Landmark status for Hamm Building? Board OKs first step – nomination

Quick update from the city Landmark Preservation Board meeting downtown: Minutes ago, the board gave its approval to the first stage of the process that could result in city-landmark designation for the Hamm Building on the northwest corner of California/Alaska in The Junction.

Their unanimous approval tonight means they support the nomination of the 1926 building – next step, they will consider whether to designate it a landmark. Full report on the meeting tomorrow, including not only the show of community support but also a member of the family that has long owned the building telling the board that the nomination “blindsided” them. No date yet for the next hearing.

Tbone January 4, 2017 (9:03 pm)

A sketch I did of that a few years ago – I love that building!

Brad Chrisman January 4, 2017 (11:41 pm)

Tbone, I like your style. I have a proposition for you. Post your sketch on the “We Love The Junction” Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/We-Love-The-Junction-240045766333026/ and we’ll make it our banner image of the week.
- Tbone January 5, 2017 (9:38 am)
  
  Thanks Brad! I just did. Great page there.

Joni C January 4, 2017 (11:42 pm)

I hope the “blindsided” comment by the owner was meant positively. This building (along with any others that might qualify) needs to be protected.

Bodach mosach January 5, 2017 (10:40 am)

I was at the meeting last night as part of the sizeable “pro-nomination” crowd. The owners in attendance were very attentive during the SWHS presentation and then provided their story of the family’s ownership as well as additional information about the building’s interior.

I sensed his “blindsided” statement was just that – expressing disappointment in not being part of the process early on and concern about the effects of the landmark designation for his family. During the Board’s discussion period, all Board members expressed their desire for the two parties work together going forward. This sentiment was also echoed by several individuals during the public comment period.

As a 60+ year resident of West Seattle and supporter of a landmark designation, I was pleased with the public turnout, the expressions of “love” for this building and the desire to preserve what is an iconic symbol of the Junction area. However, my feelings were tempered a bit after listening to the owner’s statements.

If West Seattle thinks of itself as a community, we must not generalize all building owners as greedy developers who want to tear down our history. Let’s remember to make these long-time building owners a welcome part of our WS “family” and I suspect we’ll all come out better for it. Certainly we will at least understand each other’s point of view.

Jeannie January 5, 2017 (1:34 am)

Is the sketch upside-down on purpose? Regardless, it’s terrific!

Tbone January 5, 2017 (3:09 pm)

it shows right side up on my screen but… thanks, for the kind words :)
- WSB January 5, 2017 (3:20 pm)
  
  Depending on what type of device you’re using, reader-uploaded photos in comments might display differently. Still trying to fix that.

anonyme January 5, 2017 (6:10 am)

Glad to hear this. While there are some other buildings in the area that are not really worth preserving, the Hamm Building is the ‘anchor’ of the Junction. Let’s preserve a little of West Seattle’s hometown character.

JTB January 5, 2017 (9:21 am)

Previously, there was discussion about the exterior appearance of the building and whether or not that would be improved through landmark designation. I’m re- posting a comment from Matt Vaughan which addresses that and related issues concerning the building’s owner.

“MATT VAUGHAN MARCH 7, 2016 (11:26 AM)

Couldn’t agree more how tacky our storefront looks. Once the awning was tore down almost 3 years ago, it created a community outcry. We weren’t happy either. We of course lost the art-deco mid century awning, but we also lost Easy Street’s retro neon, signage, and exterior lighting along with it. They demo created an eyesore. There was some cursory work (patch/paint) done after the demo, but it wasn’t what we hoped for. It’s still tough to deal with, but we are in hopes that the efforts that the SW Historical Society has made will allow us to purposefully restore this corner and recreate our storefront to match the buildings aesthetics. As it stands, we haven’t been able to do anything. As you may have heard, we had tried for a City Grant to restore the facade and bring back an overhang/awning, but we lost out to a building in the I.D. Many of you might be asking, why wouldn’t Easy Street just repair and restore on our own and with our own dollars, it’s our corner and storefront after all, but as many of you may know that have ever had a lease, it isn’t always that simple to make changes or improvements if you aren’t the owner of the property. The Yen family have a great building here and I’m sure there will be some nice tax breaks for them when landmark status is granted. This is a welcomed nomination and I think the Yen’s will feel that way too. Thanks all for your years of support and your desire to keep the charm and the historical value here in the Junction. Matt Vaughan-Easy Street owner”

JVP January 5, 2017 (11:12 am)

I like the idea of landmark preservation for this building as a concept, but not sure I’m in favor of doing it without the blessing of the owners. It just feels wrong this way.

J January 5, 2017 (1:27 pm)

who are the owners?

why is it such a mystery?

West Seattle since 1979 January 5, 2017 (3:31 pm)

Unless I’m reading it wrong, it says in the document linked in the article above that the owner is “Yen Properties LLC”.
- WSB January 5, 2017 (3:47 pm)
  
  Greg Yen is the person who spoke last night, so that would make sense. (You can find out ownership of any property in King County via the KC Parcel Viewer. If you get an LLC or other type of company name, you can research it further by doing a state corporation search, and follow it all the way to the last “more information” link.) Long version of the story will be up tonight – this was just to get out first word of the outcome.

Sorry, comment time is over.