The Seattle Church of Christ is holding its sixth auction to raise money to fund the church’s ongoing restoration project.
The building shouldn’t even be there. The former Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist location (2555 Eighth Ave. W.) was scheduled for demolition in 2007, when the Church of Christ took an interest in purchasing it. The bidder at that time — who planned to turn the space into four homes — agreed to back out if he was reimbursed the $250,000 he had already put into the purchase. The Church of Christ, which has a congregation of about 400 people, reimbursed him and bought the building.
As soon as they moved in, repairs began. Jay Kelly, who shares minister duties with his wife, Carol, points to peeling paint on the ceiling of one of the coat closets.
“This is what a lot of the building looked like when we first moved in,” he said. “We had buckets everywhere.”
Seattle architect Harlan Thomas built the church in 1927. He also notably designed hotels downtown and co-designed the Queen Anne Library and Harborview Hospital.
At the time, the material he was using was advanced, but the builders didn’t put adequate flashings on the roof, and as the years went on, the water seeped in and things began to crack and rot.
“Unfortunately, it’s probably the most beautiful [building he made], but it’s probably the least well-made, in terms of its waterproofing,” said Church of Christ congregant Jeannie Stratton.
Stratton has lived blocks away from the church for the last 36 years and has always admired the building.
“It’s a really huge part of our community,” she said. “It’s a silent testimony to the history of this hill and the things that endure.”
Two years ago, Stratton and her husband, Geoff Clunas, a local contractor, began attending to the church. Recently, they’ve been working seven days a week, as Kelly puts it, to restore the building.
Some of the main challenges and current projects for the building are the water intrusion and resulting rotted wood and cracked stucco. In the past, someone tried to waterproof the church by coating it in a fiberglass fabric, but that created more problems, so Stratton and volunteers are currently scraping the fabric and paint off of the exterior.
On any day of the week, Stratton and Clunas, along with one or two other volunteers from the church or the Queen Anne community can be found scraping, sanding or painting some nook or cranny of the octagonal building. The members come when they have time, Stratton said, admitting she bribes them with their favorite kind of cookie.
Stratton has been known to pull neighbors from the street to help as they walk by, and local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts troops have also volunteered on the restoration. There are about 12 volunteers who consistently help out.
Stratton credits her experience to the work she’s done on her nearby 1925 stucco home.
“I’m obsessed with old things working right when they can,” she said.
Between Clunas’ expertise and Stratton’s “obsessiveness,” it’s a “perfect storm,” Kelly said.
For the next century
Kelly estimates the congregation put at least $140,000 in repairs into the building when it first moved in. The Church of Christ has since been awarded two Landmark Challenge grants from 4Culture, totaling $44,000, to repair the exterior of the buildings. It has $16,000 left in the grant money, but to spend it, the church needs to match the funds.
To raise the grant-matching money and more restoration funds, the church is hosting its sixth auction, “Another 100 Years,” on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. The “Another 100 Years” theme comes from the idea that “the building is almost 100 years old, so we’re trying to cast a vision for keeping the building standing for a second century,” Kelly said.
This year, the goal is to raise $85,000.
There will be a silent and live auction, hosted by auctioneer April Brown, who is “worth the price of admission herself,” Stratton said.
So far, the church has collected about 150 items, valued at approximately $30,000, but it’s looking for more auction items from the community, Kelly said. He’s donating a homemade pasta-making lesson.
In the past, the auctions have brought in $30,000 to $65,000, Kelly estimates.
This year, they have bigger needs, Stratton said.
“The problems are better known to us in some ways,” she said. “It’s kind of like you think that toothache is just a cavity and it turns out it’s an entire root canal.”
The auction is a great night to have dinner with the community, Stratton said.
“As a neighbor to this building, it’s wonderful to have this here and use it,” she said. “[Before,] it was this pretty building, but there wasn’t any interaction.”
Support from the local community and Queen Anne businesses has been “extraordinary,” Kelly said.
Even with the community support, the cost of projects continue to pile up, like $675 for new door hardware or $160,000 to paint.
“Basically, that’s what we’re about doing right now, is just trying to stabilize things and keep them from eroding further,” Stratton said.
But it’s not a losing battle, she added.
“[Jeannie] has taken it to a whole new level,” Kelly said. “Before I was just treading water.”
“Now we’re dragging him behind the boat,” Stratton said, laughing.
For more information about the auction, visit www.another100years.com.
For more information about the church or to donate to the restoration, visit www.seattlechurchofchrist.org.
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