Allied Arts of Seattle - Preservation

Preservation

Central Seattle's cityscape in the 1950s had changed little since before the Great Depression. Many buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century survived, but most were in poor shape, and the success of Boeing was gradually turning Seattle into a more prosperous city. These older buildings were either going to be renovated or replaced. Allied Arts stood foursquare on the side of preservation. Under the leadership of architects Victor Steinbrueck, Fred Bassetti, and Ibsen Nelsen, the group was prominent in the creation of the Pioneer Square Historic District (1970) and the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board (1973), and were key supporters of a 1971 initiative that preserved Pike Place Market. With respect to this last, an Allied Arts committee reconstituted itself in 1964 as the independent organization Friends of the Market; Since 1974, Allied Arts and Friends of the Market have each been allocated two of the twelve seats on the Market Historical Commission which operates independently of other Market governance bodies with the specific mandate to preserve the Market's physical and social character as "the soul of Seattle."

In this period, Allied Arts also advocated for the creation of the Seattle Design Commission that now guides municipal architecture. Other prominent Allied Arts leaders in this period were "secretary" and manager Alice Rooney, Jerry Thonn, Peggy Golberg, Lew Pritchard, Alf Collins, and Rae Tufts.

A new generation of Allied Arts leaders emerged in this period. Paul Schell, later mayor, came to prominence as Allied Arts president and led the successful effort to establish One Percent for Art, with a more powerful Seattle Arts Commission replacing the earlier Municipal Art Commission. In the 1980s, Margaret Pageler and Victor Steinbrueck's son Peter Steinbrueck, both later members of the Seattle City Council were instrumental in the Citizens Alternative Plan (CAP) that put a moratorium for some years on new Downtown skyscrapers. Allied Arts also played a role in this period in establishing funding and changing zoning to promote artists' housing, and in the plans for facilities at the former Sand Point Naval Air Station.

Not everything was a victory. In January 1992, despite much protest, the Music Hall Theater at 7th and Olive was demolished despite its landmark status. In the wake of its destruction, Allied Arts—led in this period by Mia McEldowny, Karen Kane, Walt Crowley, and Clint Pehrson, among others— pushed for stronger historic preservation laws and creation of transferable development rights (TDRs). The latter allow a landowner to sell "air rights" to a neighbor. For example, the owner of a 3-story downtown building can sell development rights to an adjacent high-rise, guaranteeing that people in that side of the high-rise will not have their views blocked, and obtaining compensation for the commitment not to build a tall building adjacent to that high-rise.

Well into the 1990s, Allied Arts retained the anti-growth stance that had led to the CAP initiative. They opposed the Seattle Commons plan that would have reconfigured South Lake Union and opposed Seattle's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

That anti-urban orientation changed under presidents Clint Pehrson, Alex Steffen, David Yeaworth and Philip Wohlstetter. During this period the organization focused on both how to encourage smart growth, and how to make the ensuing density livable.

In recent years (as of 2008) Allied Arts have played an important role in promoting discussion of what is to happen to Seattle's Central Waterfront once the Alaskan Way Viaduct is torn down. Allied Arts president David Yeaworth has advocated for rerouting Washington State Route 99 (SR-99) into a tunnel. The People's Waterfront Coalition, who advocate for having SR-99 no longer run continuously through the city in any manner grew out of an Allied Arts charette.