Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 8011 Fauntleroy WAY / Parcel ID 2624039006 / Inv # DPR051

Historic Name: Lincoln Park Shelter House Common Name: Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Morgan Junction Built By: Year Built: 1932   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. This architecturally distinctive brick shelter house was completed in 1932 to serve the athletic fields and picnic area at the northern end of Lincoln Park. West Seattle first gained fame as the landing point of the Denny Party in 1851, however residential and commercial development was slow to come to the area due to its topography and geographic isolation. This problem was partially solved with the establishment of ferry service from Seattle to the east shore of Duwamish Head in 1888. A trolley car line built on trestles replaced the ferry in 1902, and connected with several streetcar lines, which eventually extended service throughout West Seattle. One of the lines extended to the southwest corner of the peninsula following the route of today’s SW Fauntleroy Way and ended south of Point Williams at Endolyne. With improved access, West Seattle developed rapidly and was eventually annexed in 1907. The 1908 Olmsted Supplemental Plan proposed a "Williams Point Park" as part of the Seattle park system, which would be connected to the rest of the city via an extensive boulevard system. In 1903, the city had hired the Olmsted Brothers to prepare plans for a comprehensive park and boulevard system, including suggestions for improvements to existing parks. This was supplemented by an additional report in 1908 to include the large areas annexed by the city the previous year, including West Seattle. According to the Olmsted Brothers, the proposed "Williams Point Park" should include some 130 acres of comparatively level land between the point and the new electric railway to provide space for athletic fields, lawns, drives, walks, and plantings. The triangular-shaped park would serve both the local neighborhood and the city as a whole. Implementation of the report began almost immediately, however not always as envisioned by the Olmsteds, especially in the outlying areas where there was less residential and commercial development. Land for the park at Point Williams was not acquired by the city until 1922. The new 130-acre park would be called Lincoln Park in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, which forced Lincoln Playfield on Capitol Hill to be renamed Broadway Playfield. Within a few years of the acquisition, the Parks Department had cleared weeds and downed trees and had constructed a comfort station in 1925. This comfort station was located near the Picnic Grove on the sloping meadow at the southern end of the park. In 1930, the Parks Department developed two athletic fields in the northern end of the park after a yearlong search for an appropriate site. Two years later, this brick shelter house was constructed north of the athletic fields. Designed in a simplified Tudor Revival style, this shelter house was one of eight similar shelter houses constructed in Seattle parks in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These buildings housed large rooms for organized recreation activities in addition to public restroom facilities. Office space for recreation instructors was also provided. Construction of these shelter houses at the Lower Woodland, Jefferson Park, Washington Park, Lincoln Park, Maple Leaf, Ravenna Park, Brighton and Gilman Playfields followed a policy to build only structures that would be pleasing in design and permanent in nature. This building is significant for its design and for its association with the development of Lincoln Park.   Appearance Completed in 1932, this large brick shelter house occupies a central site at the northern end of Lincoln Park between a children’s play area, a picnic area, and several ballfields. Recessed courses within the variegated brick exterior create wide decorative bands in the brickwork. The one-story building has a hip roof main block with cross gable on hip wings south of center on the east and west elevations, which create a T-shaped footprint. The Tudor Revival building contains a large recreation room in the northern half of the building and restrooms in the southern half. The northern end of the principal east elevation contains the main entrance to the recreation room. Large window openings with multi-paned sash flank a wide door within a recessed opening at the center. Metal screens cover these windows and all others. The projecting wing on the east elevation contains the entrance to the women’s restroom at the southern end, two horizontal window openings set high on the wall across the center, and a large window opening at the northern end. A modern metal gate has replaced the original restroom door, and metal louvers now fill the window openings below the roofline. The large opening at the end retains the original multi-paned windows. The north wall of this wing contains an additional entrance door into the recreation room, while the south wall has a horizontal window opening with a multi-paned sash below the roofline. The southern end of the east elevation contains three more identical windows. The south elevation has an entrance door centered between two additional multi-paned horizontal windows, which provides access to a maintenance room. The southern end of the rear west elevation features the same window openings as on the east elevation. The projecting wing has an entrance to the men’s restroom at the southern end, a horizontal louvered opening south of center, and a wide entrance door at the northern end. A modern metal gate also covers the entrance to the men’s restroom. The south wall of this wing has an additional louvered opening, while the north wall has a large multi-paned window. The northern end of the west elevation contains a single large window opening at the center. A projecting hip roof wall dormer covers this large opening filled with multi-paned sash windows. The north elevation has a large tapered chimney with chamfered corners centered between two multi-paned windows. This architecturally distinctive building retains excellent physical integrity.

Detail for 8011 Fauntleroy WAY / Parcel ID 2624039006 / Inv # DPR051

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Metal - Standing Seam Building Type: Other Plan: T-Shape Structural System: Unknown No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development, Entertainment/Recreation Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished.

Photo collection for 8011 Fauntleroy WAY / Parcel ID 2624039006 / Inv # DPR051

Photo taken Nov 17, 2000 Photo taken Nov 17, 2000