At its June 17 meeting, the King County Landmarks Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for the Richmond Masonic Center in Shoreline to proceed with replacing the roof, painting the exterior, and other maintenance issues.  The Commission also approved a proposed picture rail system for the DeYoung House, which is the new Museum and headquarters for the Woodinville Historical Society.   A decision on a proposal to do a partial roof replacement on the Auburn Carnegie Library has been postponed until the next meeting.

Despite being a prime example of Art Deco construction, Harborview Hall is slated for demolition.  The 1931 building, located at 326 Ninth Avenue on Seattle’s First Hill, was designed by Harlan Thomas, one of Seattle’s most prominent architects of the 1920s-1930s, who also was responsible for the Sorrento Hotel and the Corner Market Building.  According to a recent article in Crosscut.com, it will cost approximately $6.6 million to take down the 10-story structure that, as part of the Harborview Hospital complex, is owned by the citizens of King County.

Restoration work is underway on the 1889 two-story log cabin originally owned by Seattle pioneer David Denny. The cabin, which was relocated from Queen Anne Hill to Federal Way in 1966, is now owned by the Historical Society of Federal Way.  The Society is using a 4Culture Heritage Cultural Facilities award to do log restoration and replacement. When the work is completed this fall, the Denny Cabin will have space for interpretation, presentations and student field trips.

Crosscut.com reports that supporters of a new Northwest Native Cultural Center at the Seattle Center are moving ahead with plans for an $8 million, two-story building north of the International Fountain. The project has received a written pledge of support from Robert Nellams, director of the Seattle Center. Fundraising has not yet begun for the facility, but Roger Fernandes, leader of the effort, estimates it will take 3-4 years to raise the money for the project.

Planning has begun for Archives Month 2011, which will be celebrated in October. This year’s theme is “Fairs and Festivals,” and events will include an archives fair where institutions can share information about their collections.  All museums, historical societies, and other institutions with archival collections are welcome to participate. Interested parties are invited to the next planning meeting on July 14 at 3 PM at the National Archives. If you’d like to be involved, please contact Deb Kennedy.

Doris Schaible and Judy Lang review oral history transcripts at the Redmond Historical Society office.

With funds provided by 4Culture, the Redmond Historical Society has converted 48 oral histories to digital format and has archived a text version of each history. Eventually these digital files will be placed on the Society’s website, so that the actual voices from those histories will be heard.

Trinkets, coins, bolts, and bullets came shooting out of a Pacific Science Center fountain last month as workers cleaned out the pipes, perhaps for the first time ever. King5 News reports that items dating back to the World’s Fair were sucked into a tanker truck and had to be separated from plenty of gunk.  The Science Center is asking for help from anyone who can identify a ‘Club Helium’ token with an image of an airship on it.

Any local heritage museum or historical society that could use a 1912 Dalton Adding, Listing and Calculating Machine in its collection is invited to contact Steven Thomas. The machine, in excellent condition, was used for nearly 40 years in a small dental lab business in the Medical Dental Building in downtown Seattle. Thomas can be reached at sthomas007@centurytel.net.