hugeasscity

 

In today’s PI…

The Landmark Preservation Board voted 8-1 Wednesday to move forward with the nomination of the former Denny’s at 15th Ave NW and NW Market St (in Ballard) and, if the board affirms the decision at its Feb. 6 meeting, demolition would be blocked, preventing Rhapsody Partners from constructing an 8-story 261 unit mixed-use building.

I personally think the building is not worth saving. Yes, it is an interesting structure, but on the ugly side of interesting. Plus, it is located on a prime spot for residential development, at the corner of two major arterials, close to downtown Ballard, etc. The other 3 corners of this intersection of low-intensity, auto-oriented uses, this site could be a catalyst for moving more dense residential development eastward. Someone in the article is quoted as saying “It remains an important artifact of the automobile era in the U.S., and its vibrant, space-age forms crystallized the era’s enthusiasm and faith in commerce and technology.” I say, save such artifacts elsewhere, like Route 66, not in an urban center. Besides, over the past decades we have torm down beautiful old buildings to make way for parking garages, why not tear down “artifacts” commemorating a misguided era of auto-dominance?

Posted by MJH on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.