Showing posts with label museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label museum. Show all posts

School district and Museum reach agreement on Ronald School building

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

According to the school district website, the Shoreline School District and the Shoreline Historical Museum have reached an agreement on the Ronald School building, currently occupied by the Museum and located at 749 N 175th St, one block west of Aurora on N 175th at Linden Ave N.

Front, north side of Ronald School
Under this agreement, the School District will ultimately pay the Museum $852,000 - $652,000 at the closing of the purchase and sale agreement and $200,000 when they vacate the building, which must be prior to February 1, 2011. These funds will come from the 2010 bond money for the Shorewood modernization/replacement project.

The Museum will convey its interest in the Ronald School and current ground lease to the District by September 30, 2010. The Museum will lease the Ronald School building until February 1, 2011 and a portion of the Sunset School for storage only, from September 30 to no later than June 30, 2012.
south, back side of Ronald School

The District will include the Ronald School in the design of the new Shorewood, abutting the Ronald School on the south, rear side and leaving the north, east, and west sides free. Under codes governing school buildings, the Ronald School will need to be brought up to current earthquake codes.

The Museum and its officers agree not to oppose the project either directly or indirectly and to write a letter of support for the District's application for a Certificate of Appropriateness and a Conditional Use Permit from the City of Shoreline.

The full agreement and further details are on the School District website.

The agreement does not mention the bell tower.  In the 1930s the cupola that housed the bell needed replacement and was taken down. The bell remained in place standing alone on the top of the building, but the cupola was not replaced and an earthquake in 1949 caused the bell to be removed for safety reasons. The bell is on display in the Shoreline Historical Museum.  (Information corrected.  I had the wrong earthquake.  DKH)


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Shoreline Schools, questions and answers re change of plans for Shorewood

Sunday, July 18, 2010


By Diane Hettrick

I asked some follow-up questions after the Shoreline School district's press release about incorporating Ronald School into the Shorewood design, and after hearing from the Museum which would be dispossessed by the School District's actions. My questions, as posed, and the answers follow:

1. Why are you playing hardball? Major property purchases can take a very long time. What are the deadlines on the federal money - is that the primary driver?
The state has given the District a commitment for $17 million for Shorewood, but with certain deadlines that must be met to qualify for the funding. The District has been clear with the Museum Board as to the timeline for the project. When the Museum failed to execute the Agreement in Principle despite repeated efforts over the past five months, failed to purchase an adjacent piece of property, and appealed the SEPA determination, the District felt it must move forward to keep the project on the timeline.

2. Is the design you are going back to one of the ones at the original open house, where the new school is built right into the wall / walls of the museum, or a design that leaves the 45' clearance around the Ronald School.
As you reported, the District will now return to its original plan of including the Ronald School as part of Shorewood. The minimum 45-foot clearance would only have been required if the Ronald School were to left on its own and not a part of Shorewood.

3. Are you actually planning to gut the building and use it?
Working with the King County Landmarks Commission, the Bassetti Architects will create a plan to incorporate the historic Ronald School building into the Shorewood design - honoring, preserving and restoring the original school building structure, while bringing the unreinforced brick masonry building up to code and making it a safe structure for student use.

The District’s FAQ on the Ronald School goes into more detail about restoration of the building:

4. Isn't this a second-best design and use of the site?
As far as historic preservation is concerned, the highest purposes of historic properties are the original ones for which the building was built. In this case, the historic Ronald building will be returned to use as a school, just as it served the community for nearly 60 years.

5. Is the City involved this time around in trying to find a solution?
Members of the City Council and city staff were present for a number of meetings between the District and the Museum.

6. Are you at all concerned about negative public opinion?
The District has a made a commitment to the communities it serves to modernize/replace Shorecrest and Shorewood High Schools. In February, 10,788 voters supported the bond issue to modernize/replace both high schools. We are looking forward to completing two new high schools that will serve the Shoreline and Lake Forest Park students, families and communities for decades to come.

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Statement from the School District re the Ronald School and Shoreline Historical Museum


New Shorewood to incorporate historic Ronald School building - full statement from Shoreline Schools

Despite repeated efforts over the past five months, the Shoreline School District and the Shoreline Historical Museum, currently housed in the Ronald School, have not been able to finalize the agreement to relocate the building to an adjacent site. Therefore, the Shoreline School District will now return to its original plan of incorporating the historic Ronald School building in a new Shorewood High School.

After both the Museum Board and the Shoreline School Board approved the "Agreement in Principle" in January and voters approved the February 9, 2010 $150 million bond measure to replace both Shorewood and Shorecrest High Schools, the District directed the Bassetti Architects to develop a new architectural design for the Shorewood that did not incorporate the Ronald School into the project, assuming that the building would be moved from the property. Since that time Bassetti staff has worked on the new plan exclusively.

In a surprise move on June 1, the Museum Board legally appealed the District's Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process related to relocating the Ronald School building to an adjacent site.

As efforts to purchase the necessary adjacent property by the Museum stalled, July 1 was determined by the District to be the last possible date to direct the architects to return to the pre-February 2010 design plans which incorporated the Ronald School into the Shorewood design.

"Any further delay in this decision will most certainly disrupt the design, construction timeline, and threatens the significant state funding of approximately $17 million associated with the replacement of Shorewood High School," said Superintendent Sue Walker.

Representatives from the Museum and the District have met several times since the February election to discuss the agreement to move the Ronald School. Consistent with the District's previous communications on the subject, the District clarified three items that needed to be in place by July 1 in order for the District to know there is a good faith effort and/or the ability on the part of the Museum to execute the "Agreement in Principle" reached in January. The three items were:

  1. A signed purchase agreement on a piece of property adjacent to the Shorewood site.
  2. A signed legal agreement with the District stipulating all of the necessary conditions to be met outlined in the "Agreement in Principle" and discussed at the meetings.
  3. A written withdrawal of the SEPA appeal filed by the Museum Board.

The Museum did not secure the necessary property to which the Ronald School can be moved and there is no signed agreement, other than the original agreement in principle. The SEPA appeal has not been withdrawn and is still in progress. The District feels that it has no choice but to move ahead with plans to incorporate the Ronald School building into the Shorewood design.


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The Museum's side of the story

Sunday, July 11, 2010

When the school district released information that it intended to move back to previous plans for the Ronald School (see Evan Smith's article) because the Museum had not fulfilled its agreements, I sent Henry Reed a set of very blunt questions, which he answers in the following article. Diane Hettrick, Editor

From Henry Reed, President, Board of Trustees, Shoreline Historical Museum

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to present the facts about the Museum’s present situation regarding the “Agreement in Principle” with the Shoreline School District. The answers below follow the four questions that you posed.

In your first question, (“. . . what made you file suit against the school?”), the Museum did not file a suit – this is a mischaracterization of the process.  [My error -Editor] The Museum simply appealed the School District’s decision under the State Environmental Policy Act (“SEPA”) to issue a determination of non-significance with regard to the District’s SEPA checklist. The problem with the District’s determination was that the District had declared the effect of taking over the Ronald School for instructional purposes to be “non-significant.” The Museum did not agree with this assessment because our program has been built, since 1976, around the restoration and utilization of the Shoreline community’s most historic asset – Ronald School. The potential impacts to the Ronald School Building and the Museum’s programming are significant and should be treated as such in the final determination. For this reason, we appealed the District’s determination of non-significance. The heritage of a community is important. If our efforts to acquire property to which we could move our Museum were to fail, and if the District were to convert Ronald School to instructional use, the Shoreline community (with Lake Forest Park and North Seattle) would lose a very essential asset. Our appeal seeks recognition of this fact. We do not want it hidden as “non-significant.”.We want to know how the District would mitigate this loss. This is the reason for our appeal.

However, our appeal in no way detracts on the Museum’s commitment to honor the Agreement in Principle. In fact, it demonstrates our commitment to the historical nature of the building, and our mission and goal to make sure it is preserved, consistent with the Agreement in Principle.

The second part of your first question asks if there is a problem securing property for the new location of the Museum. The answer to that is a clear “yes.” We made an offer that was above the appraised price for the parcel in question, and our offer was the highest that our Board of Trustees could allow for prudent management. After nearly five months of appraisals, discussions and negotiations, the property of first choice is now likely to be sold to someone else. The Museum had already had pre-application meetings at the City planning department, and spent several thousand dollars on architect’s fees for the design of that property. However, the Museum Board is still committed to finding a solution to this challenge and is actively working toward this end.

You ask, what is our response, now that the District is planning to incorporate Ronald School into the (new) school design? We do not control what the District decides to design; in fact, months ago they showed us renderings of Ronald School as a part of the new High School. We are continuing our efforts to find a suitable site for our Museum, while the District continues its design alternatives.

As for the “Agreement in Principle”: we take that agreement very seriously. We are working to make it happen. Nowhere in that agreement is there mention of deadline dates, such as July 1, 2010 or October 1, 2010. Those dates are the District’s subsequent proposals, but they were not adopted by our Board, nor by the School Board. We have worked hard to pass the Bond Election for the District, and the final passage by 426 votes was clearly due to the work of our Museum members and supporters. We are still working to make the “Agreement in Principle” succeed.

And finally, you ask if we think that the controversy will affect our funding sources? While the impacts of the School District’s proposal could complicate our fundraising efforts, we believe that our funding sources are firm; we have heard nothing to refute that. To the extent that the future of the Museum is threatened, one would think that Museum supporters, including funding sources, would rally rather than surrender. That has been our experience so far.


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Museum Board President says Vote YES for Shoreline School Bond and Levies

Tuesday, January 26, 2010


Henry J. Reed, President of the Board of the Shoreline Historical Museum, holds up a Vote Yes for Shoreline Schools button just after he spoke at the January 26 meeting of the Shoreline City Council. 

(seated left to right: Chris Eggen, Doris McConnell, Deputy Mayor Will Hall, Mayor Keith McGlashan, Shari Tracey, Terry Scott, and Chris Roberts).


Mr. Reed reported that the Shoreline Historical Museum Board had unanimously approved the Agreement in Principle with the Shoreline School District at its meeting on Saturday and that the Shoreline School Board had unanimously approved the Agreement at its meeting a few hours earlier.

Mr. Reed urged everyone to vote yes for all three school measures and to mail in their ballots now. Also speaking at the council meeting to endorse the bond & levies and urge Yes votes was Bob Phelps, immediate past president of the museum board.

Following a presentation by Superintendent Sue Walker and public comment with no speakers against the school measures, the Shoreline City Council unanimously voted for a resolution in support of the school bond and levies.

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The Shoreline School Board and the Shoreline Historical Museum Board have approved an agreement in principle

Monday, January 25, 2010

By Craig Degginger, Public Information Officer
Shoreline Schools


The Shoreline School Board and the Shoreline Historical Museum Board have approved an agreement in principle that will address both parties’ interests. This agreement will allow the Museum to support passage of the February 9, 2010 School Bond Proposition #2 and assures the future of the Shoreline Historical Museum in the Ronald School Building. The agreement is dependent upon passage of the School Bond.

The Shoreline School Board approved the agreement at a special meeting on Monday, January 25. The Shoreline Historical Museum Board approved the agreement at its meeting on Saturday, January 23.

• The Shoreline Historical Museum (Museum) agrees to purchase approximately 19,500 sq. ft. of property adjacent to the Shorewood High School site.

• The Shoreline School District (District) agrees to pay for the relocation of the old Ronald School Building, which houses the Museum, to the adjacent property purchased by the Museum, and to pay for the costs associated with the relocation itself, including the move, utility connections, and repair costs attributable to the move, resulting in the Ronald School being in the same condition as it was before the move.

• Upon relocation of the structure the District will convey the building title free and clear to the Museum at no cost.

• The District agrees to allow the Museum to utilize Sunset Elementary School for Museum operations and storage during the structural relocation of the Ronald School Building at no cost. The Museum, however, will be responsible for the operational and utility costs during their occupancy of Sunset Elementary School.

• The District and Museum agree to work in good faith to negotiate, resolve and coordinate the details and legal issues involved in implementing this Agreement in Principle, in an effort to accomplish it consistent with the planned Shorewood High School implementation schedule.


Shoreline School District
Susanne Walker
Marcia Harris
Michael P. Jacobs
David Wilson

Shoreline Historical Museum
Victoria Stiles
Henry J. Reed
Robert Phelps

Facilitators:
Ken Noreen
Robert L. Olander

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School bond and levy to be discussed at school board, SL city council

Sunday, January 24, 2010

In view of the very recent accord between the Shoreline School District and the Shoreline Historical Museum, the Shoreline School Board has changed its normal Committee of the Whole informal meeting on Monday at 4:30 pm, to a special session, formal meeting, so the board can review and vote on accepting the agreement with the museum.

At 7:30 pm, the Shoreline City Council will consider a resolution to support all three school measures on the ballot. This is expected to be the first item on the agenda.

The School Board meets at the Shoreline Center, 18520 1st Ave NE, in the Board room by the main lobby. The City Council meets at City Hall, 17500 Midvale Ave N.

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NEWS FLASH: School District and Museum Board reach agreement

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Representatives from the Shoreline School District and the Shoreline Historical Museum Board of Trustees met on January 21, 2010 and have reached an agreement in principle that will address both parties’ interests. This agreement will allow the Museum to support passage of the February 9, 2010 School Bond Proposition #2 and assures the future of the Shoreline Historical Museum in the Ronald School Building. The agreement is dependent upon passage of the School Bond measure.

The details of this agreement will be presented for approval by each group’s Boards and made public by January 25, 2010.


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School District plans for the Ronald School building

Tuesday, January 19, 2010




What are the current plans for the historic Ronald School building?


Ronald School was originally constructed as a four-room schoolhouse in 1912 and later expanded to its current eight-classroom configuration in 1926. It was used for school purposes for almost 60 years, until 1971. The School District has allowed it to be used by the Shoreline Historical Museum since 1976. It is currently a City of Shoreline landmark structure.

The School Board has selected preferred conceptual designs for both Shorewood and Shorecrest High Schools. At Shorewood, the conceptual design incorporates the historic Ronald School in a meaningful way into the new school, and at the same time bridging the past history of Shoreline with the new school building by proposing to share the space with the Shoreline Historical Museum.

Would the museum stay in the building if it were incorporated into a new Shorewood?



Yes, the conceptual schematic design for Shorewood includes spaces for visual and performing arts and for the Museum.

So the Museum hasn’t been evicted?


There is no eviction of the Shoreline Historical Museum. Even if the Museum was to leave Ronald School, the earliest construction at Shorewood could begin is 2011.




Proposed site plan for Shoreline High School

Would the building be torn down?


NO, nor would the District want to have Ronald School demolished. It is a City of Shoreline official historical landmark, and as such is a protected structure.

What would a restoration of the historic Ronald School look like?

The conceptual plans for Shorewood High School incorporates the Ronald School into the design, bridging the historic landmark structure with the brand new building. The plan proposes Shorewood to use the upper two floors for visual and performing arts to support the school’s award-winning programs, while the lower level would be renovated to accommodate Shoreline Historical Museum exhibition space.

The District has hired Bassetti Architects, a firm with extensive experience in historic buildings. Since 1947, Bassetti has been the architect for many well-loved and long-lived Seattle buildings. This includes the historical renovation and restoration of several schools and buildings, including the Pike Place Market, Town Hall and Trinity Church.
Roosevelt High School, the Latona (John Stanford International) School, Franklin High School and West Seattle High School in the Seattle School District; Guggenheim Hall and Mary Gates Hall at the University of Washington, and Stadium High School in Tacoma also feature Bassetti designs involving restoration of historic structures.

At Stadium the grand historic structure, originally built as a hotel in the 1890s, was brought into the 21st century with complete seismic, life safety, mechnical, electrical, ADA, and technology upgrades. Exhaustive research by Bassetti combined with careful design allowed the modern amenities to blend seamlessly with the beloved landmark “castle.” Bassetti Architects received the 2007 Valerie Sivinski Award for Historic Preservation for its work on Stadium.

At Roosevelt (pictured), Bassetti designed a remarkable renovation of the 1921 historic building, including the transformation of the three-story school auditorium in a new library and learning resource center space.

Lorne McConachie, principal of Bassetti Architects, has served for eight years on the Seattle Historic Preservation Board – including six years as chair. He has also served on the Pioneer Square Preservation Board for three years - currently as vice-chair.

If the Ronald School were left as present, without seismic retrofit, what would have to be done to ensure the safety of Shorewood High School students?

The District has been advised that to protect students, a new Shorewood High School would have to be set back at least 45 feet on all three sides from the Ronald School, which is an unreinforced brick masonry building. Any decision on setbacks between Shorewood and Ronald, including barriers to keep students away from that area, would need to be resolved during the planning process, which makes these types of planning decisions.




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Rally in support of the Shoreline Historical Museum

Monday, January 18, 2010



Over 80 people gathered on the steps of the Ronald School today to show their support for the Shoreline Historical Museum. The Museum is located on property leased from the Shoreline School District, which wants to reclaim the land to use for a new Shorewood High School. Ownership of the Ronald School building is in dissent, with the Museum holding to a 1976 agreement which transferred ownership of the building from the school district to the group starting the museum. The school district points to a more recent lease agreement where the school district is named as the owner.

Proponents of the Museum are threatening to vote against the school bond measure on the February ballot. Museum supporter Jan Stewart said “We’d like to vote Yes, but only if the District guarantees that the Museum will be protected in place. I don’t like that the District is forcing voters to chose between our Museum and schools.” 


The School Bond for $150 Million will be on a ballot measure coming up February 9 along with two levies. A total of 60% YES, must be achieved for the Bond to pass. Failure of the bond would deny the funding for the construction of both Shorewood and Shorecrest High Schools.

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Rally Monday in support of Shoreline Historical Museum

A group supporting preservation of the Shoreline Historical Museum in the old Ronald School building has scheduled a rally in support of keeping the Museum at its current site for Monday afternoon.

The Martin-Luther-King-Day rally is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18 on the Museum steps in Shoreline.

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Under no conditions would the School District consider demolishing or destroying the Ronald School

Thursday, January 14, 2010


by Craig Degginger
Shoreline School District Public Information Officer

Under no conditions would the District consider demolishing or destroying the Ronald School building in the process of replacing Shorewood High School. It is a “landmark” building, with great educational significance to our community.


• Current architectural plans incorporate the historic Ronald School building into the Shorewood design - honoring, preserving and restoring the original school building, while bringing the unreinforced brick masonry building up to code and making it a safe structure for community/student use.

• Current Shorewood plans propose sharing the restored Ronald School building with the Shoreline Historical Museum through a legal lease agreement, incorporating display cases in the new school’s performing arts center for Museum exhibits and community access.

• Conversations between the District, the Museum, and the City of Shoreline are continuing and additional alternatives are being explored, including, but not limited to:

  1. Option to acquire property adjacent to the Shorewood site as part of an alternative solution for the Ronald School and Museum.
  2. Option for the District to move the Ronald School building to an adjacent site.
  3. Option for the Museum to move to another Shoreline site, including one option that would minimize or eliminate the need for the Museum to pay rent.
Additional information is available on the school district website.

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Ronald School building and Shoreline High School planning #2: Who actually owns the Ronald School?


Saturday, January 9, 2010


As the District has learned through (school district attorney) Mr. Hill’s legal research, the existing ground lease and prior conveyance of Ronald School to the (Shoreline Historical) museum does not comply with statutory and constitutional requirements and is void. The issue needs to be addressed legally.

Under the lease as written, the right of the Museum to use the land on which the Ronald School building is located is limited to that set forth in the ground lease agreement between the Museum and the School District dated March 21, 1989. The lease will terminate on March 21, 2014. The lease provides that in the event the School District needs the land for District purposes, the lease may be cancelled at any time upon 6 months written notice to the Museum.

In addition, on November 17, 1999, the Museum granted an option to the District to purchase the building for $10.00. In that option agreement, the District agreed not to seek to recapture the building “prior to considering and eliminating all other reasonable alternatives for providing the District with needed facilities.” The option agreement expires on the same date as the Ground Lease Agreement, March 21, 2014.

Letter to the City of Shoreline regarding the Ronald School building, May 19, 2009.


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Ronald School building and Shorewood High School planning #1

Wednesday, January 6, 2010


As planning continues for the modernization/replacement of Shorewood High School, the Shoreline School District has been gathering important facts regarding the Ronald School building. This information provides our community with the background necessary to consider a variety of options with respect to the future of the Ronald School building and its current tenant, the Shoreline Historical Museum. 
 The District recognizes the value of the Museum in our community and encourages all stakeholders to share in the problem solving around this issue. The District has held several meetings with representatives from the Shoreline Historical Museum and the City of Shoreline to reach a resolution agreeable to all parties involved.


What are the current plans for the historic Ronald School building?


Ronald School was originally constructed as a four-room schoolhouse in 1912 and later expanded to its current eight-classroom configuration in 1926. It was used for school purposes for almost 60 years, until 1971. The School District has allowed it to be used by the Shoreline Historical Museum since 1976. It is currently a City of Shoreline landmark structure.

The School Board has selected preferred conceptual designs for both Shorewood and Shorecrest High Schools. At Shorewood, the conceptual design incorporates the historic Ronald School in a meaningful way into the new school, and at the same time bridging the past history of Shoreline with the new school building by proposing to share the space with the Shoreline Historical Museum.

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Little Things: A World of Miniatures at the Shoreline Museum

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Shoreline Historical Museum announces a new exhibit: Little Things: A World of Miniatures.

The exhibit will run through the end of February.

Admission to the Museum and hands-on activities are free. The Shoreline Historical Museum is located at 749 N 175th, Shoreline 98133.

For more information call 206-542-7111 or visit the website.

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Fairley home honored with Trillium Heritage Award

Sunday, November 29, 2009





The home of Sen. Darlene and Mr. Michael Fairley in Lake Forest Park was honored with the Trillium Heritage Award, presented by the Shoreline Historical Museum at its annual meeting November 21 2009.

The Trillium award recognizes outstanding examples of pre-1941 architecture in the communities of Lake Forest Park, North Seattle and Shoreline. According to the Shoreline Historical Museum, the purpose of the Award is to “raise awareness of the community’s past, as well as encourage excellence in maintenance and perpetuation of historic buildings in accordance with their original style.”

The Fairley’s home, built in 1924, is already on the King County historic homes list. It is a modified English Cotswold style, built as a family home by Gardner Gwinn, who also built the Ben Franklin Hotel in downtown Seattle. The Ben Franklin was demolished in 1980 to build the Westin Hotel.

Darlene Fairley says that she and her husband were attracted to the house because of the large Batchelder fireplace in the living room with its original American Art Pottery tiles, as well as the three-layer oak floors, the mahogany trim and the leaded glass windows.  “As antique dealers, we appreciate the artistry of vintage homes.  This is actually the newest home we have owned."
 

The Fairleys found out about the fish pond when they were inspecting the property and their then-two year old son ran into a grove of trees and dropped out of sight. Michael Fairley dug the toddler out of what proved to be a 12 foot marble-bottomed fish and water lily pond which was completely filled with debris.

Mrs. Gwinn told the Fairleys that there had originally been a sundial on the lawn but the family who purchased the home from them parked a large piece of construction equipment on the lawn and knocked over the sun dial. The Fairleys recently commissioned a sun dial from artist Tony Angell. Forgetting to mention that they wanted it to be functional, Tony included his trademark birds, resting on the top of the dial. 

The "C" on the chimney was originally a "G" for Gwinn. The next owners, whose name began with a "C", chiseled off part of the letter to fit their name. "Since my maiden name was Cook," said Sen. Fairley, "I was happy to leave it that way." 

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