Ready to roll: West Seattle's Great Depression-era Stone Cottage to move to new location

A 90-year-old stone house in West Seattle is set to move into a new location in storage Tuesday night following grassroots effort by local historical societies to preserve the structure.

Known by residents as the Stone Cottage, the humble structure at 1123 Harbor Ave. S.W. was built by Eva Falk during the Great Depression using 15,000 stones from Alki Beach. The stones, which were collected by wagon, gave the building a unique appearance amid the modern condos and townhouses of Alki Point.

In a symbol of Depression-era ingenuity, Falk bartered with out-of-work stonemasons to build the house in exchange for free meals. The stained glass windows and the front door were both salvaged, according to the Washington Historic Trust for Preservation. Falk lived in what she called the "rock house" and passed it on to her descendents upon her death in 1997.

The property was then bought by Chainqui Development in 2019, and the house faced the potential to be demolished for new development. Local historical groups including the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and History Seattle rallied and fundraised to save the home, and the developer agreed to ensure the safe removal of the historic landmark.

Now, the cottage will be moved into storage while a permanent location in the city is found. Starting at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, crews from Nickels Bros — which specializes in moving entire houses — will connect wooden cribbing piles the house is sitting on to a semi-truck.

At midnight, the truck will pull the cottage down Harbor Avenue S.W. at a speed of 5 miles per hour to its new location at the Port of Seattle storage lot, just one mile south from its original location. Members of the public are invited to watch the parade-like procession from the Harbor Avenue S.W. sidewalk.

After the move, the house will be stored for two to three years. The Save the Stone Cottage group ultimately hopes to have the structure placed in a park or on school grounds to keep the piece of West Seattle's history alive for future generations.

"Old buildings matter because they tell the story of the city. Once they’re gone, that’s it. You can’t build an old building," said Historic Building Consultant John Bennett.