October 1st, 2007 @ 12:53 am by Cliffe | Sorted Historic Buildings
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour one of the great hidden Seattle treasures, the Rolland Denny mansion
Lochkelden. The house is located just south of Magnuson Park in Windermere and was built in 1907 for Rolland Denny, who was a child when the
Denny Party arrived in the area in 1851. The 100 year old Spanish-style home was open to the public as
MOHAI, the
Duwamish Tribe, and the
Unification Church (who own the building) held a celebration complete with grounds tours and live music. The home was bought by the Unification Church in 1974 for a whopping $175,000 and they have since done an admirable job renovating it. Well then, let’s have a look. As always, click on the image for a larger view.
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Back view of Lochkelden. The porch looks out onto a striking view of Lake Washington. The first thing that stands out when you see the home is the numerous shaped parapets. Also notice the richly detailed molded plaster decoration. Click here for this view of the home from 1926.
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Front and side view of the home. Here you can see the typical hipped roof along with brackets under the projecting eaves. The sides of the home are anchored by buttress piers. Click here for an image of Rolland Denny from 1938.
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Close up shot of the back side of the house.
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Interior shot. Sadly, much of the house was off limits to the public.
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Wood beams and ornate fabric patterns fill most of the home.
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The grand dining room features beautiful wainscoting and buffet cabinetry.
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May 13th, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
To Site Owner,
I just wanted to thank you for a great website and service that you provide to those of us that treasure the remaining historic character of Seattle as represented in its’ buildings. I was pleased to have discoverd that last September you attended the Rolland Denny Mansion Centennial.
I am the building’s property manager and was the driving force behind the centennial. Both positions are unpaid and have been done out of love and respect for this great building and the history it represents. I am a self employed carpenter and along with other volunteers in 2001 we began the arduous task of remodeling with a very limited budget. Prior to this it was in such a state our insurance company dropped us. On the foundation of years of work the building could be opened for the first time to the public.
Seattle is the last major city to be founded by pioneer settlers because of this there are still 3 people alive that can tell firsthand stories of a person (Rolland)that was here when Seattle was a single log cabin. Two of the three came to our event. Additionally, M.O.H.A.I. was largely founded from the mansion.
I read your lament that not more of the building was open for veiwing. We are in the planning stages to have an anual tour in conjuction with M.O.H.A.I. Hopefully we will have more areas to veiw. Finally we are having a “thank you” dinner on May 21st to thank those that made the centennial possible. The Lochkelden website should be updated shortly after that. I will try to check your website from time to time to see the effort of others with a similar passion.
Sincerely,
Scott Dolfay