SENT VIA EMAIL TO: erin.doherty@seattle.gov & sarah.sodt@seattle.gov
October 27, 2025
City of Seattle Landmark Review Committee
Historic Preservation Program PO Box 94649 Seattle, WA 98124-4649
Re: Estate of Mattheis Johnson
Date of Loss:July 15, 2025
Dear Members of the Landmarks Preservation Board,
My name is Mo Hamoudi. I am a dad, lawyer, teacher, and poet.
Blue-eyed boy
- For Mattheis
Blue-eyed boy in cozy brown warm-ups
Blue-eyed boy beneath a green hat
Blue-eyed boy cradled in his mother’s arms
Blue-eyed boy, penguin nestled close Blue-eyed big brother, gentle and proud
Blue-eyed paddler gliding across the lake
Blue-eyed runner, swift and free
Blue-eyed spirit of Seattle
Blue-eyed son, forever remembered
I write to you regarding the tragic death of Mattheis Johnson at Gas Works Park and the City’s request to remove pedestrian appurtenances from the Cracking Towers. While I understand the Board’s statutory mandate under Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Chapter 25.12 to preserve the historical integrity of designated landmarks, I urge you to consider that preservation and public safety are not mutually exclusive.
The Cracking Towers at Gas Works Park are visually striking and architecturally unique. Their industrial aesthetic and climbable features make them especially attractive to young people— inviting exploration, challenge, and risk. This is not accidental; the structure’s form and design
Re: Gas Works Park Safety Modifications
October 27, 2025
Page 2
suggest interaction. But when a landmark invites engagement, it must also invite responsibility. The City and the Board must recognize that the very qualities that make this site iconic also make it dangerous without proper safeguards. This has been true since 1970’s when a 10-yearold named Parke Schneider sustained significant injuries when he fell from the top of one of the towers.[1]
The individuals listed in the incident reports dated September 24, 2025 that is before this Board are not just data points or line items in a spreadsheet. They are human beings—sons, daughters, friends, and neighbors—whose lives were altered or lost at a public site meant to serve the community. The way these incidents are cataloged, without names or acknowledgment, reflects a troubling detachment. It is a missed opportunity for civic leaders to truly understand the consequences of inaction.
Each injury and death is a moment where the City could have learned, responded, and protected. Instead, these moments have been boxed away, stripped of their emotional and civic weight. The Landmarks Preservation Board has the chance now to break that pattern—to recognize these individuals not as liabilities, but as part of the public it is sworn to serve.
Matthies Johnson was not a statistic. He was a son and friend to many. His death—and the injuries of others—deserve more than procedural analysis. They deserve recognition and action.
The Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, under SMC 25.12.020, is meant not only to preserve historic sites but to promote their use “for the education, stimulation and welfare of the people of the City.” That welfare includes public safety. The Board’s decisions must reflect this balance.
The Board serves the public, including those harmed. Its role is not just to preserve structures, but to ensure they remain safe and meaningful. While long-term plans are developed, interim protections must be implemented now. The City has declared an emergency. The Board should not let process delay protection.
If landmark rules prevent basic safety improvements, then the process itself becomes a barrier to public safety. That is not what the ordinance was designed to do. It was meant to protect—not to prevent protection. Thank you for your service and for your thoughtful consideration of this matter.
Very truly yours,
Mo Hamoudi MH/km
[1] Schneider v. City of Seattle, 24 Wn. App. 251, 600 P.2d 666 (1979).
