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Pioneer Square Preservation District Records, 1970-2024

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Office of Urban Conservation
Title
Pioneer Square Preservation District Records
Dates
1970-2024 (inclusive)
Quantity
12.4 cubic feet, (31 boxes)
18 digital files, (68.7 MB)
Collection Number
5754-E
Summary
Minutes, correspondence, reports, memos, and other materials related to the Pioneer Square Preservation District and its oversight boards.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Office of Urban Conservation was created in 1975 as part of the Department of Community Development (DCD). It was founded in an era of citizen protests against a proposed urban renewal program that would have demolished Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. The office’s mandate was to coordinate Seattle’s historic preservation programs and administer the city’s landmark boards and historic districts. When DCD was abolished in 1992, the office became the Historic Preservation Program in the Department of Neighborhoods.

From 1852 onward, Pioneer Square was the center of Seattle’s commercial activity. The Great Fire of 1889 destroyed 25 blocks of downtown, but the city immediately began rebuilding, using fire-resistant stone and brick. The neighborhood flourished during the Alaska gold rush, but as the central business core began to move northward, Pioneer Square became host to rough taverns and seedy hotels. A city plan to raze the district in the 1960s generated a grass roots preservation movement led by architects Ralph Anderson and Victor Steinbrueck. In 1970 they succeeded in having the neighborhood designated as a national historic district as well as Seattle’s first preservation district.

The Pioneer Square Historic Preservation Board was instituted in 1971, and the Pioneer Square Special Review District Board in 1974. The two boards began holding joint meetings in October 1979, and continued this practice until September 1981 when they were consolidated as the Pioneer Square Preservation Board. The Office of Urban Conservation, and later the Historic Preservation Program, provided staffing to the boards. The Architectural Review Committee was a Board subcommittee.

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Content Description

Minutes, correspondence, reports, memos, and other materials related to the Pioneer Square Preservation District. Series are described more fully below.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], [Title of collection], Record Series 5754-E[X]. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Pioneer Square Preservation District Records are arranged into two series:

5754-E1: Pioneer Square Preservation Board Minutes

5754-E2: Pioneer Square Preservation District Subject Files

Separated Materials

Publications were pulled from the collection and are cataloged separately in the Published Documents Index.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Community development--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Historic buildings--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Historic preservation--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Homeless persons--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Transportation planning--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Office of Urban Conservation
  • Pioneer Square Preservation Board

Geographical Names

  • Pioneer Square-Skid Road Historic District (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Julie Kerssen
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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