The City of Everett was awarded a grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) to complete a National Register of Historic Places nomination for a downtown district.
The City commissioned BOLA Architecture + Planning to develop this nomination. The project involved reviews of previous property inventories and historical documentation, determination of the district boundaries, additional property research, consultation with property owners and DAHP, and creation of the nomination report with narrative descriptions as well as associated maps and graphics.
Downtown Everett includes late 19th- and early 20th-century commercial blocks, with a number of institutional and public buildings, such as a National Guard Armory, Labor Temple, fraternal halls, and a fire station. Together these buildings illustrate Everett's history as an industrial town from initial development by the Everett Land Company in 1891, to industrial growth in the early 1900s, through the 1920s boom, and into post war era of the 1950s. Establishment of this National Register Historic District allows for financial incentives for preservation and rehabilitation of buildings, and assists local efforts at heritage tourism.