Historic Seattle

Historic Seattle is a nonprofit and public development authority established by city ordinance in 1974. For 40 years Historic Seattle has shown what can be done quietly in the background with technical assistance and feasibility studies, and loudly by plunging head-on into full scale redevelopment of buildings that no one else in the community would assume responsibility to protect. As a community-based organization, Historic Seattle focuses on the reuse and reimagining of historic properties for new purposes. Historic Seattle has saved dozens of historic buildings across Seattle. Many of these buildings, highlighted in the Projects section of our website, would be gone if Historic Seattle had not taken on the risks and rewards of their rehabilitation. Historic Seattle is also a membership organization dedicated to the protection of our architectural heritage through projects, educational programming, and advocacy within the community. Historic Seattle has become the region’s foremost educator on built heritage, offering an outstanding series of lectures, workshops, tours, and specially arranged visits to historic properties. It has also greatly expanded its role to encourage activism in the preservation of important community landmarks and neighborhood character, provide resources and referral services, technical and landmarks assistance, and keep people informed of current issues and initiatives. As Historic Seattle looks toward its future, we encourage your participation in our preservation work through membership, contributions, time, and creative ideas.