Another historic Queen Anne building is facing demolition. This time it's the Seventh Church of Christ Science at 2555 Eighth Ave. W., and like the razing of the Black Mansion on West Highland Drive, there doesn't appear to be much anyone can do about it.
Still, a number of upset neighborhood residents called the Queen Anne News to complain about the plan. One of them was Pat Griffith, who was brought up short when she saw the large Master Use Permit sign that has been erected near the church.
"I just felt like I was kicked in the gut," she said of the notice, which calls for tearing down the 1920s-era building. The church was on a list of architecturally significant buildings in Queen Anne several years ago, Griffith said.
And it deserved the designation, as far as she's concerned. "This is absolutely an architectural gem for the city, not just Queen Anne," Griffith said.
"It's really a lovely building," agreed John Hennes from the Queen Anne Historical Society. The church is the work of a well-known architect, but it isn't listed anywhere as a historic landmark, he said.
"I'm very sad, but I don't know there's a lot we can do," Hennes said, referring to the neighborhood historical society. Besides, he added, the historical group is exhausted from its successful battle to get landmark status for the Treat House at the corner of West Highland Drive and Queen Anne Avenue. "At the moment, we don't have any plans to save that building."
It's probably impossible, anyway. "We want to sell the church, and we have a potential buyer," said Scott Davis, chairman of the church board of directors. The potential buyer wants to build homes on the site, he said.
Although the idea is hard to stomach, church members don't really have any other choice, Davis explained. "I mean, we like the building; we'd like to keep it." But there's a couple of problems. It cost a bundle to heat the building now, and there are structural defects, he said.
"It leaks like mad," Davis said of the stucco-clad structure. It would take anywhere from $100,000 to $150,000 just to weatherproof the building, he added. "I still wouldn't have good way to address the stucco not having a vapor barrier," Davis said of a construction technique that allows moisture to evaporate underneath the plaster.
But the church would be hard pressed to come up with the money just for the weatherproofing, he said. When he first joined the church some 20 years ago, there were only around 20 active members, and now the congregation has shrunk to a number you can count on two hands, according to Davis.
There are several factors behind the shrinking numbers, he said. For one thing, Christian Science churches built in the 1950s in Magnolia and on the Eastside drew congregation members away from the Queen Anne church, Davis said.
Furthermore, Christian Science churches were overbuilt in the 1920s, and the old buildings were saved when new churches were built as the years passed, he said, Christ Scientists aren't the only ones who have the problem; older Protestant churches are facing the same dilemma, Davis added.
"I see a lot of big, older churches ... that are monuments and kind of a fixture that people want to save," he said. "But how do we use them?"
Davis finds a certain irony in the church's predicament. "If we had a full congregation," he said, "I'm sure we'd get tons of complaints from neighbors about parking."
Congregation members plan to keep the church going - just elsewhere, Davis said. "We'll find a place in the area and rent space, or go together with another church."
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.[[In-content Ad]]
