Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ President Robert J. Jones, author Daniel James Brown, and other members of the ASÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Shell House community gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic building, which is undergoing final stages of adaptive reuse.


Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ President Robert J. Jones, author Daniel James Brown, and other members of the ASÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Shell House community gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic building, which is undergoing final stages of adaptive reuse.

Before the oars dip their blades signaling the beginning of the Windemere Cup, before hundreds of flag-draped boats parade from Portage Bay to Lake Washington to open the boating season, the campaign to save the ASÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Shell House at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ already can be called a winner.Â

Perched on the southeast corner of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ campus, where the Montlake Cut meets Union Bay, the ASÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Shell House looks as vulnerable as it does majestic. Over the course of a century, the structure built as a critical wartime post later was the home to a group of rowers who captured the nation’s imagination before becoming an all-but-forgotten artifact of the past. Now, propelled by a wave of renewed interest, the 12,000-square-foot wooden structure is the focus of an $18.5 million campaign that will restore and renovate the space.

Recent honors to and awards for Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ faculty and staff members include a documentary film appearance, a distinguished educator award and an honor for historic preservation planning.