Friday, February 25, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Updates on Alki Homestead indicate ‘This Place STILL Matters’
Southwest Seattle Historical Society * Historic Seattle
4Culture * Washington Trust for Historic PreservationPRESS RELEASE
11 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011
Southwest Seattle Historical Society Log House Museum
3003 61st Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98116Updates on Alki Homestead indicate ‘This Place STILL Matters’
WEST SEATTLE, Wash. – A coalition of four organizations today announced several updates regarding the potential for protection, preservation and restoration of a beloved City of Seattle landmark, the 107-year-old log structure known as Fir Lodge and the Alki Homestead Restaurant.
The four organizations are the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Historic Seattle, 4Culture and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, all of which have heritage preservation and advocacy as a key component of their missions.
The organizations held a press conference on Jan. 16, 2011, the second anniversary of a fire that damaged a portion of the Alki Homestead. The press conference took place at the Log House Museum of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, the organization that nominated the Alki Homestead for landmark status that was conferred on the building in 1996 by the Seattle City Council.
Here are the updates, which the coalition is optimistic will lead to the protection, preservation and restoration of the Alki Homestead:
- With the aim of purchasing the Alki Homestead, Historic Seattle, working with private investors, has had significant discussions with the building owner since last summer. In addition, other investigations leave Historic Seattle confident that the Alki Homestead building can be preserved with integrity and practicality. Historic Seattle and its investors remain interested in working with the owner to protect, preserve and restore the Alki Homestead.
- The Southwest Seattle Historical Society, 4Culture and the Washington Trust filed on Friday a request with the Seattle Department of Planning and Development seeking the city’s help in protecting the building from damage. We trust that this step will maximize the potential for its preservation and restoration, particularly during inclement weather.
- The coalition released a color poster today that depicts the inspiring rally on July 4, 2010, when 200 public officials, civic leaders and others stood in front of the Alki Homestead to proclaim that “This Place Matters.” Immediately after today’s press conference, the coalition began posting this poster in area storefronts and elsewhere to spread the word about public support for this community and citywide treasure.
For more information on advocacy to protect, preserve and restore the Alki Homestead, please contact the Southwest Seattle Historical Society Log House Museum at 206-938-5293. For press inquiries, call Clay Eals, board member, at 206-484-8008 (cell), or e-mail him at ceals@comcast.net.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Homestead - Fir Lodge Landmark documentation
www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/sw.htm
Homestead update as per the westseattleblog.com
www.westseattleblog.com/category/alki-Homestead
Friday, July 23, 2010
This Place Matters - Homestead Fir Lodge

Youtube - Fir Lodge/Homestead
Above was composed by Jean Sherrard and Clay Eals, below is the KOMO TV version.
Courtesy Jean Sherrard and Paul Dorpat. http://www.pauldorpat.com
Courtesy KOMO TV, Seattle.
All and any news of : This Place Matters
http://pauldorpat.com/?p=7856
West Seattle Blog:
http://westseattleblog.com/2010/07/about-200-turn-out-for-alki-homestead-this-place-matters-photo
West Seattle Herald:
http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/07/04/news/slideshow-place-matters-highlights-historic-signi
KING5-TV:
http://www.king5.com/video?id=97777034&sec=549122
KOMO-TV:
http://westseattle.komonews.com/content/group-photo-hopes-raise-awareness-alki-homestead
KCPQ Fox Q13 News:
http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-070410-alkihomestead,0,6869737.story
Historic Seattle blog:
http://main2seattle.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/almost-200-people-turn-out-to-say-this-place-matters-at-alki-homestead-on-july-4th/#more-743
Fir Lodge/Homestead building update 12/2009
The owner of the Alki Homestead restaurant, Tom Lin, has had a preliminary meeting with the Architectural Review Committee of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board concerning the building that has housed the restaurant. Lin told the committee he plans to ask for a certificate of approval to demolish the 105-year-old Fir Lodge and does not plan to rehabilitate the structure.
This news follows the January 2009 fire in which a portion of the Homestead’s second floor and roof were damaged and the first-floor restaurant suffered severe smoke damage. (For more information on the original fire see www.westseattleblog.com.)
Because the Homestead has been given landmark designation by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board since 1996, any changes, including demolition of the structure, must be approved by the board. As per the designation documents the exterior of the building, including the roof; the first floor interior, excluding the kitchen and bathrooms, and the site, excluding minor plantings, have been landmarked (http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/SW.htm).
The Architectural Review Committee toured the site on December 4. Following the tour, if Lin applies for a certificate of approval, the committee will make a recommendation to the full board, and the board will vote to approve or not approve demolition.
In the event of the Homestead’s demolition, Lin has said that he plans to construct new buildings on the site. At a meeting of the Alki Community Council in September, he mentioned potential plans for a lodge, bar, spa and living accommodations.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society and owner Doris Nelson nominated the Homestead for landmark status in 1995. The SWSHS’s Log House Museum has heard countless concerns from community members and heritage groups who have expressed a strong reaction to the lack of action in the past 11 months to preserve the Homestead. Part of the Society's mission is "to preserve historic sites," and we fittingly have taken leadership in supporting the Homestead and other landmarked structures on the Duwamish Peninsula.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society operates the Log House Museum, which was built as part of the Fir Lodge estate in 1904 and to which the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board also granted landmark status in 1996. The Society initiated and oversaw the preservation and restoration of the Log House Museum. We know that rehabilitation of this type of building is possible, and we realize the value the Homestead building has to West Seattle, Seattle and the region. We have been supported in this advocacy by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, 4Culture and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
Your opinion counts. Is this building important to Seattle's history? Community history? West Seattle? Seattle? The region? To be kept informed of developments in its preservation and restoration, monitor this web site, the Log House Museum’s Facebook or e-mail the Society at loghousemuseum@comcast.net.
Thank you!