BOTHELL — The City Council on Tuesday night approved adding the historic W.A. Anderson School building to the Bothell Register of Historic Places.
The school and associated buildings are owned by McMenamins, an Oregon-based businesses that plans to transform the Anderson School building into a 70-room hotel with eateries, a pub, movie theater and live music entertainment venue by August 2014.
McMenamins nominated the site in January to be included on the register. By being listed, McMenamins must follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
“Protecting the Anderson School building was a high priority for Bothell citizens as the city began its downtown revitalization program,” Mayor Mark Lamb said in a statement. “I am greatly appreciative to McMenamins for their commitment to preserving this building and its history for our community and look forward to its opening next year.”
The art deco-style school building, designed by Seattle architect Earl W. Morrison, was built in 1931 for use as a junior high. In 1941, an addition was constructed by the Works Project Administration, matching the original architectural design and providing six more classrooms. In 1959, three ancillary building were constructed at the rear of the site, including a gym, home economics space and multi-purpose addition.
McMenamins facilities are all historic buildings that have been refurbished and converted into a chain of brewpubs, microbreweries, hotels and theaters mostly located in Oregon. The Anderson school complex will be the first McMenamins campus in the Puget Sound area.
When doors open, McMenamins will be connected to the rest of Bothell’s growing downtown, which is undergoing major revitalization. It is part of a multi-year planning effort to redevelop the downtown, which will include residential, retail and office development, along with a new City Hall campus and expanded park system.
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