As many of the city’s older haunts are razed to make way for development, preservationists have saved a few key spaces and places.
There’s only one tree to gather around in Greenwood this Christmas season.
The Exceptional Western Red Cedar that was slated for removal after the property on which it has stood for more than 100 years was sold, has been saved.
It happened not long after I wrote about neighbors fighting to save the tree from being cut down to make room for two, 3,000-square-foot homes being built by prolific developer Andy Duffus. A small farmhouse has stood on the property since 1904.
Anthony Maschmedt, a principal at Dwell Development, saw the column and decided to ask Duffus if he could buy the half of the lot where the tree stands. He plans to build a smaller house and save the tree.
Most Read Local Stories
Maschmedt is an investor in Duffus’ Blueprint Capital, so that made things easier — Duffus even gave him an easement on the lot so he could move the house’s footprint over to give the tree’s root system a safe margin.
“There’s an opportunity here, and it wasn’t just about saving the tree,” Maschmedt told me. “How do we change this into something positive for the community and developers and growth in Seattle?”
Saving the tree was also a way to counter the belief that developers are turning Seattle’s green into the sheen of big new homes and tall towers.
“What we’re doing as developers isn’t all bad,” Maschmedt said. “This is a win-win for everyone. And it’s just the right thing to do.”
Kim Brotherton, one of a mighty group of neighbors who appealed the city’s approval of the Duffus development, is overjoyed. In settling the appeal, the neighbors negotiated a covenant that will protect the tree ad infinitum, and prevent future owners of the property from cutting it down, unless it becomes diseased and/or unsafe in some way.
“Now we celebrate,” Brotherton said. “As Joan Baez said, ‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ ”
Another win for preservation
Cynthia Brothers, founder of the VanishingSeattle Instagram and Facebook accounts that chronicle the ever-changing face of Seattle, has taken action, too, by opening a temporary pop-up shop so that she can engage with followers and newcomers.
Brothers has partnered with Eighth Generation gallery in Pike Place Market to open an interactive exhibit featuring a 15-foot photo display of ”Seattle places loved and lost” and a pop-up shop featuring branded Vanishing Seattle buttons, shirts and bags; books about Seattle’s neighborhoods and subcultures written by local authors and the work of local street artists NoTouchingGround and @besoSeattle. (Proceeds will fund an upcoming Vanishing Seattle documentary film.)
The pop-up shop opened Friday and will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 24 (It’s closed Nov. 28).
Brothers’ display includes the question: “What Do You Miss About Seattle?” and a pile of Post-it notes on which people can write — then attach — their responses.
The answers are wide-ranging: “The SuperSonics.” “Chubby and Tubby.” “The Fun Forest” at Seattle Center. The Queen Anne Easy Street Records store.
One person simply wrote: “Seattle.” Another: “Where can I start?”
“It’s not just places, but bigger themes,” said Brothers, 36, who works as a nonprofit consultant focusing on immigrant rights. (Vanishing Seattle is her passion project.)
“People have written ‘Affordability.’ ‘Feeling safe,’” she said. “So it’s not just about commerce or consumption. It’s about the lifeblood of our community and culture.”
Eighth Generation owner Louie Gong, who grew up in the Nooksack tribal community, said Vanishing Seattle “has a lot of overlap” with his space, and the art and attitude within.
“We’re reminding folks of Seattle’s rich cultural history, before it was colonized,” Gong said of Eighth Generation. “When people can see where we’re from, it gives them a better sense of direction as we’re moving forward. The knowledge of history acts like a rudder.”
In order to offset the “gloom and doom” of Seattle’s recent boom, Brothers has highlighted places that have survived: The Sheridan Apartments in Belltown and Scarecrow Video, which just celebrated its third year as a nonprofit.
“People want to see examples of people rallying together and actually having a win,” Brothers said. “Of people being heard.”
Add the Exceptional Western Cedar tree to that chorus.
And here’s to the Loraxes of Seattle, who speak not only for the trees, but everything we love about the place.