Construction Chronicle is a quarterly publication of the Rafn Company Second Quarter 2011

Historic Seattle's 2011 Renovation Fair Other Articles
By Mike Harnden, Rafn Company Superintendent

Rafn had the pleasure of participating at Historic Seattle's Renovation Fair on Saturday, April 9, at the historic Washington Hall Building. This is the very building that Historic Seattle hired Rafn to repair and make habitable over the last year, with future plans of restoring it to its original glory.

The event was promoted by Historic Seattle to celebrate sustainable renovation of existing buildings with the support of structural engineers, renovation architects, suppliers of materials that match historic details, and residential and commercial contractors who specialize in restoration work. In addition to vendor booths, during the day there were one hour seminars on different aspects of building renovation and the green reuse of building materials.

Rafn was the only general contractor from the historic commercial building renovation side and was represented by Superintendents Randy Wood, Todd Miller, Craig Leckness, and myself. We enjoyed meeting with like-minded renovation enthusiasts to talk and share the strengths and history of Rafn's experience in the field of historic renovation.

There were many other renovation specialists that we have partnered with through the years who had booths as well. Such as OB Williams (historic millwork supply), Blackstock Lumber (historic millwork supply), ReStore and Earthwise (materials recycling), IR Gross Engineers (structural engineers Rafn has worked with for years through many restoration projects), and NVL Labs (hazardous materials testing labs). Also, there were several seismic upgrade specialty contractors as well as architects and residential historic renovation contractors. Finally, a number of historic detail suppliers were on hand with samples of their wares including clay tiles, windows, remilled lumber and millwork, etc.

The venue for the event is a historic renovation attraction itself. Historic Seattle describes the Washington Hall building: "Built in 1908, the Danish Brotherhood in America commissioned the construction of Washington Hall to house the needs of its growing fraternal organization. The building, designed by prolific Seattle architect Victor Voorhees, has served as a fraternal lodge, settlement house and center for social and cultural activities of Seattle's Danish immigrant population and many other ethnic groups.

Many Seattleites remember Washington Hall for its status as a popular performing arts venue. From 1908 until 2001, the hall was rented out for music and theatrical performances. Musicians and speakers such as Marian Anderson, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimi Hendrix, W.E.B. du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Joe Louis used Washington Hall as their venue. The building was also known as a "public dance hall" and was a popular gathering place for the local community."

You can find more information about Historic Seattle at www.historicseattle.org and the building at www.washingtonhall.org.
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