When Seattle artists Timothy Firth, Amy Hirayama and Aramis Hamer found out early this year that the wrecking ball was coming to the historic El Rey, they felt it was a call to action.

The red brick, early 20th century building had been vacant and boarded up for more than four years. It stands next to Common AREA, a community art space in Belltown co-founded by Firth in 2015, now part of an arts organization called Common AREA Maintenance.

After operating as a residential facility for people with serious mental illnesses, El Rey had shuttered in the summer of 2020 due to infrastructure issues. The nonprofit that owned the building planned to demolish and sell it.

“That was like, ‘oh no,’” Firth said earlier this month. “‘There’s going to be an empty hole next to this home we’ve had for

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