Log Cabin in Kirkland to be Moved to Make Way for New Home Construction

A log cabin on Market Street, built in 1935 and a landmark to generations of Kirkland residents, will soon be moved to private property in town to make way for two new homes that will be built on the site.

A city of Kirkland spokesperson confirmed that a permit to move the cabin has been submitted by the company Architectural Innovations, operated by Kirkland resident John Kappler. Other sources tell Kirkland Patch that the owner of the location to which the cabin will be moved is reticent about publicity, so where it is going has not been announced.

City officials say no permit has been issued yet, and a date for the move is not known. On Wednesday, a work crew was seen on the cabin roof removing its stone chimney.

City of Kirkland spokeswoman Marie Stake said no demolition permit has been issued, but Building Department officials are allowing preparatory work, including taking apart the chimney and labeling its pieces so it can later be reassembled.

The cabin is at 1895 Market Street. King County records show it is owned by the Lakewood-based homebuilding company Benjamin Ryan Communities, purchased in December for $575,000. The cabin is 1,080 square feet, but the property is 21,375 square feet.

When a signboards appeared at the cabin site recently announcing that new homes would be built there, local residents began expressing significant concern. Some of it was expressed on the Facebook page “A Look to the Past: Kirkland.”

Although many assumed since it as a log cabin that the structure dated to Kirkland’s pioneers years, King County record show it was built in 1935.

Little is known about the cabin’s origins, but Loita Hawkinson, president of the Kirkland Heritage Society, says her research indicates it was likely first occupied in 1935 by a Mr. Herbert McMillan Dawson. Records from 1940 indicate he worked as a salesman of insulation.

Kirkland spokeswoman Stake said the cabin has no status as an historic landmark.

Hawkinson said that if the pending move proves true, it’s good news.

“It would be very exciting,” she said. “We’d hate to lose a structure like that.”

Kirkland Patch has calls in to the builder and architectural firm involved and will update this story when they respond.