May 22, 2009

Tacoma architect Alan Liddle dies at 87

Liddle

Liddle, a native and constant champion of Tacoma, was an early promoter of preservation as a way to revitalize Tacoma.

“It is gratifying that after many years of effort and false starts, he lived to see it taking place,” said Robert Jacklin, who was in partnership with Liddle from 1982 until 1998, when Liddle retired.

A celebration of Liddle's life will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, at the Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave.

Liddle attended Tacoma's Stadium High School, and earned a degree in architecture from the University of Washington. As a UW student, he designed and started to build a cabin near the southwest entrance to Mount Rainier National Park, adding onto it over more than 30 years. Considered a masterpiece of Northwest architecture, the cliff-top cabin was featured on the cover of Sunset magazine and in The New York Times magazine.

In 1999, Liddle donated 12.5 acres around the cabin to the national park to ensure it would not be developed. The donation followed approval of a plan by the Pierce County Council to allow tourist businesses across the street from the land. “It seems park-like, and I don't want that ruined,” Liddle said at the time of the donation.

Liddle served in the Army, and attended school in Switzerland, where he studied modernism and the work of his favorite architect, Alvar Alto. He returned to Tacoma in 1952, and worked as supervising architect under Frank Lloyd Wright for the Chauncey Griggs home in Lakewood, according to The News Tribune.

Liddle went into private practice with Bob Jones. They designed the University of Washington Marine Sciences and Oceanography teaching buildings. Liddle designed more than 100 homes and 50 commercial buildings.

He specialized in the Northwest modern style. In 2002, he and architects Bill Bain, Fred Bassetti and Bill Booth were panelists at a Seattle Architectural Foundation forum on Northwest modern masters.

Liddle's home in Lakewood, which Tacoma Art Museum Director Stephanie Stebich called “modern but modest,” was a Sunset Western Home award winner in 1993. A longtime supporter of the museum, he has bequeathed his home to the organization.

“The museum is not a caretaker of historic structures, and plans to sell it,” Stebich said. “He understood that.”

Liddle's modernist approach was balanced with a passion for preservation, and he was many years ahead of the preservation movement, according to Jacklin.

Liddle was one of the few people to speak out against urban renewal that resulted in the razing of swaths of downtown Tacoma in the 1960s. To further his cause, he prepared a slide show, “Whither Tacoma.” He led the establishment of the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission, which formalized the process of designating historic buildings and districts. Now, property owners can qualify for tax breaks that help make preservation projects possible.

He and John Hewitt purchased a historic building at the corner of Seventh and Pacific Avenue and renovated it into office space. Liddle kept his office in the building until his retirement.

Fellow architects elected Liddle to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA). Liddle also received from the AIA its Charles Pearson Public Service Award. Liddle was a past president of the Southwest Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and was a member of the national AIA's Committee on Design.

Liddle was an inveterate traveler and had many lifelong friends. For 50 years, he designed Christmas cards that featured his travel and other adventures. Liddle sent his last card two years ago. It had miniatures of the 49 previous cards and “That's all, folks!” as a final good-bye to his holiday card regulars.

“His passion for architecture and life and his integrity in his professional and personal life set very high standards,” Jacklin said.

He was one-of-a-kind, added Stebich. “I don't see any other Alan Liddles on the scene here in Tacoma.”

Liddle is survived by a niece and nephew, Janet and David Liddle, and their mother, Mary Liddle.