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, owned by her family since 1942. Here, she shares more about that process:
Do we preserve the historic character of the city’s historic buildings or progress to new construction with safer building standards? This 4Culture grant has set me on course to do both. My family’s historic brick building, built in 1897, is at 5129 Ballard Avenue NW in Seattle—it is not only a part of Seattle history, but a significant part of my own history. My parents bought the building in 1942, when I was a baby. Their business, The American Flag and Decorating Co., was on the first floor with an extra work area and storage in the adjoining lot. We moved into the second floor, where I lived until I started college at the University of Washington.
When we first moved in, most of the businesses located on Ballard Avenue served local industry, especially fishing. There were also lots of taverns, and nobody much worried about the historic character of the area. Indeed, after some damage to the two brick buildings across the street, their second floors were removed, while other buildings were refaced.
Photo of Ed Stokes in Seattle Times, June 12, 1966, “Flag Day was made to order for this firm in Ballard,” by Roy Scully.
The Ballard building remains an important part of mine and my children’s lives. Although scattered across the country, time and time again we return to this building which has a been home to each of us. I have sought to be a good steward of the building and its historic character, seeing to basic maintenance, repointing bricks, making repairs to the foundation, and replacing plumbing, among other repairs.
I am also conserving it through obtaining a seismic upgrade of the structure. The first step was taken with a 4Culture grant: I hired BOLA Architecture and Planning to assess the building’s needs. The team, organized by BOLA, included an engineer to calculate the conditions and requirements needed for such construction and a contractor to estimate the costs. The process included making recommendations on how to preserve, as much as possible, the historic character of the building. One of the tasks of the engineer in calculating the stresses inherent in the building was taking into consideration its age and idiosyncracies—for example, the plan of the building is trapezoidal rather than rectangular. Would the supporting beams block entrances to the business on the first floor? What would be the seismic effect of dividing up the space differently?
The firm is completing their process now. These recommendations will help me in taking the next steps in hiring firms to do the work of upgrading the brick structure. But whatever the outcomes of their recommendations, my hope is that the building will continue to be a vital part of Seattle history and the history of my family.
