City seeks public's help to identify Walla Walla historic sites for preservation plan – Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
The Keylor Grand Opera House was built by Howard R. Keylor in 1905 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Alder Street.
A man walks across the street at the corner of Second Avenue and Main Street in downtown Walla Walla in this photo taken by Bill Lilley in 1972.
The Kirkman House Museum, 214 N. Colville St., was built in 1880.
The Bachtold Building, constructed in 1903, stands at Sixth Avenue and Main Street in Walla Walla.
A view of the Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center, 6 W. Rose St., constructed in 1928.
The Keylor Grand Opera House was built by Howard R. Keylor in 1905 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Alder Street.
The Kirkman House Museum, 214 N. Colville St., was built in 1880.
The Bachtold Building, constructed in 1903, stands at Sixth Avenue and Main Street in Walla Walla.
A view of the Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center, 6 W. Rose St., constructed in 1928.
City of Walla Walla officials are asking residents to help identify sites with historical significance within city limits that should be the focus of a 10-year plan for preservation efforts.
Residents are encouraged to provide feedback via a survey, which is currently available at ubne.ws/historicsurvey.
Unlike previous efforts to identify specific historic sites and districts, the 10-year historical preservation plan will encompass the entirety of the city of Walla Walla, said Lisa Wasson-Seilo, city planner and staff liaison for the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.
A man walks across the street at the corner of Second Avenue and Main Street in downtown Walla Walla in this photo taken by Bill Lilley in 1972.
While the plan isn’t necessary for the city to seek grants or for inclusion in the National Registry of Historic Places, it will help comprehensively inform the city’s efforts to maintain its history, Wasson-Seilo said in an interview.
“This is the first plan of this type that the city has done,” she said. “In the past, it’s been a bit of a patchwork. This pulls everything together into a cohesive plan.”
The city received a $12,000 grant for the planning project from the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, which will review the plan before it is finalized.
The city was not required to commit matching funds to the project, though staff and planning commissioners will dedicate some time to the planning document, Wasson-Seilo noted.
The project’s first phase will be data collection and public engagement, Wasson-Seilo said, including resident survey and stakeholder interviews. That feedback will be analyzed by consulting firm Northwest Vernacular, which the city has hired to write the 10-year preservation plan.
The grant requires that the city send a draft of the plan to the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for review by late April.
City staff will review comments from the state agency, send a second draft by July and a final draft by September, incorporating additional public feedback throughout the process, Wasson-Seilo said.
Emry Dinman can be reached at emrydinman@wwub.com or 425-941-5829.
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