P-I's globe to be nominated for landmark status

Three Seattle City Council members say they will nominate the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's distinctive 30-foot-diameter globe for historic landmark status.

Tim Burgess, Sally Clark and Jean Godden — all former journalists — came up with the idea after they endorsed landmark designations for five buildings during a meeting of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee Friday.

"It's not like anyone is talking about carting it away, but it needs protection because it's an icon, like the Space Needle or the Elephant Car Wash sign," Godden said today of the 60-year-old globe, which is on top of P-I offices on Elliott Avenue. Godden worked for the P-I for 17 years and for The Seattle Times for 12 years.

The three council members plan to submit a nomination to the Landmarks Preservation Board in the coming week. Some Seattleites have worried about the globe's future since the P-I published its last printed issue March 17 and launched a revamped www.seattlepi.com Web site.