Fremont Historic Survey Public Meeting
Thursday, December 3, 2009
7:00 PM – 8:45 PM
Fremont Baptist Church
717 N 36th Street
Come and hear the latest on the Fremont Historic Survey Project, a survey of residential historic resources in the Fremont neighborhood, which has been sponsored by the Fremont Neighborhood Council, with the assistance of Fremont Historical Society volunteers. This survey project has been supported by hundreds of volunteer hours in 2009. Historic preservation consultant Kate Krafft has been working with Fremont volunteers and will present the results of the inventory research. This survey implements a recommendation in the 1999 Fremont Neighborhood Plan that advised historic structures in Fremont, which have unique historical significance, should be documented.
What is the Historic Survey?
This historic resources survey covers residential buildings, including single-family houses, duplexes, and apartment buildings, in the Fremont neighborhood that are at least 50 years old (built prior to 1960). This project is being conducted with funding from the Seattle Neighborhood Matching Grant program and 4Culture. The Fremont project is part of a city-wide historic resources survey effort that has been underway in many Seattle neighborhoods since 2001.
Fremont Survey Project Process
During the field survey conducted last winter and spring, more than 20 volunteers identified 820 properties of interest. More than 600 of these were reviewed for consideration for the inventory, and 68 priority properties identified in the inventory are being documented with inventory forms. Volunteers helped consultant Kate Krafft with property, historical, and biographical research this summer and fall. The 68 priority properties will become part of the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ searchable historic resources database at http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite.
For more information, contact Carol Tobin at cctobin@earthlink.net or at 206-547-9629
Upcoming Events
National Preservation Month
Each May the Fremont Historical Society creates a display at the Fremont Library featuring historic and current photos of ten historic buildings in Fremont, celebrating preservation and adaptive reuse of the buildings as part of this nationwide event put on by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Volunteers from the Fremont Historical Society research the history of the buildings and interview the property owners for additional background. A public reception is held at the beginning of the month and the display continues through the end of May.
Fremont Historic Streetcar Tour
This is an annual summer tour conducted by the Fremont Historical Society, offered on a Thursday evening in July or August. The tour meets outside the historic Fremont Car Barn (now Theo Chocolates) at N. 34th/Phinney Ave N., proceeds east on N. 34th to Woodland Park Ave N. and north on Woodland Park Ave N. to N. 39th St. Tour lasts about 1- 1 1/2 hours and features stories and historic information/photos about the historic streetcar system and historic buildings/locations along the route.
Public Art Tour
This tour is held in June or July each year and covers public art installed in Fremont from the 1970s to the present. The tour is led by a founding member of the Fremont Arts Council and Fremont Historical Society.
Walking Tour
The Fremont Historical Society periodically holds informal walking tours to explore the commercial and residential areas of Fremont. Like all other tours and events sponsored by the Fremont Historical Society, these tours are open to the public.
Lectures
The Fremont Historical Society periodically presents lectures on the history of Fremont. These have included an oral history of an early Fremont business, the Fremont Drug Company, presented by the owner's grandson, an oral history interview of Armen Stepanian, the former "Mayor of Fremont", and a presentation on the history of B.F. Day Elementary School.
All tours and events are free and open to the general public.
