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Summary for 6245 FLORA AVE / Parcel ID 2734100575 / Inv # 0
Historic Name: A. Victor and Thyra Tornquist House Common Name:
Style: Tudor Neighborhood: Georgetown
Built By: Year Built: 1930
 
Significance

Based on field work conducted in September 2014, this historic property retains its relationship to the streetscape, historic building form and a sufficient amount of exterior historic building fabric (design features, cladding and/or window sash/openings) to contribute to the distinct character of the Georgetown neighborhood.

This is a particularly well-preserved historic property that appears to possess architectural and/or historic significance. This property exhibits no substantive changes to the exterior appearance since it was identified in the 1997 HRI project.

(1997) This property is associated with an era of residential and commercial building between 1916 and 1942 which continued in Georgetown despite an acceleration of the trends toward the industrialization of the area. Significant changes came with prohibition and the closure of the brewery in 1916, the completion of the Duwamish Waterway in 1917, and the arrival of new businesses, such as the Boeing Airplane Company in 1916. In spite of the increasingly industrial nature of the area which had been zoned as such in 1923, residents of Georgetown continued to build new homes and businesses and to plan for a future in the neighborhood. This house was built for A.Victor (and Thyra) Tornquist who acquired the property in early 1930 and owned it until 1959. A. Victor Tornquist is known to have worked as an embalmer at the Georgetown Undertaking Company in the 1930s (see GT052). (R. C. McGregor, Contractor)
 
Appearance
A very well preserved example of Tudor Revival style design, a dominant residential design mode during the 1920s and early 30s that was loosely based on a variety of early English building traditions. This residence appears to have been constructed according to widely available house plans that were popularly used during this era and is similar to Tudor Revival designs promoted via architect/builder’s plan books and Aladdin type house catalogs. This residence exhibits design features and historic building fabric that typify the popular Tudor Revival design mode: wire-cut brick wall cladding, a steeply pitched multiple front gable facade and side gable roof form, tight eave and rake treatment, and an arched entry porch opening. The house is distinguished by an asymmetrical facade, a facade dominated by prominent steeply pitched cross gables and varied eave heights. The facade includes tile ornament, an arched upper window opening and a brick masonry stoop. The windows are typically double-hung and set in groups with multiple pane (leaded) sash members. A prominent multi-pane focal window is situated on the facade. A prominent end wall chimney is situated on the side elevation.

Detail for 6245 FLORA AVE / Parcel ID 2734100575 / Inv # 0
Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular
Structural System: Unknown No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development
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.

Photo collection for 6245 FLORA AVE / Parcel ID 2734100575 / Inv # 0

Photo taken Apr 25, 1997

Photo taken Sep 18, 2014
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