The landmark nomination of the Queen Anne Pool by the Queen Anne Historical Society creates a remarkable learning moment about historic preservation. The pool opened in 1977 as the last project of the transformative Forward Thrust levy. It is the work of Benjamin F. McAdoo (1920-1981), the first licensed African American architect in Washingon State. The nomination will be the focus of a talk by Spencer Howard and Katie Pratt at 6:00 p.m. on February 1, 2024, at the Queen Anne Public Library. Northwest Vernacular, Howard and Pratt’s firm, prepared the nomination that will soon be before the city’s Landmarks Preservation Board.

Historic preservation as expressed in Seattle’s landmark ordinance is not about saving beautiful things. Indeed beauty is not an easily shared value which Seattle’s preservation law doesn’t even mention. Only one of Seattle’s six criteria for landmark designation addresses the features of potential landmarks. It reads “ It embodies the distinctive visible characteristics of an architectual style, period, or method of construction.”