Seattle Times: Denny’s not worth saving

An editorial in Sunday’s Seattle Times pulls no punches with the fight over the Denny’s on 15th. “The (architectural) significance of the proposed landmark is minor,” the Times editors write. And what about the building’s history? “We remember Manning’s with some warmth, but not enough to create a public monument to it.” The Landmarks Preservation Board voted 8-1 last week to nominate the structure as a public landmark. The Times editorial said the vote was political because the developers plan to replace it with condos. “When the Seattle Monorail Authority wanted the Denny’s restaurant for a monorail station, the agency condemned it and paid full price for it. It was not landmarked. Now that the proposed use is a 260-unit condo, advocates suddenly wax eloquent about googie. It’s an old Denny’s, boarded up.”

Ben commented on My Ballard last week about the vote. “I hope to god that this building isn’t saved,” he writes. “I agree that it is a visual landmark, but only because it is so hideously ugly that you can’t miss it. I am not saying I necessarily like the building that is going to replace it, but at least another developer in the future will have the chance to make a beautiful building there. Don’t lock up this piece of land forever with an ugly building just because you don’t like what is going to be built next.”