Local News

Sketched Sept. 12, 2012
The recent growth of Seattle may be remembered for a downtown-building boom spurred by Amazon. Flash back 100 years to learn about another type of building boom, when it was churches popping up within months of each other as the population reached more than 300,000 in the years following the Gold Rush.
Seattle First Baptist at the corner of Harvard Avenue and Seneca Street celebrated the 100th anniversary of its 1912 sanctuary last Sunday. With a price tag of $150,000, it was one of the most expensive projects of the time, said church administrator Bob Sittig, who has compiled the history of the sanctuary into a 36-page booklet of historical photos and news clippings.
Sittig, who is always willing to give a tour to passers-by, said the building has weathered the years well. Except for terra-cotta pinnacles that were replaced with fiberglass replicas after the 2001 quake (when one pinnacle went through the roof), the exterior hasn’t changed much. Its main feature is a majestic steeple typical of English gothic medieval architecture that rises 16 stories — one of few in Seattle so prominent, and so old.
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Sketched March 6, 2012
The ghostly doorway of the half-demolished Alfaretta apartments hides the massive ruins of what used to be a typical building on First Hill, a five-story apartment house built in 1918.
How did it come to this? Neighbors told me plans to build condos fell through during the 2008 financial crisis and demolition came to a halt.
Now work may resume with the construction of a proposed 31-story high-rise that would become the tallest building to date on First Hill and among the tallest residential towers in the city.
The project would clear the Seneca Street eyesore, add a new access to the adjacent Freeway Park and bring more density to quiet “Pill Hill,” but it worries some neighbors, who say a 300-foot tower is of out of scale for the neighborhood.
Early First Hill residents who lived to see five-story buildings like the Alfaretta dwarf their mansions probably felt the same way. The Stimson-Green house, below, is one of a handful of those residences that has survived to stand amid the high-rises.

What has drawn your attention around Seattle lately? Send me your suggestions of interesting places and people to sketch via e-mail, Facebook or Twitter. Have a great weekend!