Any old buyer won't do in Kirkland

When it comes to taking care of its history, Kirkland deserves high marks.

Despite the proliferation of minimansions around the downtown core, tear-downs of significantly historic houses have been rare.

In 1977 and 1978, the city held historic-home tours to showcase 15 such buildings. Thirty years later, all of them still stand.

That may not last.

Some have been preserved only by being picked up and moved. And now another may be moved, while yet another just went on the market.

"That's what scares me," said Susie Creger, who with her husband has listed the 1899 Trueblood House for sale.

"There are just a few houses left from [city founder] Peter Kirk's time, and I'm afraid someone will buy it for the lot and view, not for the house."

The most famous Kirkland house to be scooped up and moved was the Shumway Mansion. Back in 1977, when the Kirkland Historic Home Tour was held, the house was at 525 Lake St. S. In 1985, it was moved to north Kirkland to become a bed and breakfast. It recently has reverted to a private residence.

The other is a home owned by Ken and Phyllis Hollingsworth that used to be on Lake Street. Now it faces Seventh Avenue South.

"We've added a small addition and live on the upper floor, but the house is still here," said Ken Hollingsworth.

But the building that was once Green's Funeral Home, at 400 State St., historically called the Nettleton Mansion, is now on the move.

The house, built in 1914, was bought by CamWest Development several years ago. It will be moved to the southwest corner of the lot and sold as a single-family residence. Then CamWest will build several new single-family homes next door.

Meanwhile, the Kirkland Heritage Society shares the Cregers' nervousness about the Trueblood House, which went on the market this week. They consider it endangered now. "We've been very fortunate that a lot of historical places were occupied or owned by the same families for a number of years," said Bob Burke, spokesman for the society. "When they've changed hands, the people who have purchased them have also been interested in preserving historic buildings."

Creger said she hopes that happens with her house. The two-story wood house at 127 Seventh Ave. has a view of downtown Kirkland and Lake Washington. But houses on either side and across the street have been replaced.

She and her husband, Chet, bought it in 1973. It was then vacant. As they stood in front, the letter carrier walked by.

"He told me, 'You don't want to buy that house. The chimney is crooked.' I didn't listen," Susie Creger said.

They tracked down the owner, an elderly woman who had lived there for 50 years. The chimney was fine, but the house needed work.

"My parents restored an old house, so I knew what we were getting into," Creger said. "But even they were overwhelmed when they first saw this house."

The couple spent years scraping paint, repairing, repainting, restoring, rewiring and replacing plumbing. It has a modern, forced-air furnace along with the original, unfinished, root-cellar basement. They preserved architectural details, including decorative woodwork around the doors and windows and the fir floors.

They raised three daughters in the home, and it's been featured several times in newspaper and magazine stories.

"I feel like we've been stewards of the property," Creger said. "It was our responsibility to keep the heart of the house, particularly the outside shell, intact."

The house was name after Dr. Barclay Trueblood, who arrived in Kirkland in the early 1900s. The name of the person who built the house has been lost, Creger said.

The Cregers moved to Whidbey Island three years ago and have been renting the Trueblood House. It took her that long, Creger said, to consider selling it. But it's time to let it go.

She and her husband paid $12,500 for the house in 1973. It is listed for $895,000.

"That seems so absurd to me," she said. "I just hope whoever buys it feels like we do."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com