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Summary for 1517 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250202360 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Colonial - Colonial Revival Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1922
 
Significance
Built in 1922, the residence was occupied by William E. Schneider by 1940 through 1943. By 1955 through 1968, Herbert W. Nelson Junior, a mechanical engineer of Nelson Rebar Services, lived in the house. The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects. Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
 
Appearance
Built in 1922, this Colonial Revival style single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Lake Washington Boulevard South on a flat site 6’ above street level. This 1320 square foot, single story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 34’ by 53’, with a small front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the cross gable roof. Nearly flush eave overhangs and flush gables with minimal trim define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A direct flight of stairs leads to the front stoop. A brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 1517 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250202360 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable - Clipped 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: Intact
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.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 1517 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250202360 / Inv #


Photo taken
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