Seattle building's no beauty, but it has champions

Crouched like a derelict on a corner in a chic neighborhood, the abandoned restaurant has an élan all its own: It's vintage "Googie."

March 22, 2008 at 11:16PM

SEATTLE

There's no question the graffiti-strewn, rain-rotted, boarded-up old Denny's is a landmark in the most basic sense: People refer to it when giving directions, as in, "Turn left at the Denny's." But is the 44-year-old eyesore, with its swooping roof line, worthy of historical designation? Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board thought so, saving the eatery from demolition and blocking construction of yet another condo complex.

The board's vote last month boggled many Seattleites, who consider the building tacky at best and don't buy the argument that it shares some architectural DNA with Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle.

"They're saving something no one cares about," said Jed Lutge, who was walking near the building recently on the way to get a cup of coffee.

The developer that bought the property for $12.5 million in 2006 cried foul, noting that no one trumpeted the restaurant's historical value several years ago when it was going to be demolished for a monorail station.

"We've heard the arguments before from people saying it's ugly, it's this, it's that," says Eugenia Woo, a preservation consultant who worked to save the Denny's. "We're not just looking at high-style buildings or buildings for the rich and famous as buildings that should be preserved."

The Space Needle and the Denny's are prime examples of "Googie" architecture, a subcategory of Modernism named for a Los Angeles coffee shop. The style, popular for roadside attractions such as gas stations and drive-ins in the 1950s and early '60s, evokes "Jetsons" cartoons, characterized by soaring roof lines, boomerang-shaped elements and bright colors.

Fans of the building still hope for a compromise, in which the developer would restore it -- perhaps turning it into a restaurant or bar -- and erect the condos around it.

"We're so quick to get rid of things," Shiloah Bosworth, a 23-year-old chef, lamented as she strolled nearby the other day. "They don't make those buildings anymore. Everything is square."

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