Ballard ‘bought themselves another Kalakala’

Crosscut’s Knute Berger, who has written a great summary of why the board voted to save the Denny’s, just posted a very pointed reaction he received from architect and preservationist Larry Johnson. Johnson, you may remember, was hired by Benaroya to nominate the building in the hope that the board would turn it down. “Ballard just bought themselves another Kalakala, unfortunately, this one won’t be easy to tow to Tacoma,” he wrote in an email to Berger. “I view the efforts to save an ill conceived, poorly designed building in poor physical shape, designed by a second string California architect who had minimal understanding of our local climate, not preservation, but a lack of faith in the future.” Johnson maintains he’s a preservationist, just his bar “happens to be a bit higher than some.”

For another terrific account of last night’s vote, make sure you check out Peggy Sturdivant’s post on her blog, At Large in Ballard.