News broke on Thursday, December 11, 2025 that the City of Des Moines, WA Hearing Examiner has denied the appeal of a coalition of groups working to halt the demolition of the Masonic Home of Washington. The Masonic Home 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.

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group working to prevent demolition of the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington, and Chris Moore, executive director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. Both Lytle and Moore react to today's news, and talk about what comes next.

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. CASCADE OF HISTORY previously reached out to two different companies associated with Zenith LLC to request an interview; we have never heard back.

GoFundMe to Help Retire the Debt of Legal Fees 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.

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