THE NIKE BUILDING

The Nike Building (referred from here on as “Nike”) is a structure that has been in the news lately. I’d like to provide some background information on it.

Nike was constructed sometime in the 1950’s as a command and control site for the Nike anti-ballistic missile systems that were being installed throughout the Puget Sound and elsewhere. Attempts were made to locate ABM missiles in Fort Lawton, but thanks to efforts by Senator Henry M. Jackson, these were unsuccessful.

It is made of reinforced concrete and relatively bombproof. Others are much more expert than I on the details of the Nike system, but the basic outline is that the control structure, not the actual missiles, was located in Fort Lawton. The Nike building held the computers that controlled the actual missiles, which were located at more remote sites throughout the region. Bob Kildall had written extensively about this. The City took ownership of this building when the Federal government gave the initial property to the City that became Discovery Park. The City began to use it as a convenient place to store unwanted materials. Over the years, it evolved into a storage site, including an outside storage yard for a wide range of left over construction material, and an indoor storage site for One Reel Productions, producer of the City’s popular Bumbershoot Festival at the Seattle Center.

Here's a link to a photo of the front entrance: http://www.pbase.com/pvogelzang/image/38231463.jpg

Here's a link to a photo of the storage yard:
http://www.pbase.com/pvogelzang/image/38231461.jpg

Nike is located in an area of the Park few citizens ventured. Located on the easterly slope of the hilltop containing the historic Officers Row housing and surrounded on the east by the fenced off Army Reserve’s 500 area (see my posting # ….), Nike remained a very inconspicuous and little known structure until the late 1990’s when the Army Reserve vacated the 500 area, tore down the 24 barrack buildings standing on the site and removed the barbed wire perimeter fence. Suddenly, park users were venturing into an area they hadn’t had access to before and began noticing a large, squat building built into the side of the hill and began asking the reason for it’s presence in the middle of a Park.

The Discovery Park Advisory Council (DPAC) recognized the need for Nike building removal once it began work on the adjacent 500 Area restoration project in 2000, and began to lobby Seattle Parks to vacate and demolish it, to further extend the benefit gained by return of the 500 area. No money was available for such a project, so the idea was tabled until 2002, when Larry Phillips, King County Councilmember opened hearings on the use of settlement funds from King County for County digesters located on City property in DP. He convened a group of citizens (myself included) to come up with a list of projects within the Park that would be funded by this money. When it became clear that Nike demolition was high on everyone’s list, Ken Bounds, superintendent of Seattle Parks supported the idea of demolition of Nike, estimated at a cost of approximately $1 million. The first steps have been taking by One Reel removing its materials around the summer of 2004, with only City material remaining. Currently, Nike is partially vacated and is awaiting a final decision regarding the release of WPCAC money. See my other posts regarding the WPCAC process.

Parenthetically, the Nike became caught up in the chapel demolition controversy in November 2004, when it was reviewed for possible historical status (along with the chapel). It was found to be not historic.

So next time you take a walk in DP, make a point of finding the Nike building, and imagine what it will be like once it’s demolished. It may be happening very soon.