Bellevue native Nils Dickmann’s fevered race to spare Old Main’s oldest structure has come to an end, the Philbrook House’s owner now ready to raze the historic structure to make way for an office building. The diamond store is keeping space available for an interpretive piece on its property, announcing where the house once sat.
When Dickmann found out James Gordon Fine Diamonds needed the Victorian-era house off its property behind its Main Street storefront to construct a new office building, he began raising money to have the Philbrook House relocated. With time getting tight, the Bellevue City Council had staff look for temporary and permanent site options. Staff came back and told the council the cost was too high and the expiration date too close.
“I guess having something on the site is better than nothing,” Dickmann said Tuesday, unable to buy more time needed to possibly relocate the Philbrook House to a ranch in Carnation. “I still think we did make a lot of noise.”
That noise was heard by the city, which is salvaging portions of the Philbrook House to possibly complement an interpretive space honoring the old structure that will be sited somewhere on the James Gordon property.
The Eastside Heritage Center has been charged with documenting the Philbrook House’s history, which could take up to a year. The EHC’s collections manager photographed the site extensively last Thursday.
The Philbrook House began as a farmhouse and then a residence for Civil War veteran Alphonso Philbrook before becoming a restaurant in the 1920s, which was operated by Florence Carter and served whalers headquartered in Meydenbauer Bay. In the 1940s it was a plumbing store and then a bakery. It served as various antique businesses from the 70s to 90s.
“There’s been research on the structure and Mr. Philbrook, but not a lot on all of the businesses that have been there over time,” said EHC director Heather Trescases. “Within the next year, we’ll be doing our researching and developing our interpretive panel.”
Bellevue parks planning manager Glenn Kost said he met with EHC and Gordon James representatives last week to identify pieces of the house that could be saved and incorporated into a display that would be featured either on the new building or next to it.
“Some basic celebration of what this used to be,” he said, “and then work with Eastside Heritage for some kind of interpretation.”
Gordon James’ construction permit already requires its new building to display a bronze plaque commemorating the Philbrook House, Kost said, but the requirement lacks specificity and the council wanted to do more to honor the structure. The owner seems willing to accept something more, he said, and Kost hopes to have an idea within the next two weeks.
“There’s nothing finalized, but I’m pretty optimistic we’ll be able to work something out,” Kost said.
