Phinney Ridge 92-year-old reflects on a lifetime of Seattle design
She remembers taking the ferry from Madison Park to Kirkland for her first reporting job, and said the streetcars that criss-crossed the city cost a nickel each. Bellevue was a meadow, she said, while Kirkland was a vibrant little town.
Gray worked for Architecture West for about 20 years and led Relta Gray Associates for nearly 30 years. She also founded Environmental Design West and edited Northwest Architect.
I spoke to Relta about how today’s Seattle compares with that town of old and about her memories of earlier Seattle architects. Here’s a selection from our conversation.
Q. How has downtown changed?
A. To me, it seems like when I go downtown I begin to feel like I’m in New York or Chicago. I do like the energy of going downtown and feeling people around, but if feels like we’re taking away the whole character of the Northwest with the way they’re putting all these high-rises up and crowding it all together and taking down some of the little stores and things you always enjoyed.
Q. What did “Western architecture” mean when you first wrote about it?
A. When I was doing that, we were just getting to know some of the Western architects. I remember Frank Gehry, when he first got started we did this little feature on him and I was astounded at his vision at the time. It was just sort of an out-there thing.
Q. What about Northwest architecture?
A. Here in the Northwest, we’re blessed with so much open space and we have a lot of water, and we had trees and I think that really played into whatever design we had. We had a very good group here who also were very concerned about the community and sort of keeping the Northwest aura. They worked on keeping the open space and allowing for gray days, and adapting and utilizing what we had for heat and power and letting a lot of light in. What really makes it Northwest is where we live and the views we have.
Q. Who were some memorable local architects?
A. (Fred) Bassetti was really a forward-seeing architect. Locally, I thought Victor Steinbrueck was great because he was concerned about the outdoors. Al Bumgardner, when he first came to Seattle, he was into residential architecture, but then he built churches and schools and bigger buildings. He was very open to where buildings were going to be located and how it would affect other areas.
Q. Do you like the new streetcar?
A. I use public transportation a lot. I remember when we had streetcars all around Seattle and you rode on them for a nickel. There’s so many people now and I think we need public transit but I think the streetcars are a little cumbersome. Buses can go into a lot of places streetcars can’t. I’m all for things like Sound Transit. I’d like to see it developed so we could get to the Eastside more easily.
Q. How has the Eastside changed?
A. Bellevue was a big meadow pasture. A friend’s dad owned 20 acres of farmland that became Bellevue Square. Kirkland was kind of a bustling little town even then. Kirkland had more of an advantage until they put I-405 through there. At the time you could walk anyplace and get anything you needed over in Kirkland.
Gray recently retired from design and construction editing, turning her attention to The Independent Elderly, a 62-page guide on how friends and family can help the elderly maintain their independence as they age. Read more of our conversation here (subscription only).
Tags: Historic Seattle, History, Landmarks, Seattle History
