Hello fire station, goodbye house

| Development | Seen around town | West Seattle history

WSB reader Val sent the two photos below from 35th & Holden, where the end seems near for a nondescript little house that’s on part of the land where the city will build the new Fire Station 37 to replace the historic building 4 blocks north (the substation next door is on the other part of the land and is going away too).

From Val’s e-mail:

This house was remodeled a few years ago after being vacant for a while (before the remodel, it inexplicably had two front doors) and obviously wasn’t anything special, but I hate to see a loss of housing anywhere. I believe there is a new fire station going in to these two lots, and unlike in Queen Anne, there was no public outcry about the loss of historic housing in the neighborhood. I suppose it is too much to ask to hope that the house is being moved somewhere instead of being trashed … Plus, I’d like to see the old fire station become a local (British for nearby bar). There’s really nothing along 35th, and the E-9 in Tacoma has been doing great business for years.

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JumboJim August 30, 2007 (11:48 am)

Sounds like a good idea to me – now we just need someone to buy the place and convert it. Although, realistically, it’s a bit late in the game for that.

flipjack August 30, 2007 (11:52 am)

Not too sad to see that house go myself, although having the sirens move closer to where I live isn’t something I look forward to.
Now turning the old station into a pub is a most excellent idea!! WIth live entertainment would be even better!
Anybody know what IS to become of the old station??

t August 30, 2007 (12:11 pm)

It’s the historic fire station I’d be more concerned about than that boxy little house.

I thought in a previous post on this theme WSB mentioned city plans to sell the old fire station eventually, once the new one is built? I have some great old images of that old station I pulled from the city archives at some point, when I used to work on the Arbor Heights newsletter. I’ll look for them when I am not on the clock.

Kayleigh August 30, 2007 (12:27 pm)

Didn’t this place use to be a small homey hair salon? Like “Linda’s” or something, in the 70s/80s?

I grew up here but my memory is not perfect.

Delivery Dude August 30, 2007 (1:32 pm)

What will happen to the old fire station?

WSB August 30, 2007 (2:36 pm)

Since it’s been designated a landmark, it can’t just be torn down – it has to be sold. We are having trouble at the moment researching the status on that; betting the folks at the SW Historical Society will know so will ping them.

chas redmond August 30, 2007 (3:15 pm)

The city also has a facilities office. Forget her name but the woman in charge of this project from the facilities office was at a couple open houses for the new design and did answer questions about the old building. As I recall, there are strictures regarding what changes can be made to the structure but it is to be sold – it’s city property which they no longer need – and the process usually involves bidding. My suspicion, based on the recent numbers for Caroselo Cafe, is that it will bring close to $2 million and such things as the large bays for the trucks will have to remain. That stretch of 35th is zoned SF5000 (see city zone map page “http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Research/Zoning_Maps/default.asp” (parcel 165). The city had this to say about the old building:

“Station 37 offers a prime example of Northwest architects’ use of Mediterranean architectural features throughout the 1920s. It currently houses one engine company (E37) and a reserve engine.

While the existing historic building is architecturally significant, it is too small to accommodate modern fire-fighting apparatus and it is also structurally inadequate to support the functions of a working fire station.

So, with the SF5000 designation, any other use would have to go through a re-zone, which, if it were for a restaurant/bar/cafe might have an easy time from the comments I’ve heard from nearby neighbors.

chas redmond August 30, 2007 (3:15 pm)

by the way, for a listing of significant properties in the SW part of town, see “http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/preservation/SW.htm”

jdog August 30, 2007 (3:59 pm)

That corner was owned by the owners of the Church, prior to the Mars Hills group. It was a hair salon but has been sitting vacant for years.

G. Williams August 30, 2007 (7:47 pm)

Flipjack, we must be neighbors; I was thinking the exact same thing. Although given how often I hear sirens coming down 9th, I’m not sure whether I’ll notice the change! Paradoxically, it might make things quieter; there’s a household somewhere along 9th that gets awfully noisy late at night in the summer.
I’m curious to see what happens to the old station. There’s not much in the way of neighborhood gathering places around here unless you’re a churchgoer, from what I’ve seen.