Volunteers push to save historic stone cottage in West Seattle

SEATTLE — The stone cottage has sat on Harbor Avenue Southwest in West Seattle for the past 90 years.

But you don’t have to look far to see that change is in the air.

“With the development coming and real estate prices as high as they are on this Alki corridor, houses like this don’t stand a chance,” said John Bennett.

For the last two years, Bennett and other members of the community have been working to save the historic home. But it’s facing demolition next month unless they can move it.

They’ve launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $110,000 to cover the costs of moving it and storing it for a couple of years until it finds a new permanent home.

Eva Falk built the stone cottage in the early 1930s with her mom. Eva passed in 1997.

But her granddaughter, Patrice Hollrah, who lived there at one point, shared her excitement online.

“We are thrilled that people are working to save the rock house. That’s what our family always called it, the rock house,” Hollrah said.

Organizers have even teamed up with the new property owners, Chainqui Development. The company has donated the home and $20,000 to save it.

“We got into this project because John Bennett reached out to us and told us about this brilliant idea about saving the stone house,” explained Jenny Tsen with Chainqui Development in a Seattle Films video shared online.

“It just has to be saved. It’s our history. We can’t throw our history away,” Bennett added.

That history includes more than 15,000 stones hand placed by Eva and her children.

It’s what drives Deb Barker who met Eva in the 1980s.

“I still remember her eyes and her passion for this little cottage so I’m glad to be helping it get a new life,” Barker said.

Developers are planning a seven story condo building on the site. It will have 15 condos and 23 parking spots.

Cox Media Group