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An artful goodbye to 1901-built Capitol Hill house set to make way for apartment building

Add a funeral, of sorts, to your Capitol Hill weekend plans. We introduced you to the Seattle Demo Project as the collaborative of artists, designers, and architects activated “the ghosts” of a Central District house slated for demolition. Their latest muse has been the single-family style, 1901 built house at the corner of 12th and Thomas. Thursday night, the group is marking their final show inside the 115-year-old house:

“How we ‘treat our dying’ is an integral part of dying well.”

Join us this Thursday for a contemporary interpretation of a chod ceremony. “Chöd” means “to cut,” “to release,” or “to go beyond” in Tibetan. Partly based in ritual & partly based in memory, this ceremony will help us close the storied history of this house. Come experience the final memorial of this soon-to-be-demolished house.

This is a collaboration/performance between, visiting artist, Squeak Meiseland Tony Archie Kim. Squeak is an artist and professor of fine art at Washington State University. [ www.squeakmeisel.com ] Tony is an artist, designer, & monster. [ tonyarchie.com ]

This is the last installation and event in the storied house on 12th and Thomas, aptly named “Murkish”. Over the past 9 months, The Seattle Demo Project has transformed this house into a vibrant creative space. It has served as transitional housing, site specific art installation, artist studio, film set, performance space, and public hall to communicate with the architects. It has also sparked the curiosity of passerbyers by visually engaging the streetside. By inviting arts and cultural communities into the space, the ambition of this project is to peel away the Murk through Urban Interaction, allowing neighbors the opportunity to build positive memories with our changing city.

You can stop by the 302 12th Ave E home to say goodbye and see the latest art work.

What comes next on 12th Ave

What comes next on 12th Ave

The corner is destined for 41 “Small Efficiency Dwelling Units” in a four-story project from a development team of area real estate investors and Hybrid Architecture. The group paid $650,000 for the property in January, according to King County records. Neighborhood opposition has been fierce with more than 100 letters filed for the project, many with feedback like this:

But after a streamlined design review because the project was small enough not to qualify for full review thresholds, the permits are in place and demolition won’t be far off. Soon, the building will be home to 41 or more new neighbors. That’s a different sort of work of art, altogether.

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RWK
RWK
7 years ago

I was glad to discover, a few months ago, that not only will the trees on the west side of the property be preserved, but there will be new trees planted on the south side. Maybe this will help soften what appears to be an undistinguished building (like most of what is being built these days in our neighborhood).

dave
dave
7 years ago

I think it looks pretty cool, actually. As for the concerns about parking, this is one of the most walkable, bikeable, and transit-friendly locations in the city, with the cap hill LRT station just a couple blocks away. This is the perfect place to put higher density housing, and the lack of parking both makes sense (because people can get around without a car) and also makes the project less expensive to build (which translates to less expensive rents).

genevieve
genevieve
7 years ago

I so wish I’d known about this. It’s been a hard week to keep up with anything unrelated to politics.

I used to live a block from this house and it was one of my favorites.

Timmy73
Timmy73
7 years ago
Reply to  genevieve

Its been one of mine too. Sad to see it and its beautiful garden go. The fountain at the corner made it feel like an oasis.