Developers are set to raze stunning 19th Century Seattle mansion bought for $6M which can't be preserved because it's last owners were the MOONIES

A stunning 19th-century Seattle mansion, sold for $6 million, is set to be torn down because its last owners were the Moonies - members of the Unification Church.

Nestled on the shores of Lake Washington, the three-story Spanish Mission revival mansion was once home to the family of early pioneers of Seattle, including Rolland Denny, the son of the city's founder, Arthur Denny.  

Later in the 1970s, it was purchased by the Unification Church when the religion was still in its infancy and served as a domicile for founders Sun Myung Moon, his wife, and their followers.

Leonard Garfield, the director of the Museum of History & Industry, described the house as 'one of the great private estates from one of Seattle's golden eras,' as reported by The Seattle Times.

However, the iconic estate cannot even be nominated as a historical landmark because the state Supreme Court has exempted religious entities from landmark designation unless their owners support or seek it.

A stunning 19th-century Seattle mansion, sold for $6 million, is set to be torn down because its last owners were the Moonies - members of the Unification Church

Nestled on the shores of Lake Washington, the three-story Spanish Mission revival mansion was once home to the family of the early pioneers of Seattle, including Rolland Denny, son of the city's founder Arthur Denny

Later in the 1970s, it was purchased by the Unification Church when the religion was still in its infancy and served as a domicile for founders Sun Myung Moon(left), his wife(right), and their followers

Rolland and his wife Alice Kellogg commissioned Bebb & Mendel, Seattle's most prominent architectural firm at the time, to design and build the mansion. 

After the construction was completed in 1907, the couple named their new home 'Loch Kelden', a fusion of 'loch' meaning lake in Scottish and the couple's names Kellogg and Denny. 

With the sweeping views of Lake Washington and Mountain Rainier, the property served the ideal wilderness retreat space that was only accessible by boat. 

Notably, the mansion's carriage house was not built for cars, but horses that Rolland would ride on the gravel Windermere Road. 

In the early 1970s, Moon moved to the U.S. and began giving public speeches across the country. 

Meanwhile, he tasked a small group of his followers with traveling around and purchasing property to establish the church in key cities.

The Unification Church acquired the mansion for $175,000 in 1974. Since then, the mansion had been used as a residence for members of the American Unification Church and occasionally hosted Moon and his wife.

The house was listed by Sotheby's International Realty in 2022 for $5.99 million but remained unsold until recently. 

The unknown buyer, according to writer Jean Sherrard, has installed a nondisclosure agreement that prevents anyone from visiting the estate or documenting its condition. 

Scott Dolfay, the church’s retired property manager and caretaker for more than two decades, invited historians to the mansion for a farewell tour, and had to cancel it two days before the visit. 

'At the last minute, he contacted us and said the estate has essentially been sold, and the buyer has installed a nondisclosure agreement,' Sherrard told KUOW. 

The developers even denied access to the grounds to take some repeat photos of the mansion, Sherrard said. 

'So, we realized the only way we could take our "now" photo was to go on the water below and shoot up.' 

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Rolland(pictured) and his wife Alice Kellogg commissioned Bebb & Mendel, Seattle's most prominent architectural firm at the time, to design and build the mansion in the 1900s

The house was listed by Sotheby's International Realty in 2022 for $5.99 million but remained unsold until recently

 Sherrard and Maria Denny, the great-great-grandchildren of Rolland, embarked on a boat tour recently and spotted the spectacular house from the water. 

'It's sad. Especially being here right now out in front of it and remembering what a really spectacular home and how stately and beautiful it is,' Maria said. 

'There's not much like it anymore, and I believe it maybe the last of the original homes that original Denny family members lived in,' she added. 'I’d forgotten how lovely it is.' 

Sherrard said: 'And it really feels like a little symphony up on the hill. I think I’d categorize this as a real treasure.' 

But the precious 19th-century mansion could be demolished soon, as Sherrard called for public attention to the matter in her article. 

'As far as we know, all this is shrouded under several layers of intentional secrecy,' she said in an interview. 

'All we can determine is that there is no schedule for its demolition that has been presented in any public forum. We're all essentially in the dark,' she said. 

'I'm hoping that a little light shed on the subject might indeed inspire developers to save the place.' 

'There are many uses that this lovely mansion can be put to. I would say the least and most diminished of them would be to tear it down and replace it with multimillion-dollar houses.