Who is Wier Harman and why is Seattle naming a street after him?

Wier Harman dedicated much of his life to Seattle arts and culture.

Now, the city has dedicated a stretch of road outside of his former home away from home to him.

Harman was the executive Director of Town Hall Seattle from 2005 to December 2022, guiding the revered First Hill nonprofit through difficult times as well as his own six-year struggle with lung cancer. He died in December 2023. He was 57 years old.

RELATED: Seattle arts leader Wier Harman dies at age 57

On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council voted to name the block in front of Town Hall Seattle "Wier Harman Way" in his honor. Harman's family attended the meeting, including his wife, Barbara Sauermann, and their children.

Sauermann addressed the Council after the vote.

"Town Hall was Wier's life and legacy," she said

"Bringing people together was at the core of his being," she went on. "His philosophy was to say 'yes' to as many events as possible. ... Wier was someone who made the impossible happen over and over again, the Wier Harman way."

Councilmember Tammy Morales, who sponsored the resolution to honor Harman, noted his legacy as a scholar, musician, and Seattleite dedicated to celebrating the city's diversity of people, arts, and ideas.

"Seattle is better for it," Morales said.

The resolution passed with unanimous support Tuesday. A dedication is planned at Town Hall’s annual gala Friday.

Harman was lauded for expanding Town Hall's event offerings, bringing in hundreds of programs, while keeping ticket prices affordable. He also led the organization through a $35-million renovation campaign, then the Covid-19 pandemic, and helped preserve the historic building Town Hall calls home. He stepped down in December 2022 after 17 seasons at the helm and passed away a year later.

"There's a piece of Wier in every corner of the building, and to have [his presence] extend out into, like, the physical street is really an honor, " Jess Eskelsen, Town Hall's marketing and communications director, told KUOW.

The City Council's resolution will bestow an honorary designation on 8th Avenue between Seneca Street and Spring Street, the block right in front of Town Hall Seattle's main doors. That block will be the new Wier Harman Way.

RELATED: Lake Forest Park names street after sci-fi author Octavia E. Butler

"A street is a connector, and that's what Wier was," Eskelsen said. "And for us to be situated on [a] street that's named for him is so powerful."

In addition to his work with Town Hall, Harman co-founded the downtown historic theater district, and he was a member of the Puget Sound Public Radio board of directors from 2010 to 2019.

Correction notice, 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday, 4/9/2024: This story previously misstated Wier Harman's wife's name. Her name is Barbara Sauermann.