Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1051 E Galer ST E / Parcel ID 676270-0625 / Inv #

Historic Name: Fetter, Harvey and Sallie, House Common Name: Style: Italian - Italian Renaissance Neighborhood: Capitol Hill Built By: Year Built: 1918   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 stately Italian Renaissance house was designed in 1918 by Carl Gould for Harvey J. Fetter; he lived here through the 1930s and after his death his widow Sallie lived here into the 1950s. Later owners included Mrs. Elizabeth deTurenne, secretary-treasurer of Yukon Investment Company (1950s-60s) and Robert D. Allen, vice-president of Pioneer National Title Insurance Company. His wife, Elizabeth, remained in the house until the 1990s. This stretch of Federal Avenue is a tree-lined avenue with a fine collection of large homes designed by major local architects for some of Seattle’s leading families; several of the homes are by Carl Gould, and his own family home is nearby. The street was well located for development, as it is only one block from the Broadway/10th Avenue streetcar line and the open space of Volunteer Park and Lakeview Cemetery is nearby. Although the southern two blocks were platted as 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. Carl Gould (1873-1939) was one of Seattle’s most prominent architects, and one with a significant impact on Capitol Hill. Gould was born in New York and graduated from Harvard and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He immediately aligned with some of the most celebrated people in the profession, interning with McKim, Mead & White and working on Daniel Burnham’s plan for San Francisco. He moved to Seattle in 1908 and, as one of the best educated architects in the relatively young city, associated with Daniel Huntington in 1909. Together they designed numerous residences, apartments and mixed use buildings, and Gould independently designed additional houses and commercial buildings. In 1914 he became associated with Charles Bebb, a well-established local architect, and over the next twenty years the firm designed nearly three hundred projects including residences, schools, hospitals and commercial buildings. Perhaps their best known work is the campus plan for the University Washington (1915) and the design of eighteen campus buildings between 1915 and 1938, including Suzzallo Library, in the Collegiate Gothic style. In 1914 Gould founded the Department of Architecture and served as its head until 1926. In the late 1920s, Gould’s designs turned toward the Modern and Art Deco, and he produced two of his most important works, the U. S. Marine Hospital (now Amazon.com, 1930-32) and the Seattle Art Museum (now the Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1931-33).   Appearance This large house sits near the sidewalk, with no front yard but large walled gardens on the north side. It has stucco cladding, a hipped roof with flat Italianate bracketed eaves and a symmetrical façade. The center entry, approached by curving stairs from the sidewalk, is set into a blind arch and flanked by attached columns. The doorway, with no porch, is set into a blind arch, flanked by pilasters with a flat pediment above. The doorway is ornamented with decorative iron grillwork. An arched window with a window box is on the second floor. Four eight-light casement windows, set into blind arches, flank the entry; similar but smaller windows, without the arches, are above on the second floor. Similar windows are on the side elevations. The garage is at the east end, balanced by a two-story porch projecting on the west side; the upper portion is glassed in and the bottom is left open. The rear is not easily visible from the street, but historical photos show large multipaned windows and French doors, with a one story glassed-in sunroom with a balustraded deck on top.

Detail for 1051 E Galer ST E / Parcel ID 676270-0625 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. Booth, T. William and William H. Wilson. Carl F. Gould, A Life in Architecture and The Arts. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.

Photo collection for 1051 E Galer ST E / Parcel ID 676270-0625 / Inv #

Photo taken Nov 26, 2005