Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 103 Highland DR / Parcel ID 545730-0130 / Inv #

Historic Name: Polson, Perry, House Common Name: Polson House Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Queen Anne Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1903   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. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). This house, at a prominent location on Queen Anne's South Slope, was built in 1903 for Perry Polson, owner of the Polson Implement Company, the Polson Logging Company and the Polson Realy Company. It is notable not only for its architectural significance but for having remained in the Polson family, in highly intact condition, for nearly one hundred years. Perry Polson's father Olaf came from Sweden in 1868, settling in Iowa before coming to Whatcom County. He became a prominent farmer in La Conner and his two sons, Perry and John, established a hardware store there. Perry then moved on to Seattle to establish the Polson Implement Company, selling equipment to miners leaving for the Klondike, as well as farm equipment. The city-wide historic resources survey of the 1970s attributed the design to Kerr & Rogers. The house has seen few changes. An adjacent concrete garage, designed by prominent architects Saunders and Lawton, was added in 1913. The elaborate interior, including carved wood, painted ceilings and extensive hardware, is also intact. Its elevator, installed in 1906, may be the first in a Seattle residence.   Appearance The house is prominently sited at a high point above Highland Drive, set back from the street with a driveway in front; the garage is at the northeast corner of the lot. The house has a side-gable form with complex massing, including a projecting hip-roofed bay on the front, a gabled rear wing and a turret on the south (rear) elevation. Detailing is primarily Craftsman, although the turret shows a Queen Anne influence. Cladding is brick on the first floor with shingles above. The roof has deep open eaves and brackets. The entry porch on the north has a shallow gabled roof supported by square posts. To the east is a three-sided bay, with a 16-over-one sash in the center, with leaded beveled glass. Above the entry is a striking tripartite window with stained glass. Other windows are predominantly one-over-one double hung sash, with some arched windows with transoms. The decorative gabled dormer on the front has four small casement windows, stickwork in the gable end and flared bargeboards. Above the entry is a section with dentils and pairs of decorative brackets. A veranda with round columns extends along the west and south elevations. The south elevation has a gabled wing with a gable over the porch, three large arched transomed windows on the second floor and four one-over-one windows in the gable end. The conical turret at the southeast corner rises two floors up from the first floor base; it has five-over-one windows on each floor. The east elevation has a gabled dormer with four one-over-one windows, stickwork and flared bargeboards; below is a lattice porch and a secondary entry.

Detail for 103 Highland DR / Parcel ID 545730-0130 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Shingle 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: two & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Windows: 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. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Spencer, Lloyd, and Lancaster Pollard. A History of the State of Washington. New York: American Historical Society, 1937. Stripling, Sherry, "Parting with an Heirloom," Seattle Times, Novemer 2, 2003.

Photo collection for 103 Highland DR / Parcel ID 545730-0130 / Inv #

Photo taken Mar 12, 2003