A Kent woman received a 2017 John D. Spellman Award from King County for her work to restore the Barton House in the Mill Creek Historic District.
Stacey Kroeze received the award for restoration of original features of the Barton House. With historic photos of her house as her guide and grant funds from 4Culture, Kroeze reversed a 1950s alteration that detracted from the house’s original character by restoring a curved inset second floor window.
Today, the Barton House looks more like it did in 1909, and her project is encouraging others in the district to restore their historic homes.
King County Executive Dow Constantine announced recipients of the awards earlier this month, honoring people and organizations that protect and restore significant historic resources.
The awards are named in honor of Spellman, a former King County executive and Washington governor, who established the county’s Historic Preservation Program 39 years ago.
“John Spellman is a good and noble man who humbly stewarded his county and the state. The Spellman awards honor the stewards of our shared history,” Constantine said in a media release. “At a time of unprecedented growth and change, these awardees are protecting, restoring and interpreting the places that tell the story of a proud and still young region.”
Other 2017 recipients of Spellman Awards for historic preservation were:
• Diana Keller, for rehabilitation of the 1910 Hill Crest Barn in Carnation. With funding from King County’s Barn Again grant program, combined with her own cash match and labor, Keller wasted no time upon returning home from college to lift the barn, install a new foundation and floor slab, replace siding and repaint the exterior of this iconic community landmark.
• Fall City Historical Society, for achievement in education for implementing an ambitious program of activities, events and projects that educate the public about Fall City’s fascinating history, including an interpretative signage program that gives visitors glimpses into the community’s past; and creation of a traveling scale model of the fragile 1888 Fall City Hop Shed.
• City of Kirkland, for identifying and planning for the protection of the historic buildings that give Kirkland its character and sense of place. Amidst intense development pressures, Kirkland has identified and catalogued its most significant buildings, adopted zoning incentives that help maintain neighborhood character while accommodating development, and found a creative alternative to demolition of one of its earliest residences, the Dr. Trueblood House.
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