Our friends at the Kent Downtown Partnership are seeking donations to help fund three great project that will make our city better.

“You can assist us and our community by donating to any one (or all!) of these three projects,” organizers said.

To make a donation, please contact Jodi or Barb at info@kentdowntown.org or call 253-813-6976.

The Morrill Bank Building:
The most architecturally significant building in Downtown Kent, but it is hiding behind a facade of boring stucco. The Morrill Bank Building is part of the most historic commercial district in Kent, with most of the buildings on the block dating more than 100 years old. Removing the stucco will reveal the grand colonial two-story entrance and windows. It will beautify the building and the block, and also let much more light into the interior of the building, adding to the appeal for future tenants.

Restoring the Morrill Bank Building will be the catalyst to designate the rest of the block of First Avenue between Gowe and Titus Streets as a Historic District, creating incentive to restore and preserve the other historic buildings there.

The Morrill Bank Building is currently the Alleluia Catholic Store.

The Kent Grand Organ:
The Kent Grand Organ (KGO) , housed in the sanctuary/worship space of the Kent Lutheran Church, will be the centerpiece of culturally rich and diverse musical offerings in the heart of downtown Kent.

It will attract persons from the Seattle-Tacoma area and beyond who appreciate the organ and cultural arts in many forms.

It will provide opportunities to hear and appreciate a restored vintage pipe organ, built as Opus 78 in 1878 in Boston. It has 3 keyboards, 54 ranks and 3303 pipes. Restored value is $1.3 million.

The KGO can provide a musical arts opportunity for artists to hear and share their music in a new way, building a stronger sense of community within the city and region.

The Lunar Rover Project:
The first Lunar Rover was built in Kent at the Boeing Space Center in 1969; three Lunar Rovers traveled to (and on) the moon on Apollo Missions 15, 16, and 17. The Lunar Rovers remain on the moon’s surface today.

We are helping to raise funds to have a Lunar Rover replica place in a downtown park. This project will foster our community pride, honor our past, fuel our kids’ imaginations and inspire us to imagine what’s possible in the future.

Scott Schaefer

Founder/Publisher/Editor. Three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”), Director, Producer, Journalist and more...