Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant led a City Hall rally Wednesday, urging people to keep fighting to save the Showbox. The music venue with a long history could be turned into a highrise apartment.
The Showbox, located on 1st Avenue near the Pike Place Market, has been around for 79 years. Decades ago, Duke Ellington graced the stage. More recently, local favorites like Pearl Jam and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have performed there.
But what might be next for the Showbox is a teardown.
The pre-application has been submitted. Onni Group, a Vancouver B.C.-based developer, wants to turn the music venue into a mixed-use, multifamily tower with apartment units and retail space.
Nate Omdal is a musician and lead organizer at the American Federation of Musicians Local 76493.
"It represents a lot of the cultural identity discussion Seattle is having right now. What are historical landmarks? What are the businesses we want to preserve going forward? What is significant to the growth of the city?" he asked.
Omdal was among a group of musicians that arrived at City Hall to make a plea before the Landmarks Preservation Board.
Jay Middleton, a musician who has performed at the Showbox, addressed the board.
"The last thing I want to see on behalf of the citizens of Seattle is art being ripped out of Seattle by developers," said Middleton.
The brief comments made Wednesday are just the beginning of a longer process to determine the site's status.
In a statement about the Showbox, the Onni Group said it's "working with the Department of Neighborhoods to nominate the structure as a Seattle Landmark. The company looks forward to working with all stakeholders including the City and Landmark Preservation Board to determine the Landmark status of the building. During this process the Showbox Theatre will continue to operate under the management of AEG, which is the current tenant and operator of the Showbox Theatre."
In a letter, City Councilmember Kshama Sawant wrote, "As a mega development corporation, Onni will no doubt hope that the Board will decide not to preserve any part of the building that will conflict with their multi-million-dollar development plans. We obviously hope, on the other hand, that Board will not just preserve the facade, but enable Seattle's music community to continue to function at the venue."
Next week, Sawant says she intends to prepare a City Council resolution urging the Landmarks Preservation Board to preserve the Showbox inside and outside.
