This October Ballard lost another small segment of its Nordic history.

The Swedish-Finn Historical Society moved out of its location on 17th Avenue Northwest off Market Street when the building owner decided he wanted to do something different with the space.

Even if the owner had let them stay, the nonprofit organization could not have afforded the substantial rental increase they were facing, said Syrene Forsman, president emeritus of the society.

The society has moved into a new location in the Swedish Cultural Center at 1920 Dexter Ave. N, where they are benefiting from the draw of the center while trying to fit into a smaller space.

"It's sort of like moving your grandmother into a retirement home out of a three-bedroom house," Forsman said.

Forsman said the cultural center has been terrific to the historical society but she personally feels cut off from an integral part of her geography by the move.

"Everything that's part and parcel of who I am is in Ballard," she said.

She is also disappointed to no longer be near the Nordic Heritage Museum, which she said is the only museum in the world she knows that combines all five Nordic countries and gives them equal attention.

The Swedish-Finn Historical Society started in Greenwood in 1991, moved to Northwest 65th Street a year later, and landed in its final Ballard location in 1998.

Despite the continued presence of Ballard institutions like Olsen's Scandinavian Foods and the Nordic Heritage Museum, Forsman said she doesn't think Ballard will be able to keep up its reputation as a traditionally Scandinavian neighborhood for much longer.

"A community reflects the population that's there," she said. "We still have a percentage that has Nordic roots but nowhere near what it was in the 1930s and 40s."

She said she sees a lack of will in Ballard to keep that reputation and cites the remodel of Bergen Place as an example.

Since the remodel, Bergen Place no longer represents Ballard or Nordic culture. It looks like it would be more at home at the Seattle waterfront, she said.

With the changing needs of the community and the market leading to condos and tech jobs replacing the historic industries of Ballard, it's only a matter of time before the neighborhood loses what made it a unique community, Forsman said.

"Ballard would have to work really hard to maintain its status as a Nordic center," she said. "And, it's not doing that."

Michael Harthorne may be reached at 783.1244 or michaelh@robinsonnews.com