Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 348 W Olympic WAY W / Parcel ID 388090-0295 / Inv #

Historic Name: Spanish Court Apartments Common Name: Villa Costella Style: Spanish - Eclectic Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1928   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). Tudor Revival was the most common of the romantic revival styles that were popularized in the 1920s, but the Spanish Revival was also popular. This apartment complex was owned, designed and built by Everett J. Beardsley, a prolific apartment developer who was particularly known for his Mediterranean style buildings. Other examples of his work include the El Monterey (4204 11th Avenue NE), the El Cerrito (608 E. Lynn Street) and Hacienda Court Apartments (1025 Summit Avenue E.). This complex was built in 1928 on the site of the grand house of John Kinnear, the son of George Kinnear, who developed much of southwest Queen Anne. The building is replete with Spanish Revival details, including stucco cladding, a tile roof, tile floors and heavy timber-beamed ceilings. Many units have outside decks to take advantage of the views of Elliott Bay. The complex originally included twelve garages, which have been replaced with a large carport structure in the rear. The buildings were renovated in 2000 and converted to condominiums. This is an example of the tremendous development that occurred in Seattle in the 1920s. The city's population has increased dramatically in previous decades, and prosperity encouraged developers to meet the pent-up demand for housing. Apartments, ranging from basic housing to luxury units, were a significant factor in meeting this need, and became a major element of the streetscape in many Seattle neighborhoods, especially Queen Anne. Olympic Way, with its good streetcar service and magnificnat views, was a particularly popular location for some of the best apartments. This is a fine example of the design attention paid to many of these buildings, where detailing and materials were used to reduce the impact of large structures.   Appearance This Spanish Eclectic apartment building is clad with heavily textured white stucco, with red clay tile roofs. The building is roughly E-shaped in plan, with two inner courtyards (17 feet wide by 40 feet deep) in the rear. The main volume is three stories with three projecting one-story sections in front. Between these projections are shallower one-story sections with red tile shed roofs. The roofs of the one-story sections provide decks for the second-story units opening onto them. The third-floor units have balconies with red clay tile shed roofs and heavy dark wood posts and balustrades. Most windows are 10-light casements, arranged singly, in pairs or in groups of four. The first floor has large multipaned arched windows, and arched doorways under red tile shed roofs. The side (east and west) elevations are more simple, rising three stories with 8/1 and 6/1 windows and simple side entries. The rear (north) elevation has 6-light casements and 6/1 windows looking onto two small courtyards with landscaping and fountains. Each courtyard has a 15-light entry door.

Detail for 348 W Olympic WAY W / Parcel ID 388090-0295 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat, Shed Roof Material(s): Clay Tile Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: E-Shaped Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: three Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Reinartz, Kay F. Queen Anne: Community on the Hill. Seattle: Queen Anne Historical Society, 1993.

Photo collection for 348 W Olympic WAY W / Parcel ID 388090-0295 / Inv #

Photo taken Feb 04, 2003