About this episode
Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is 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. When the City of Des Moines Hearing Examiner ruled against their appeal in December 2025, the group at first considered giving up. However, as first reported in the B-Town Blog in early January 2026, they decided to appeal the Hearing Examiner's decision to King County Superior Court.
The case will be heard in June 2026, but process expenses are mounting this week, and the group is seeking donations in support of their effort to save the Masonic Home. CASCADE OF HISTORY listeners are encouraged to offer even a small contribution to show support for grassroots historic preservation!
GoFundMe to Support The King County Appeal and Save The Masonic Home of Washington
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-historic-masonic-home-of-des-moines
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 flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.
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