Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1531 Bradner PL / Parcel ID 0272000700 / Inv #

Historic Name: Monte Vergine Common Name: Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church Style: Colonial - Colonial Revival, Other Neighborhood: North Rainier Valley Built By: Year Built: 1910   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The history of the Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church in Seattle relates to the early history of the Catholic religion in Seattle. In 1903, the Cabrini Sisters arrived in Seattle from Chicago and opened an orphanage on Beacon Hill at 1133 Twelfth Avenue South. Mother Cabrini wrote, “In the valleys between the hills there are about 5,000 Italians who follow us like chicks follow the hen. We hope to help them, and they will help us.” The Cabrini orphanage became an Italian mission center. At about the same time, the Jesuits founded Seattle College and Immaculate Conception parish. There has been a strong relationship between the Italian community and the Jesuits in Seattle. In 1911, Father DeRop, S.J. arrived in Seattle and said the first mass for the Italian community at the old St. Boniface church in the Mount Baker area. The German community had built a small church, called St. Boniface, on the corner of Bradner Place South and Massachusetts Street. In September of 1911, Father DeRop took some pews to the old church, which was renamed Our Lady of Monte Vergine. The Monte Vergine name came from a church built on a side hill in Caserta, Italy. In December of 1913, Father Lodovico Caramello (1869-1949) arrived in Seattle to take charge of the Italian parish. Father Caramello came from an upper class family in Turin, Italy, and he served at a parish in Montreal before coming to Seattle. In May of 1914, Father Caramello moved to the new rectory and began to make plans for construction of a new church and school. The church was designed based on a Florentine type church and was intended to overlook large and lush Italian gardens. The new Monte Vergine Church opened in 1915. The church school was an important part of the parish and was located in a small building behind the church. The Tacoma Dominican Sisters, led by Reverend Mother Thomasina, took charge of the school. The school opened in 1918 with an enrollment of 162 students and remained in operation for more than 60 years. The church became the heart of Seattle’s Italian community and offered Italian language lessons. The old church building remained for many years and was used as a kindergarten in the 1930s. Father Caramello remained at Monte Vergine until his death in 1949. Eventually Father Caramello’s orchard and garden were plowed under for a new school and hall built from surplus military buildings (ca 1950s). The church school closed in 1978 due to a decline in enrollment. Over the years, the church has evolved from a predominantly Italian congregation to a mix of ethnic groups. Since the late 1970s, many Lao, Hmong and Kmhmu refugees have found a religious home in the Monte Vergine parish. The Monte Vergine Church continues in its role as a missionary church. The little church has changed very little over the years and still reflects its Florentine-inspired design. It is important for its role as a center of the Italian community in Seattle and as a long-time Catholic parish in the North Rainier Valley/Mount Baker neighborhoods. The North Rainier Valley consists of a depression created by glaciation between the ridges of Beacon Hill and Mount Baker. The valley derives its name from Mount Rainier because of stunning views of the mountain. The area’s growth followed the early streetcar line, which was completed to Columbia City in 1890. The North Rainier Valley includes the area north of Columbia City and contained many early vegetable farms. Commercial development followed along the streetcar line, with housing built nearby. During the first decades of the 20th century, the area between Massachusetts and Atlantic Streets was home to Seattle’s largest Italian enclave, “Garlic Gulch.” Dugdale Ball Park opened on the corner of Rainier Avenue and McClellan Street in 1913, and was succeeded by Sick’s Stadium in 1938. World War II precipitated a surge in housing development, including the public housing project, Rainier Vista, in 1943. Following the war, the area attracted a mix of African-Americans, Asians, and Filipinos. Today this diverse, low-to-middle income neighborhood is unique within Seattle with its long narrow form focused on the Rainier Avenue transportation corridor.   Appearance Built in 1910, this Renaissance Revival style Church stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Bradner Place South on a sloping site at street level. This 1600 square foot, two-story building with a partial basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 31’ by 82’. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shiplap- and wood siding-clad superstructure. Quoins highlight the first story building corners. Asphalt composition roofing covers the gable roof. Nearly flush eaves with a prominent entablature on the front facade gable end define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows on the first story with tall, round arched stained glass windows in the second story provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the Classically-inspired front entrance. A bell tower surmounts the entablature on the front facade.

Detail for 1531 Bradner PL / Parcel ID 0272000700 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Wood, Wood - Shiplap Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Religion - Religious facility Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: Unit Theme(s): Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: 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. Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "North Rainier Valley Historic Context Statement." "Our Heritage," by Jack Morris, S.J. Prepared for the Church's 80th Anniversary in 1991. Silver Jubilee, Rev. Lodovico Caramello, S.J., pastor Mt. Virgin Church 1914-1939, Casa Italiana, April 30, 1939. "Fr. Caramello, Italian Parish Pastor, Dies," newspaper article, 1949. "Mount Virgin - landmark and pioneer school," by Jane Pugel, Seattle Times, April 18, 1976. "Parish School to Close," by Neil Modie, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 3, 1978.

Photo collection for 1531 Bradner PL / Parcel ID 0272000700 / Inv #

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