Open House at Mithun Architects

On October 16th under intermittently rainy skies, visitors were welcomed to an open house at Mithun Architects as part of Washington State Archives Month (WSAM). Ryan Anthony Donaldson, Senior Consultant at The Winthrop Group and a member of the Archives Month Committee of Washington State, discussed how WSAM is an opportunity each October to engage a range of audiences about the value of the state’s historical records and heritage collections. These opportunities encompass government archives, museums, libraries, non-profits, and companies such as architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

Situated along the Seattle waterfront, Mithun’s offices are located in the Pier 56 building, originally built in 1902 by the Northern Pacific Railroad. As explained by Mithun Principal Ken Boyd during his insightful office tour, Mithun renovated the space in 2000 , paying close attention to the history of use in determining how to proceed. Windows were added to allow for more natural light with the ability to open and bring in breezes and supply ventilation naturally. He also explained the company’s plans to accommodate future growth and the flexible arrangements of the space.

Mithun Archivist Josh Myers provided further background on the building, with a presentation that outlined how the pier transformed from a maritime dock for ships to a warehouse for Trident Imports, and other tourism-focused enterprises including Ted Griffin’s Waterfront Aquarium, and briefly as a holding pen for Namu, a killer whale.

A pop-up exhibit curated by Mr. Myers included images of Pier 56, additional displays showcasing Mithun projects, as well as screening a documentary on the firm’s founder Omer Mithun.

Catherine Blake, Archives Manager, and Samantha Cross, Archivist, presented on their work with CallisonRTKL, describing how the company’s archives include photographs and other materials that are important reference sources for adaptive reuse projects. In their presentation, they outlined several examples, including the Space Needle Plaza; Nordstrom Flagship Store at 500 Pine Street (formerly Frederick & Nelson); renovation from retail use to office space at 300 Pine Street; (currently Macy’s building); and the transformation of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auditorium building into the ACT Theatre.

Thank you to Mithun for hosting the event, the program presenters, and everyone who attended.

This article originally appeared on The Winthrop Group website.

SAM History, Digitally Preserved

Last month’s "SAM History, Digitally Preserved" program included rare & astonishing glimpses into the institutional history of the Seattle Art Museum. A 4Culture Collections Care grant from provided critical resources to reformat home movies, local broadcasts, artist lectures, performances, and more. My personal highlight was seeing some installation footage of Isamu Noguchi's "Black Hole Sun" at Volunteer Park. Thank you Traci Timmons, Hannah Palin, Marie Williams Chant, Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS), and UW Special Collections. More info: bit.ly/SAMHistory.

Q+A session following the screening of the films.

Living With Tech: Atari Women & Beyond

The Living With Tech: Atari Women & Beyond event at Living Computers Museum + Labs in May brought to light the stories of women who worked on video games in the 1980s. Combining historical industry research, oral history interviews, and makerspace methodology with University of Washington Human Centered Design & Engineering student work, the program and pop-up exhibit broadened our understanding of who contributed to this vital and creative time for popularizing video games, from the arcades to people’s homes.

The Seattle of Tomorrow, From the Past

Last Wednesday, I ventured to MOHAI for the History Cafe program “The Seattles That Might Have Been.” The evening’s speaker Eric Scigliano (award-winning writer & journalist) opened the program by noting that cities are ultimately collections of ideas. We primarily experience what has come to into being and persists in our local landscape - this is what makes up the “Emerald City” as we know it. Or we remember what has been built and demolished (strong in my memory - Kingdome, Sit N Spin, Cloud Room at Camlin Hotel). Adaptive reuse presents a spectrum of options in between, whether preserving the facade or other methods.

For historical unrealized buildings and construction projects, they comprise a number of many possible outcomes, much like a disco ball with faceted mirrors. According to Mr. Scigliano, it is important to pay attention to Seattle’s ideas of the past because they remain relevant today. They also can provide insight into possible future civic projects, whether for research purposes or to revisit (such as further lidding I-5, first suggested by the architect Paul Thiry in the 1960s).

Eric Scigliano sets the context for this presentation, noting how cities can take on second (or third lives), and Seattle is a great example with multiple boom and bust historical cycles.

Mr. Scigliano outlined an intriguing survey of Seattle’s proposals, many quite serious and developed, others more imaginative and a bit whimsical.

Rare newspaper illustration commenting on the Bogue Plan, which would have been Seattle’s first comprehensive plan that included subways and a civic center in Denny Regrade. Residents of Queen Anne were concerned that the development would isolate and negatively impact them. Image via HistoryLink.

George Hartman believed that every great city should have a river. Hence, a proposal to fill in I-5 with water!

The next day, I headed to the Seattle Public Library’s Seattle Room to learn more about these unrealized plans. The SPL staff helpfully pointed me towards a University of Washington thesis - “A Forgotten Future: One Possible Seattle” by Steven Gano Cecil. Submitted in 1981, the thesis further expands the survey to include additional plans and projects.

Images that illustrate proposed above ground train at Westlake and Fourth Ave. (1918), and section perspective for underground light rail on Third Ave. (1961).

Rendering for proposed Seattle General Hospital in downtown (1932).

Metropolitan Tract Plan was proposed by the Tishman family from New York City, bringing a bit of Gotham to Seattle with a Rockefeller Center-type development (1952).

Urban Stream proposal for a salmon stream to run from Volunteer Park to downtown (1975).

A video recording of the event is available via the Seattle Channel.

MOHAI also offers audio recordings of all History Cafe programs online via Soundcloud - well worth checking out.

AKCHO Annual Meeting at the Nordic Museum

On Tuesday I attended the Association of King County Historical Organizations (AKCHO) Annual Membership meeting. The event also provided an opportunity to visit Ballard’s recently renovated Nordic Museum, which has been on my checklist for months.

The program included a warm welcome from Eric Nelson, CEO of the Nordic Museum. A quick video depicted some highlights from the museum’s opening in May.

Jennifer Meisner, Historic Preservation Officer with King County, discusses some of the outreach to local communities, including those in unincorporated King County.

Following the business meeting, there was a presentation from Jennifer Meisner, Historic Preservation Officer, King County Historic Preservation Program. An overview was provided for the buildings recognized with certificates of designation in 2018. Among them were the F.W. Woolworth Company building in Renton (down the street from my family’s auction business), and the Boeing Building 105 in Tuwkila, built in 1909 (a bit surprised it did not make the cut yet). Outreach to unincorporated areas of King County was also discussed as an initiative for 2019.

4Culture’s Executive Director Brian J. Carter and Heritage Support Specialist Cheiko Phillips discussed 4Culture’s activities and plans, which included listening sessions with communities all across King County to recognize local cultural resources and promote 4Culture’s services.

Chieko Phillips discusses the services 4Culture provides, along with plans for 2019.

Following that was a panel discussing the theme of inclusion with:

Moderator: Hilary Pittenger, AKCHO Board

Panelists: Chieko Phillips, 4Culture

Nicole Robert, MOHAI

Aletheia Wittman, The Incluseum

Kicking off the panel was a question on the definition of inclusion. The conversation focused on how inclusion involves a series of building relationships. For exhibitions, it is helpful to have inclusive advisory committees that draw from diverse perspectives. One institutional challenge is uncertainty around the results of projects, or how the exhibitions or heritage content will be received. For this, we do not have control. In addition, the panelists discussed how some initiatives do not work as anticipated, and how progress can be made, even in failure.

Panel discussion.

Many other topics were discussed including: 4Culture’s racial bias training for employees; MOHAI’s racial equity plan; how inequity can result from collections policies; and the power of storytelling where the narrator can control personal narratives, without the interviewer, and sometimes in the absence of documentation (photographs or other meaningful objects).

After the panel, lunch was served, with further conversation amongst the attendees. It was a delight to meet some of the AKCHO members, hear about these inspiring exhibitions and projects, and reconnect with colleagues.

All photographs taken by the author and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Letting the Light In: Art on the Seattle Waterfront

Image via Friends of Art on Pier 86 website

On the brisk Friday evening of December 21st, we attended the “Let There Be Light” Closing Viewing Party. Hosted by the Friends of Art on Pier 86, the event included a vibrant video art piece heralding Seattle’s history, along with anticipating the future. Created by the artist duo Hexagon Misfit, the piece was projected over 200 feet tall & onto the head house of the Pier 86 Grain Terminal. Incredibly, the terminal still functions and is operated daily by the Port of Seattle.

In speaking with artist Craig Winslow, he explained drawing inspiration from images of Seattle’s past. Photographs depicting the area over time were projected onto the facade.

A collaboration between Craig Winslow and Chris Rojas, the Pier 86 projection mapping explores the past, present, and future of the Seattle waterfront and the Pacific Northwest people.

via Chris Rojas/YouTube

Utilizing visual mapping techniques, aspects of the architecture were also superimposed onto the building. Some of this work reminded me of the Borealis light festival at MOHAI back in October.

The event took place at Expedia’s offices on Elliot Ave, providing great views of the video art, although it was even more compelling viewing from outside. As we all look to a changing downtown Seattle waterfront, one in which artists will have permanent works on display according to the city’s art plan & vision, I look forward to what the Friends group has in store for the future!