April 13, 2017

Revamped waterfront pergola could get coffee shop or small retail space

Rendering by dark|light design/Courtesy city of Seattle [enlarge]

Restoration of the 97-year-old pergola is part of Seattle’s ongoing redevelopment of the central waterfront.

The city of Seattle plans to start restoring the Washington Street Boat Landing pergola by July, and may eventually include a service, such as a coffee shop, inside the historic structure.

Restoration of the 97-year-old pergola is part of Seattle's ongoing redevelopment of the central waterfront — from Pioneer Square to Belltown.

The pergola rested on the Elliott Bay seawall, and was hauled away in 2014 in preparation for replacing the seawall. The Seattle Department of Transportation has been storing it on Port of Seattle property at Terminal 25.

The city plans to go out to bid in later this month or May to restore and return the pergola to its home on the west end of South Washington Street, said Angela Brady, the city's waterfront design and delivery manager. The contractor could do some of the work at South Washington before the end of the year, or all of it at the terminal, with re-installation at year end.

Ron Wright & Associates is the architect of record for the approximately $2 million project — the first restoration of the pergola since 1973, she said.

Brady said the historic structure is in pretty bad shape and not up to seismic code.

The project will comply with stringent standards for historic rehabilitation, she said. It will include restoring panels and windows in the pergola, replacing missing structural ornamentation and rehabilitating the columns and their bases. The ceiling and roof will also be restored and ornamental lighting added.

The pergola was designed by city architect D.R. Huntington and has served as a public boat landing, a headquarters for the Harbor Patrol, and as a landing for naval boats.

It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is described as Pioneer Square's only remaining link with the historic waterfront.

The pergola will be an important stop along the promenade that will be constructed on the waterfront, Brady said, and be seen by pedestrians on Washington Street once the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down.

In the short term, Brady said, it will just be a place for folks to visit, with plaques that describe its history. In the long term, the pergola could house a service, such as a coffee shop or retail space, she said. The Pioneer Square community would be asked “to flesh out what they want to see in that space,” Brady said, and Pioneer Square Preservation Board approval would be needed for the use of the space.

Even after the restoration is complete, a fence will remain around the pergola to protect it until the waterfront project is done in late 2022 or early 2023, she said.

Brady said the pergola has been seen as an icon and beacon for the Pioneer Square community. “It's going to look amazing when we put it back into place versus what it was when we got it out,” she said.