The Office of Urban Conservation was created in 1975 as part of the Department of Community Development (DCD). It was founded in an era of citizen protests against a proposed urban renewal program that would have demolished Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. The office’s mandate was to coordinate Seattle’s historic preservation programs and administer the city’s landmark boards and historic districts. When DCD was abolished in 1992, the historic preservation program was moved to the Department of Neighborhoods.

The Landmarks Preservation Board was established in 1973 with the mission of preserving structures of historical importance. Its eleven members are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. The Board must include two architects, two historians, one member of the City Planning Commission, one structural engineer, and one person each representing the fields of finance and real estate management. The other three members have no required occupation or affiliation, although all Board appointees are expected to have an interest in historic preservation.

Records document the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board's decisions to deny a building, object, or structure historic landmark status. Series includes nomination forms, news clippings, correspondence, reports, Board agendas, photographs of nominated properties, and additional background information related to the nominated properties. Some properties documented in the collection include Franklin High School, the Music Box Theatre, the Newhalem buildings owned by Seattle City Light, and the Olympic Hotel. The Blue Moon Tavern files contain many interesting items of note including letters of support from authors Tom Robbins and Calvin Trillin and an audio cassette containing a KRAB radio station interview with Blue Moon regulars. Some properties represented in the records were granted landmark status but lost their designation due to fire damage, property neglect, loss of insurance or lease. These properties include the Jolly Rodger Roadhouse, Kelleher House, the San Mateo Ferry and the Temple de Hirsch Sinai. The files are arranged alphabetically by property name.