Sunset Hill Community Association

There's not much happening here, aside from small community gatherings and Historical Society meetings and presentations. But this is a bustling little historical society (Ballard's) and they deserve a lot of credit for the work they do. Education, restoration, preservation, celebration--they're making sure the history we have stays alive. There's so much to like about that, because it's not easy work, and it's all volunteer. We depend on people who have the right skills, schedule, and willingness to keep these kinds of projects afloat, and they're doing a great job here. Support them if you can.

My original post was flagged and removed. I guess I did let my emotional side get the better of me and I insulted the "lady running this place," as Shawn so eloquently put it. So, I'll try again.Apparently, after reading subsequent reviews here, there are some satisfied and, dare I say, happy renters/attendees of the SHCC. I'm definitely not one of them. Did I have a great wedding/reception? You bet. The facility is pretty, the grounds clean, and the resources useful. The disappointment came from the female manager on site during our event. Time after time, she approached someone in our group to inform the DJ that his music was too loud and that he needed to turn it down. Each time, her request was dutifully followed and the DJ turned his music down.The quieter and quieter the music got, the more complaints I got from those attending our event that the manager was being ever more unreasonable and unable to satisfy. Our own guests were complaining that our music wasn't loud enough for them! Several attendees took it upon themselves to walk around the neighborhood and all reported that they could not hear the music.I didn't experiment myself as I was too busy having fun at my wedding, despite the ever sedated music being played. The last straw was when I was approached directly by the manager in what I felt was a hostile manner and told that the music was, yet again, too loud. Luckily, I have great friends who understand that the last thing a just-married man needed on his wedding day was to be antagonized by a property manager, and they immediately stepped in to suffer her behavior on my behalf.I will probably never know what the issue truly was that night. But it doesn't matter. I had an awesome wedding and reception and everyone had a great time despite what we thought was unfriendly and unreasonable behavior on the part of the manager. But would I do it there again, everything being the same? No. Would I recommend it to anyone else, everything being the same? No. My friends and family, the food, and our DJ helped to make it a special night and, as such, far outweighed the negativity of the Sunset Hill Community Club that evening.

I love this place. I have never booked it myself, but have friends that do. (I just happily attend events there!)I just love the building, the neighborhood-building nature of the place. I personally KNOW people who book this venue for monthly and yearly events, and they seem quite happy with their arrangement. I've been at multiple events with live music, and there hasn't been any problem that I've been aware of...It's beautiful, yet somehow homey at the same time. There is no designated parking, but at least there's no charge for any of the street parking!- And if you want some ideas about what to attend there, start with the 2nd Sunday of the month at 10:30 am - for Gaia's Temple. It's not what you'd expect, it's much better! Rev. Judith is insightful and well-prepared, and, well, she's also one of the best comedians I know! The people who come are very grounded, very sane, and very welcoming. You'll feel comfortable there, and so will your children!

I had my 50th birthday party in this space and it was a hoot! Lots of room for friends to interact. We put the stage to good use too. This space is located in my neighborhood and I've attended many community meetings and festive gatherings here. The annual wine tasting is always a hit and a great way to meet neigbhors. It's a treasured part of our community. I've known many people who've rented it for all kinds of occasions and love the amenities and the ambience.

I attended a wedding here and was charmed by this space. Large, airy and full of light. Reverent without being fussy. I wish I had known about this space when I was wed!

***Update***After posting this review I got a call from the building's owner. We had a lovely conversation, and she had called to understand what issues we had an how things could have been improved. Needless to say I was blown away by how much she really cares about her customers.I also wanted to give an update that they have changed the management of the building to use an actual management company (as opposed to one part-time employee) to help people who rent the space. So that will make things much easier for anyone looking to rent this space now.So I'm bumping my star rating because this really is a beautiful and versatile space, and with the right management should be a great place to host any sort of event.***Original Review***Working with the SHCC before our event was pretty good, the building manager was fairly responsive, and once we had actually booked them was pretty helpful over emails. The one tricky thing was actually scheduling a time to come in to see the place - her hours are not very good for people who work during the work week, and she was not very flexible.But, like I said, once we had actually booked them she was helpful. For example, we needed to come back in to show the place to our DJ, and Lois the owner of the facility personally let us in.The day of our event sooo many things went wrong. We were getting ready in the basement and the first thing we found out was that all but one outlet was not working and many of the lights were burnt out. We called the building manager right away who was able to tell us where the archaic fuse-box was, but nothing else. The fuse box was so old and nothing in it was labeled so we didn't dare touch it. Next, we hear a buzzing sound and there were WASPS coming out of the wall! We killed 6 of them, and there were still 4 buzzing around. We called the building manager yet again and she was very uninterested and essentially said there was nothing she could do about it so tough luck. Then the heat wasn't working nor was the fireplace turning on and it was FREEZING. This time my mom called the building manager and was very upset and told her that we needed her to come down and figure something out or we wanted to get some money back. the building manager was, understandably, not happy. The next thing that happened was a flower delivery came for a funeral that they had booked at the same time as our wedding. At this point, with the building manager's very negative arrival and the news that a funeral was supposed to be held at the same time as our wedding I had to get out. Somehow my family got things figured out with the building manager (although there were still wasps and the electricity never came on) and we had a great wedding ceremony (we chose not to have the reception there after other people's comments, which I was thankful for after all the drama that morning).

This venue is quite attractive and homey. It is spacious, easy to use, requires very little embellishment and is easy to clean up. I found the rental rates quite reasonable and it is easy to pay chunks of the total fee in advance with the balance paid in full one month in advance of the event date. There is plenty of street parking for guests and it is easy to find on a map. All in all, a great rental for my wedding and reception!

I've been to many community events and meetings here, most recently today for the Sustainable Ballard Solar Energy and Solstice Fair.The venue has been consistently clean and in good order. Today's unusual event was outside in the well-kept garden. The inside is well maintained and everything has worked fine--kitchen, bathrooms, elevator, heat, lights, etc.The building is on a corner in a residential neighborhood so if your event is going to have amplified music, you'll want to have the windows closed and the volume at a reasonable level so as to not disturb the neighbors. But the advantage is that it's not on a busy street so it is quiet. There is no dedicated parking lot but there has always been plenty of free street parking in the area. It has ample bike rack space and near the 17 and 18 bus lines.There is a nice but simple stage with a roll down screen and drapes. There are ample folding tables and chairs making for a flexible space. I think it is an ideal space year round for a wedding, anniversary, family reunion, arts performance, or retirement celebration.

We just had our wedding at SHCC on Saturday and it was an amazing experience. The venue was beautiful and provided everything we needed (tables, chairs, a kitchen) The upstairs/downstairs split made it easy to have our ceremony and reception in the same place and the location is just beautiful in photos. We could not have asked for a more helpful staff. Margaret, who coordinated the rental, answered all of our questions and even allowed my husband to visit the site several times to get an idea of the layout and logistics. She really made a very stressful process (wedding planning) feel easy. We were especially grateful that we could use our own caterer, which made this a perfect choice for our wedding and our budget. Another staff member (I didn't get her name because it was the day off and I had severe Bride Brain) was on site during the event and helped us out several times. She was patient with my rather chaotic family and was a gracious and friendly presence that made everything run much smoother on the day. The neighborhood was also great, with lots of easy street parking and plenty of friendly greetings from people who saw us and wished us well. I'm SO GLAD we chose SHCC for our wedding.

We had our wedding for 125 people on New Years Eve at SHCC. It was perfect. We wanted a venue with a stage as we had 4 different bands play after dinner. Because the integrity of the building has been kept, both floors were transformed in an elegant way---white table cloths, white flowers in sparkly, reflective mercury glass vases everywhere, fires lit in the two fireplaces......It was lovely and fun and simple and elegant all at the same time. The staff was professional, helpful and accommodating. I loved every minute of my wedding thanks to SHCC. Sandra R.