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TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2014
Vol. CXXIII, No. 155
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
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Letters to City Hall support Tacoma schools landmark nominations Article By Todd Matthews, Editor Image Courtesy Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission Tacoma's Landmarks Preservation Commission has received a handful of public comments supporting a recent effort to nominate three local public school buildings to the City of Tacoma's RegHoyt Elementaister of Historic Places. ry School, located McKinley Hill Eleat 2708 N. Union mentary School, located St., is one of three at 3720 McKinley Ave., public school was built in 1908 and buildings recently designed by architect nominated to the Frederick Heath, who City of Tacoma's also designed the PyRegister of Histhian Temple, Stadium toric Places. High School, and the The mid-century Ansonia Building. Last modern building year, Historic Tacoma, a was constructed non-profit organization in 1957 and dethat advocates for the signed by Tacoma protection and preservaarchitect Robert tion of the city's historic Billsbrough Price, buildings and architecwho also designed tural heritage, placed the Tacoma Fire StaMcKinley Hill Elemention No. 17, the tary School building on Tacoma Bicenits Watch List of endantennial Pavilion, gered properties. Oakand Sky Terrace land Elementary School, Apartments. located at 3319 S. Adams St., was built in 1912 and designed by Heath and his business partner George Gove. Finally, Hoyt Elementary School, located at 2708 N. Union St., was built in 1957 and designed by Tacoma architect Robert Billsbrough Price, who also designed Tacoma Fire Station No. 17, the Tacoma Bicentennial Pavilion, and Sky Terrace Apartments. The nominations were prepared by preservation activist Marshall McClintock on behalf of Historic Tacoma. Tacoma's Landmarks Preservation Commission conducted a preliminary review of the recent nominations during a public meeting last month. A public hearing on the nominations is scheduled to be held on Weds., Aug. 13, at 5:30 p.m., at Tacoma Municipal Building North, 747 Market St., Room 248, in downtown Tacoma. According to the agenda and meeting materi-
als prepared for the public hearing this week, the City of Tacoma's Historic Preservation Department has received several letters and e-mails supporting the nominations. "This nomination is long overdue," wrote North Slope Historic District Co-Chair Kathryn Longwell in an Aug. 1 e-mail to City of Tacoma Historic Preservation Officer Reuben McKnight. "These buildings are part of the historic fabric of Tacoma, were designed by notable architects, and are deserving of placement on the register and whatever protections that provides." "These schools are outstanding examples of both Heath and Price's work for the Tacoma School District and were unfortunately missed in the previous thematic nomination of our historic school buildings," wrote Tacoma architect Jeffrey J. Ryan in a July 21 e-mail to McKnight. Ryan is a former member of Tacoma's Landmarks Preservation Commission. "Both Oakland and McKinley are fine examples of Frederick Heath's unit school design, and were both used in publications regarding new educational buildings at the time of their construction. More importantly, they are both landmarks for their specific neighborhood and a source of neighborhood pride. Hoyt also shares a strong neighborhood affection and was published internationally at the time of its construction for both its school design and the use of plywood constructions. Both Frederick Heath and Robert Price were award-winning designers and architects, and their buildings have proven themselves as worthy examples for preservation for a new generation of Tacomans to enjoy." Tacoma City Councilmember Ryan Mello also voiced his support in a March 20 letter to Tacoma's Landmarks Preservation Commission. "I am very
supportive of this application and I hope that you will consider these applications at a future meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission," wrote Councilmember Mello. Finally, two years ago, Documentation and Conservation of the Modern Movement, Western Washington, or "Docomomo WEWA," a Seattlebased non-profit organization focusing on the preservation of mid-century modern architecture in the Pacific Northwest, wrote a letter supporting the nomination of Hoyt Elementary School because "it is an outstanding example of modern institutional design and is an excellent example of the work of architect Robert Billsbrough Price, one of Tacoma's most prolific and prominent designers." Six years ago, Historic Tacoma partnered with Tacoma Public Schools on a project to identify and document the many historic schools built between 1908 and 1958. Four years ago, six public school buildings in Tacoma were added to the city's historic register: Fern Hill Elementary School (8442 S. Park Ave.), built in 1911; Central Elementary Administration Building (601 S. 8th St.), built in 1912; Jason Lee Middle School (602 N. Sprague Ave.), built in 1924; Stewart Middle School(5010 Pacific Ave.), built in 1925; McCarver Elementary School (2111 S. J St.), built in 1925; and Whitman Elementary School (1120 S. 39th St.), built in 1952. If you are unable to attend the public hearing on Wednesday, you can submit written comments to the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission by mail at 747 Market St., Room 345, Tacoma, WA 98402; by fax machine at (253) 591-5433; or by e-mail at landmarks@cityoftacoma.org by Weds., Aug. 13, at 12 p.m.