Music and a unanimous vote saved the downtown Seattle music venue, the Showbox, from the wrecking ball as the Seattle City Council offered a temporary lifeline.
The City Council extended the Pike Place Market historical district to include the Showbox and protect it from demolition.
Supporters of the Showbox, the decades-old music venue in the shadow of the Pike Place Market, made their case to the council through music and impassioned pleas.
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"I consider all these people my friends and family," Shelley Murphy told the council. "As far as I'm concerned, they want the same thing I want. And that's just for this building to stand."
"We don't need 442 luxury apartments," said Jordan Quinn, "adding millions to corporate profits which will not benefit me or the community."
The movement to save the Showbox has gained momentum as word filtered out that it might come down, replaced by a 44-story luxury high-rise.
It seemed to bring into sharp relief the fears of many longtime residents that the city they know and love is slipping away.
"Yes, it's about saving our city," said council member Kshama Sawant.
It turns out all of the City Council members agreed. They ignored a last-minute attempt by the developers to delay the vote.
Instead, they voted unanimously to temporarily extend the Pike Place Market historical district to include the Showbox.
It was greeted with applause and hugs from the venue's fervent supporters.
This reprieve is to expire in June of next year.
But the City Council is promising to find whatever tools it needs to save the Showbox and to make this new historical designation, permanent.
"The Showbox isn't going anywhere," predicted council member Lorena Gonzalez.
Cox Media Group
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