Restaurants

Spud Fish and Chips in 2015 – Image Credit: Joe Mabel (CC by 3.0)

Last week, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation board voted to deny historic landmark status to the Spud Fish and Chips building on East Green Lake Way North. The restaurant was constructed in 1959, and designed by architect Edward L. Cushman in the iconic “Googie” style, complete with butterfly roof. The application for landmark status was put forward by the Johnson Partnership on behalf of site owners Blueprint Capital Services, likely as a preemptive move before development. Potential developers will often submit applications to prove that a site is not historic, or to see if some part of the building can be declared historic for tax purposes. Current plans for the site include a four-story building of efficiency apartments, with the restaurant moving into the ground floor. The design also may make use of the iconic restaurant sign, leaving some remnant of the site’s Googie past.