| Historic Name: |
|
Common Name: |
|
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1913 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
|
Built in 1913, this building was owned by Nick Wiley. James B. and Annie Kerr purchased the building in October of 1923. Mr. Kerr worked as a baker. The Kerr’s remained in the house through 1943. Norman Austin bought the building in April of 1952 for $7500. The tax records indicate Annie Campbell Kerr purchased the building in July of 1952. By 1955 through 1968, Mr. Charlotte E. Edgar lived in the house.
Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s.
Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| Built in 1913, this compact, Craftsman-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family bungalow stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Eighteenth Avenue South on a steep site 8’ above street level. This 912 square foot, single-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 24’ by 38’, with a 13’ by 7’ recessed side stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the cross gable roof. Broad open eave and gable overhangs with exposed rafters, brackets, purlins and prominent bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash 4:1 and single pane casement and fixed windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the side entrance. An exterior brick chimney services the building. An integrated, partially below-grade garage provides off street parking. This building is a good example of a relatively intact bungalow having integrated parking within the Beacon Hill neighborhood. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Shingle |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one |
| Unit Theme(s): |
|
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
|
| Major Bibliographic References |
|
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
|
|
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
|
|
Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
|
|
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
|
|
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
|
|
|
