Contributed by: Historic Seattle
Organization: Historic Seattle
Dated Posted: April 21, 2026
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At its meeting on April 1, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board once again tabled its decision on Seattle Parks and Recreation’s (SPR) Certificate of Approval application for its most recent scheme to demolish most of the character-defining features on the iconic towers at Gas Works Park, a Seattle landmark. Board members’ questions, comments, and discussions were thoughtful and spot on, just as they have been in the previous three meetings on this proposal. The board acknowledged SPR’s effort to respond to concerns and preserve some of the historic features at the top of the towers but still questioned SPR on whether it has consulted experts in the preservation of industrial architecture; if SPR is working on a preservation master plan (which the board asked for last October); and if SPR has connected with the Gas Works Park Alliance (referencing the preservation master plan that the Alliance is hoping to produce). We previously shared the Alliance’s statement—Historic Seattle is part of the Alliance.

An interesting wrinkle came to light at the meeting when the public learned that the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) recently issued a “hazard correction” notice to SPR citing SPR’s own reports documenting the “hazardous” conditions of the landmark and SDCI’s inspection of the towers. This building code violation order came at an interesting time; we are left wondering why this hasn’t come up before.

In the board’s motion tabling its decision, the board reiterated requests for additional information including: 1) a preservation plan that considers the original design goals for the park, operations and maintenance, and potential future removal of the fence; potentially a preliminary outline to be followed with more detail at a later date; 2) input from a preservation specialist with expertise in industrial architecture to understand the historic significance and how the removal of elements may impact the historic integrity of the structure; 3) opportunities to preserve additional elements of the gas equipment including the pipe on the west side and appurtenances at the towers; 4) potential for interpretive signage for the landmark; and 5) a clear side-by-side comparison of the existing and proposed elevations and plans.

We thank the Board for its continuing thoughtful review and consideration of SPR’s proposal. Stay tuned as this advocacy issue continues.