Old Changes, New Information

Here we are in another new year carrying much in the way of the familiar. Serving on several committees for the Queen Anne High School Alumni Association along with the Queen Anne Historical Society allows interesting tidbits from the past to come my way.

The following comes from an article by 1946 grad Cliff Skelton, who was writing about Vern Emery, a YMCA Secretary for the QA community. At that time the neighborhood YMCA was housed in the former church in the 1500 block of Queen Anne Avenue, Sydney Strong’s purview. This was for many years the Queen Anne Congregational Church, (1516 Queen Anne Ave.) and went through many changes. Skelton referred to the building as “very old, leaky-roofed, converted church.” This description was from the 1940’s; the building was only 30+ years old at that time.

In 1927, the adjacent site (1530 QA Ave.) was built, housing the Queen Anne “Community Club, and, during the Great Depression, the local YMCA quarters. The Federal Old Line Insurance firm was there for many years, then KIRO-TV, whose tower was built next door about 1957, on the site of the old church. The building more recently has housed both the Pasta Bella Italian Restaurant and a fitness center downstairs. The building stands firmly on the same site today, with a sea of changed buildings all around it. It is a good testimonial to the construction techniques of the past, and a noble building to add to the color and continuity of Queen Anne Hill.