| Historic Name: |
Carlson, Maxwell & Willadee, House |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
French |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1927 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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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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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This house, noted in the City of Seattle's 1979 historic resources survey, was built in 1926-27, perhaps on speculation. The first known owners (other than the builder) were Maxwell Carlson and his wife Willadee. Directories list Carlson as an auditor in the 1930s, but in the 1940s he became president of the National Bank of Commerce, and later president and CEO. The Carlsons lived here until the 1990s.
This house is a fine example of the Norman French style, an exotic style best known in Seattle for its influence on the apartment buildings of Frederick Anhalt. The hous eis finely detailed, and the 1937 assessros' data notes the mahogany woodwork, hardwood floors, foru bathrooms, and extensive tilework in the baths and kitchen. The gorunds have had a pond and rockery and a greenhsoue. The house was built by Samuel Anderson (1884-1959), a prominent builder of both single-family homes and apartments. Anderson came to Seattle from Wisconsin in 1906 and became very active in the home building industry as an organizer and official of the Seattle Master Builders Association and national organizations. He is known primarily as a builder and there is no evidence that he was trained as an architect, but he did apparently design some at least some of his projects. This house may have been based on a pattern book design. In 1928-29 he developed at least eight Seattle apartment buildings, notable for their vivid interpretations of a wide variety of styles. This house is an example of his use of detail and expression of eclectic revival styles.
This section of Federal Avenue is a tree-lined avenue with a fine collection of large homes, many designed by prominent architects for some of Seattle’s leading families. The street was well located for development, as it is only one block from the Broadway/10th Avenue streetcar line and abuts the open spaces of Volunteer Park and Lake View Cemetery to the east. Although the southern two blocks were platted s part of the 1883 Phinney’s Addition, little development occurred until the first decade of the 20th century, about the time that Volunteer Park was redesigned by the Olmsted Brothers. The landscape architecture firm continually encouraged the city to purchase the property on the west side of the park, so that it would extend all the way to the street; obviously, this was never done, allowing these houses to be built adjacent to the park.
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| Appearance |
| This large house in the Norman French style is clad with red brick with a steep slate roof. It has basically a high side-gabled form in the front, with a slightly lower gabled wing at the southeast. At the front is a hipped section with a steep roof extending to about six feet of the ground. Within this section is the enclosed brick entry vestibule with a slightly arched doorway and two narrow openings. Adjacent to the north is a two-story conical turret, with narrow leaded glass staircase windows. To the south is a large, slightly arched three-part window with diamond-patterned leaded glass. Above the entry is a pair of leaded 12-light casement windows. To the north of the turret is the main front window, also of leaded glass; above are two small dormers set into the eaves, each with a narrow one-over-one window and a touch of half-timbered detailing. The rear gabled section has a large hipped dormer with a pair of 12-light casements. The north end has a tall, elaborately detailed chimney; a smaller chimney is on the south elevation. There is a large detached garage with a slate roof and general similar appearance to the house. The landscaping has been renovated, with a newer concrete retaining wall. |
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