An effort to save an empty, but historically significant 1960s bank at 24th and Union got its first round of approval for landmark status Wednesday. The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board voted to accept the nomination of the former Liberty Bank building, the first Black-owned bank in the Pacific Northwest.
The building will have to win another round of approval from the board to be preserved as an historical city landmark. The utilitarian building, which has sat empty and fenced off since KeyBank left in September, is also being considered for an affordable housing project. Capitol Hill Housing has been in negotiations with KeyBank to buy the building and erect a mixed-use development on the site.
Longtime Central District/Africatown activist Omari Garrett filed the landmark petition for the bank. He told CDNews earlier this week that his fight to preserve the bank ran deeper than just saving a building.
“Our children are not on the street shooting eachother because they dont have a place to stay. They don’t have Black institutions to look up to, they don’t see Black bank owners,” Garrett said. “Housing is not our problem in the central area. Our problem is identity and having cultural institutions in Africatown.”
Yesterday a community post from CDNews member ‘africatown’ praised the board’s vote:
Members of Seattle’s Africatown attended the meeting to continue to advocate and preserve the cultural and historic fabric of the african american central district community, now known as ‘Africatown”.
Historic preservation, economy success, education, and cultural identity all make a substantial contribution to Seattle’s Africatown community.
The success of the nomination was the right thing to do.
It was the only thing to do.
Community. Culture.
“The building will have to win another round of approval from the board to be preserved as an historical city landmark.”
Bryan, can you provide a link so we can see what that round of approval looks like? What criteria will the board consider? What is the timeframe of their deliberation? Is there going to be more public testimony? Will they take written comments?
The post referenced above was NOT posted by OMARI, it was posted by another Africatown community member,Ron Williams.
So, black youth are killing each other because a building that housed a bank that failed (twice) due to bad business practices, and had to be bought out by Key Bank, is not being preserved? That’s beyond insulting.
And housing is not “Africatown”s problem, yet they are advocating for African-owned businesses in the Central District? Fair enough, I suppose, but with black folks leaving the district due to a lack of affordable housing, what is the point?
Something doesn’t add up about the Africatown group.
Hey bystander, black people left because the police did nothing about the gangs and they did not want their kids shot by gangs or the police to go after them because they are black and young. Your typical racist ignorance comes out when you say “but with black folks leaving the district due to a lack of affordable housing”. Did it ever occur to you that black people HAVE MONEY AND PROPERTY and have two parent middle class families? Noooo, your sterotyping screams volumes about you lack of knowlege of the CD.
Wow, eyes! You made it through an entire post without using “containment zone”! Way to go!
So riddle me this: on the one hand, we are told that black folks are leaving the CD because of gentrification, but when someone like me, who’s race you have no idea of, cites that I am called a racist? Just how does that work?
But seriously – congratulations on that whole abandoning the “containment zone” thing. One day at a time, sister – one day at a time.
What is insulting is that rediculous spin that nobody suggested. Gang activity prevails where there is a lack of a legitimate economy available. As history is erased and hope fades the problems continue. Liberty bank is an example of success and ought to be honored as such. Yes it ultimately failed as most things do. But it lived for 25 years and provided an economic engine for the community and a symbol of hope and emergence from Jim Crow diminutives. If we treat everything as a hopeless failure then we will fail to try again. Except perhaps outside of the system depressed by the dirty filter of rewritten history. Gangs provide a belief that you can fight for something. When options are low – any fight will do.
I’m trying to wrap my mind around this quote:
“Our children are not on the street shooting eachother because they dont have a place to stay. They don’t have Black institutions to look up to, they don’t see Black bank owners,” Garrett said. “Housing is not our problem in the central area. Our problem is identity and having cultural institutions in Africatown.”
So if the bank building remains, gangs and other crimes will go away?
Why does the building get tagged if its existence is tied to our salvation?
The Edwin Pratt mural that was next to the bank seemed of greater cultural significance. Unfortunately, it was defaced before it got painted over. I guess that is how much the children care about cultural identity.