A stunning 19th century mansion in Seattle, sold for $6 millionis about to be demolished because its last owners were Moonies – members of the Unification Church.
Located on the shores of Lake Washington, the three-story Revival mansion in Spanish Mission was once home to the family of early Seattle pioneers, including Rolland Denny, son of the city’s founder, Arthur Denny.
Later in the 1970s, it was purchased by the Unification Church when the religion was still in its infancy and served as the domicile of founder Sun Myung Moon, his wife and their followers.
Leonard Garfield, the director of the Museum of History & Industry, described the house as ‘one of the great private estates from one of Seattle’s golden eras’, as reported by Seattle Times.
However, the iconic property can’t even be nominated as a historic landmark because the state Supreme Court has exempted religious entities from landmark designation unless their owners support or seek it.
A stunning 19th-century mansion in Seattle sold for $6 million is to be demolished because its last owners were Moonies – members of the Unification Church
Located on the shores of Lake Washington, the three-story Spanish Mission Revival mansion was once the family home of early Seattle pioneers, including Rolland Denny, son of city founder Arthur Denny
Later in the 1970s, it was purchased by the Unification Church when the religion was still in its infancy and served as the domicile of founders Sun Myung Moon (left), his wife (right) and their followers
Rolland and his wife Alice Kellogg commissioned Bebb & Mendel, Seattle’s most prominent architectural firm at the time, to design and build the mansion.
After construction was completed in 1907, the couple called their new home ‘Loch Kelden’, an amalgamation of ‘loch’ meaning lake in Scots and the couple’s names Kellogg and Denny.
With sweeping views of Lake Washington and Mountain Rainier, the property served as the ideal wilderness retreat accessible only by boat.
Notably, the mansion’s carriage house was not built for cars, but horses, which Rolland would ride on the gravel Windermere Road.
In the early 1970s, Moon moved to the United States and began giving public speeches across the country.
Meanwhile, he commissioned a small group of his followers to travel around and buy property to establish the church in important cities.
The Unification Church acquired the mansion for $175,000 in 1974. Since then, the mansion had been used as a residence for members of the American Unification Church and occasionally hosted Moon and his wife.
The house was listed by Sotheby’s International Realty in 2022 for $5.99 million, but remained unsold until recently.
According to author Jean Sherrard, the unknown buyer has installed a confidentiality agreement that prevents anyone from visiting the estate or documenting its condition.
Scott Dolfay, the church’s retired property manager and caretaker for more than two decades, invited historians to the mansion for a farewell tour and had to cancel it two days before the visit.
“At the last minute, he contacted us and said the estate has essentially been sold and the buyer has installed a confidentiality agreement,” Sherrard told KUOW.
The developers even denied access to the grounds to take some repeat photos of the mansion, Sherrard said.
‘So we realized the only way we could get our “now” picture was to walk on the water below and shoot up.’
Rolland (pictured) and his wife Alice Kellogg commissioned Bebb & Mendel, Seattle’s most prominent architectural firm at the time, to design and build the mansion in the 1900s
The house was listed by Sotheby’s International Realty in 2022 for $5.99 million, but remained unsold until recently
Sherrard and Maria Denny, Rolland’s great-great-grandchildren, recently went on a boat trip and saw the spectacular house from the water.
‘That’s sad. Especially being here right now out in front of it and remembering what a truly spectacular home and how stately and beautiful it is,’ said Maria.
“There’s not much like it anymore and I think it might be the last of the original homes that original Denny family members lived in,” she added. “I had forgotten how nice it is.”
Sherrard said: ‘And it really does feel like a little symphony up on the hill. I think I would categorize this as a real treasure.’
But the treasured 19th-century mansion could soon be demolished as Sherrard urged the public to become aware of the matter in his article.
“As far as we know, all of this is shrouded in layers of deliberate secrecy,” she said in an interview.
“The only thing we can ascertain is that there is no timetable for its demolition that has been presented in any public forum. We are all essentially in the dark, she said.
‘I hope that a little light thrown on the subject might inspire developers to save the place.’
‘There are many uses for which this lovely mansion can be used. To put it mildly, the most diminished of them would be to tear it down and replace it with multi-million dollar houses.