Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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Style: |
American Foursquare |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1908 |
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Significance |
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Built in 1908, this building was owned by O’Niel and Taggert. From 1920 to 1955, David M. and Celestia Taggart resided in the building. Mr. Taggart worked in real estate and insurance. From 1920 to 1968, Marguerite E. Taggart also resided in the building. Ms. Taggart is listed as a student. By 1937, Clyde A. and Gladys L. Farley were listed as residing in the building through 1938. Mr. Farley worked as a clerk for the Puget Sound Power and Light Company.
The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects.
Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
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Appearance |
Built in 1908, this compact, Craftsman-influenced, American Foursquare style, single-family dwelling is oriented to Thirty-Seventh Avenue South on a flat site 4’ above street level. This 900 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 25’ by 36’, with a full width front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle- and clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and hip roof front dormer. Overhanging open eaves with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A short flight of steps flanked by low cheek walls leads to the front porch and main doorway. Sidelights flank the main doorway. Substantial wood piers carried on low plinths support the hipped porch roof. A low balustrade wraps the upper porch. An exterior brick chimney services the building. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Shingle, Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Unknown |
Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
Unit Theme(s): |
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Integrity |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Major Bibliographic References |
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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