| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1915 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Prolific north end merchant builder P. E. Wentworth erected this structure in 1915 for owner John H. Shea (permit #140455). The designer of the structure is not listed on the permit application.
The house is reported to have been owned by Levi C. Oman when the property was surveyed by the Assessor’s office in 1937. Oman appears to have acquired the property in 1921.
I. T. Coates and wife acquired the property in 1941 according to the King County Property Record Card prepared in 1937. L. I Coats apparently acquired the house in January 1963 and then sold it to R. W. Swearinger and his wife in August of that year.
Gerald L. Walker and his wife appear to have acquired the property in February 1966. Improvements to the electrical system were completed for Mr. And Mrs. Walker in March 1966.
Patricia Allen, the current property owner, purchased the house in 1971. Allen upgraded the electrical service in 1977 and 1978. She also made a boundary adjustment in 1985, apparently dividing her property between Parcel A (which became 4224 Bagley Avenue N.) and Parcel B (which became 4225 Corliss Avenue N.). A fire alarm was installed for Allen in 1992.
Nyberg and Steinbrueck describe this structure as a building of significance to the Wallingford community. It was erected towards the end of Seattle’s first north end building boom by a successful and prolific local merchant builder who was very active in the Wallingford neighborhood. Wentworth made particularly dramatic use of typical craftsman elements in the construction of this intact and especially evocative example of the bungalow style.
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| Appearance |
| This is a three story, brick and stucco clad, wood frame apartment building with a full basement on a concrete foundation. The ceramic tile at the front entry, the ogee skirt that provides a shallow protective roof at the entry, and the heavy cast stone lintels and sills give the structure a slightly baroque or Mediterranean feel. However, in its present form, the building presents an essentially utilitarian and vernacular face to the street.
Comparison of the existing structure with drawings prepared by the architect in 1928 suggests that the glass block presently employed in the window openings of the central entry tower and the curvature of the tower itself are not original elements of the design, although they no doubt date from the initial construction of the building. The hipped clay tile mansard elements and attic dormers that the architects designed for the main blocks of he building were apparently never installed. In addition, the original hipped, clay tile clad roofs that were installed at the top of the stucco towers flanking the entry appear to have been removed at some point since 1937, a change that has negatively affected the appearance of the east facade. The sashes in most of the window openings appear to have been replaced. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Hold |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Shingle, Stone, Wood, Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Communications |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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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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