November 19, 2025

Projects statewide celebrated for historic preservation

Dr. Allyson Brooks, Washington State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), recently announced the 2025 awards for Outstanding Achievements in Historic Preservation, among them the awards for Outstanding Rehabilitation, the Valerie Sivinski Award. The SHPO says Sivinski “transformed the historic city of Tacoma as we know it.” Read about this award's namesake at right.

The process by which the SHPO grants The Valerie Sivinski Award for Outstanding Achievements in Historic Preservation varies year to year. For 2025, Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) staff nominated projects which went through robust internal evaluations. Brooks made the final selections, presenting awardees with certificates that were signed by the governor. The 2025 honorees are:

Photo courtesy of 7th Street Theatre [enlarge]

7th Street Theatre

7th Street Theatre, Hoquiam, Grays Harbor County

The 7th Street Theatre Association was recognized for their grass-roots rehabilitation of the historic Hoquiam movie palace. Over 40 years, a small group of dedicated volunteers raised and invested approximately $4 million to restore the theater. Constructed in 1928, the 7th Street Theatre is the only surviving “atmospheric theater” in Washington.

Photo courtesy of Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation [enlarge]

Weyerhaeuser Office Building

Weyerhaeuser Office Building, Everett

The Port of Everett, together with its partner, NGMA Group, and architects, The Schuster Group, were recognized for the rehabilitation of Everett's historic Weyerhaeuser Office Building. Constructed in 1923, the building was built entirely of Pacific Coast timber to illustrate the possibilities of Weyerhaeuser lumber for building construction. Vacant for 40 years, it reopened in 2023 as The Muse Whiskey & Coffee and event venue.

Photo courtesy of Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation [enlarge]

Interstate Telephone Exchange

Interstate Telephone Exchange, Pullman

Property owners, David and Jenny Harder were recognized for their rehabilitation of the Interstate Telephone Exchange Building in Pullman. Unoccupied since 1975, the building was completely restored by the owners in its exterior, interior and mechanical and electrical systems.

Image courtesy of William Wright photography [enlarge]

YWCA – Seattle

YWCA - Seattle

SMR Architects, Andersen Construction, and developer JH Brawner were recognized for the rehabilitation of the YWCA building in downtown Seattle. The National Register-listed building was built in 1914. Work included renovating the top five floors to accommodate 114 units of permanently affordable housing for low-income and formerly unhoused residents. In addition, all major systems were replaced, and the first two floors were redesigned while preserving the historic exterior and interior elements of the building. Founded over 130 years ago, YWCA Chapter of Seattle, King and Snohomish counties is the largest and longest-running nonprofit in the region dedicated to the needs of women and girls.

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation also presents an annual grant program named for Valerie Sivinski. The fund provides up to $3,000 to organizations statewide involved in historic preservation. The 2026 grant recipients will be announced in December. To plan for next year's application see: https://dahp.wa.gov/grants-and-funding/grants

Valerie Sivinski — Historic preservation doer and mentor

Last month marked the 25th anniversary of the fatal accident that killed one of Washington’s most notable and impactful preservation architects and historians, Valerie Sivinski. Her work lives on in the Valerie Sivinski Award for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Projects and the Valerie Sivinski Fund Grants.

Photo via collection of Tim McDonald [enlarge]

Valerie Sivinski with Tim McDonald inspecting stonework on a capitol campus building in the 1990s.

Prior to her arrival in Washington state, Sivinski worked for the Architect of the Capitol in Washington, DC. Then, in Tacoma, her adopted home since the 1980s, Sivinski worked as the city’s Historic Preservation Officer. In that role, she led the rehabilitation of such projects as the Sprague Building, Masonic Temple, Rialto Theatre, and the adaptive transformation of Tacoma Union Station into a federal courthouse, all of which became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Her work continued at Artifacts Architectural Consulting which she co-founded with her husband, Tim McDonald. With Artifacts, which operates today, Sivinski worked on notable projects throughout the state. She also frequently volunteered her expertise and hands-on work while mentoring others in her community and as an author and lecturer at the University of Washington.

At the time of her death, Artifacts was serving as architectural conservator of the Washington State Capitol Campus, and Sivinski was the architect in charge. To honor her contributions to the state, the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation renamed an existing annual awards program in her memory.