Waldo Hospital fails to get landmark tag

Waldo Hospital in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of North Seattle was denied landmark status in an emotionally charged 5-3 vote of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board on Wednesday.

Camp Fire USA, a nonprofit youth agency that has occupied the building for the past 40 years, sold the 1.6-acre Waldo property to developers in 2006, and Prescott Homes subsequently unveiled a plan to build 40 low-rise homes and townhouses.

Maple Leaf residents argued that demolishing the former hospital would erase the contributions that its founder, William Waldo, made to the community and the practice of osteopathy.

"Our community grew up around Waldo Hospital," said David Miller, a Maple Leaf volunteer. "Eighty-three years later, it is still a jewel in our neighborhood."

Landmark designation is determined based on six criteria — including the building's cultural history or association with a significant figure — and at least one of the six must be met to award the designation.

Camp Fire argued that Waldo Hospital — excepting its small cluster of 80-year-old trees — harbored little historical significance, and Dr. Guenter Risse, an expert in the history of medicine, feared that to elevate Waldo's historical status would be a "distortion."

"I am thrilled with the way the decision went," said Nancy Waldo Smith, granddaughter of William Waldo, who previously has spoken out against designating the hospital as a landmark.

"My grandfather would not want an old building as his legacy."

CORRECTION: The Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board voted 5-3 Wednesday against designating Waldo Hospital in the Maple Leaf neighborhood as a historical landmark. The original version of this item incorrectly reported the vote as 3-2.