information from SWSHS

Two buildings at the heart of the West Seattle Junction will be the focus of a new landmark campaign that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society has launched.

Supported by a unanimous vote of its Board of Trustees, the historical society plans to nominate the Campbell Building (1918) and the Hamm Building (1926) for designation as city landmarks by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board.

The historical society also has formed a “We (heart) The Junction” Task Force, which will lead a multi-faceted public-awareness campaign to support the landmark effort.

Co-chairs of the task force are Peder Nelson, vice-president of the board; Brad Chrisman, former vice-president and board member; and Crystal Dean, board member.

The task force will hold its first Town Hall Meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at the West Seattle Library, 2306 42nd Ave. S.W., to gather supporters – newcomers and oldtimers alike – to organize “We (heart) The Junction” button sales, information outreach and other campaign activities.

The landmark effort springs from the comprehensive West Seattle Junction Historical Survey, whose results were released Wednesday, March 2, 2016, in a press conference at Husky Deli. The survey identified the Campbell Building and the Hamm Building at the top of the list of potentially eligible Seattle landmarks in The Junction.

For the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board to designate a building a city landmark, it must meet at least one of six criteria related to its association with a historical person or event, architectural style, designer or cultural heritage or status as an “easily identifiable visual feature” of its community.

No buildings in The Junction are designated as Seattle landmarks.

Based on the survey results, the historical society believes that the Campbell Building and Hamm Buildings meet three or four of the criteria. In addition, the survey indicates widespread public support for preserving the buildings.

The historical society applied Feb. 24, 2016, for a 4Culture grant for funds to support preparation of landmark nominations for the two buildings. The historical society expects to learn in early May whether the application is approved.

To complete the city process for designation of both buildings as landmarks is expected to take through summer and fall 2016.

The Campbell Building houses Cupcake Royale, and the Hamm Building houses Easy Street Records. Both buildings have other business tenants and many residential units.

West Seattle’s main business district got its name immediately prior to the peninsula’s annexation to Seattle in 1907, when the West Seattle and Fauntleroy streetcar lines converged at a transfer point at California Avenue and Alaska Street, forming “The Junction.”

This is not the historical society’s first landmark campaign. The organization successfully secured landmark status in 1989 for the Admiral Theater (built in 1919 and 1942) and in 1996 for Fir Lodge/Alki Homestead and its carriage house, now the “Birthplace of Seattle” Log House Museum (both build in 1904). The Admiral Theater and the Alki Homestead are undergoing extensive restoration and renovation.

The “We The Junction” Task Force seeks volunteers and financial contributions as well as the support of other community organizations for the campaign.

For more info, visit www.loghousemuseum.info or www.welovethejunction.org.