University of Washington President Robert J. Jones, author Daniel James Brown, and other members of the ASUW Shell House community gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic building, which is undergoing final stages of adaptive reuse.
Before the oars dip their blades signaling the beginning of the Windemere Cup, before hundreds of flag-draped boats parade from Portage Bay to Lake Washington to open the boating season, the campaign to save the ASUW Shell House at the University of Washington already can be called a winner.
Perched on the southeast corner of the University of Washington campus, where the Montlake Cut meets Union Bay, the ASUW Shell House looks as vulnerable as it does majestic. Over the course of a century, the structure built as a critical wartime post later was the home to a group of rowers who captured the nation’s imagination before becoming an all-but-forgotten artifact of the past. Now, propelled by a wave of renewed interest, the 12,000-square-foot wooden structure is the focus of an $18.5 million campaign that will restore and renovate the space.
Recent honors to and awards for UW faculty and staff members include a documentary film appearance, a distinguished educator award and an honor for historic preservation planning.