Born on May 29, 1921 in Bothell architect Harold Stevens Keeney, Jr. spent his early years in Anacortes and his teen years in Longview, where his dad was a teacher and football coach. Keeney graduated from R.A. Long High School. For a short time, he took a job working at the local mill, but then enrolled at the University of Washington. While there he was part of the ROTC program (1943-1946) and officially graduated with his bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1947.

By 1950, Keeney and his wife, Betty, were living in Eugene, Oregon where he worked as a draftsman for a local architectural firm. However, city directories note they had moved to Modesto, California by 1954 where Keeney worked as a building inspector for Stanislaus County.

Most likely to be closer to family, the couple had moved to Bothell by the late 1950s. Keeney had received his Washington State architectural license in 1958 by reciprocity, and that same year he opened his own independent architectural practice in the city. 

His projects varied from residential, to commercial and religious structures. His earliest known design is for the Church of Christ in Bellevue (1959). Notable residential designs followed, several of which garnered local design accolades. Among them was a home for his brother in Lake Forest Park which was featured as a Seattle Times/AIA Home-of-the-Month (July, 1961); an additional Home-of-the-Month in 1964 for the John Hanly House in Kirkland; and the Lucille Scott House in Bothell (1968).

Keeney’s career spanned into at least the late 1970s. He was elected the first vice president of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute in 1962, and elected to President of said organization in 1963.  Keeney had an office in Bothell in 1967 which he designed and shared with the local newspaper, the Bothell Citizen, and engineer John Hilton & Associates. 

Other notable projects include the Tack Shack Building (1962, demolished); the Ericksen Motor Co. Sales Building, 1964, demolished); an addition to Lockwood School Addition (1968); a three-unit apartment complex on 103^rd Ave (1963); the conversion of a house into the local Senior Citizens Center (1976); and the Northshore Multi Service Center (1978).

Actively involved in local community affairs he served on the Bothell Planning Commission (1961-68), serving as Chairman (1961-65). He was also heavily involved in the planning process to locate access routes from the Seattle-Everett Freeway into Bothell and was later appointed by the mayor to the City’s “Off Street Parking Board” (1975-1980). In 1968, Keeney was appointed as the first Planning Administrator for Bothell, a part-time job he held for several years. He was a vocal proponent of the building trades and served as President of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (1963). While leading the group he spoke often for the right to appeal the Uniform Building Code via a variance process.

The Keeney family is well known in Bothell. His grandfather, Mark D. Keeney, had served as mayor and postmaster, and had established a lumber yard in the community in 1926 – Keeney Lumber. His father, Harold Keeney, Sr. (known locally as “pop”), was a longtime and beloved coach at Bothell High School, and today is the honored namesake of the local outdoor sports arena – Pop Keeney Stadium.

Harold S. Keeney, Jr. retired around 1980 and passed away in Bothell on October 9, 1995, at the age of 74.

– Michael C Houser