BONUS EPISODE: Legal Challenge Update for Halting Demolition of Historic Masonic Home of WA

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel speaks with Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group working to prevent demolition of the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington. Lytle’s group is called Citizens for the Protection of Des Moines Historic Resources. They formed a coalition with Des Moines Historical Society and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and filed an appeal of the demolition permit issued in August 2025 by the City of Des Moines to property owner Zenith LLC. On Tuesday, October 21, 2025 and Wednesday, October 22, 2025, a hearing examiner for the City of Des Moines conducted a public hearing online. Lloyd Lytle joined CASCADE OF HISTORY on Thursday, October 23, 205 to give an account of what happened during the hearing, and to preview what might come next. The Masonic Home - which is also known as "Landmark on the Sound" - is a sprawling hotel-like complex built in the 1920s south of Seattle as a retirement home for Freemasons in a park-like setting with a commanding view of Puget Sound. The land and buildings are owned by a private developer called Zenith whose plans for the site have not been revealed. CASCADE OF HISTORY previously reached out to two different companies associated with Zenith to request an interview, but we have never heard back. Preservation/Demolition Permit Appeal Fundraising Campaign from Lloyd Lytle's Group https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-masonic-home-of-des-moines-support-our-appeal LIVE BROADCAST from the street in front of the Masonic Home on September 14, 2025 https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-119 Background via the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation's List of Most Endangered Places https://preservewa.org/most_endangered/masonic-home-washington/ CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station is located at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.