Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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Style: |
American Foursquare - Prairie |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1913 |
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Significance |
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Built in 1913 at a cost of $3000, this building was owned by Mrs. Josephine Walker, who constructed a garage in the same year. In 1919, another garage was built. Dr. Edmund H. and Lorena M. Smith purchased the building in September of 1931 and built an addition to the garage the same year. C. Donald Davidson purchased the building in July of 1952 for $32,500. Mr. Davidson remodeled the kitchen in 1957. The building sold in 1963 for $35,000.
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.
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Appearance |
Built in 1913, this substantial, Prairie-influenced, American Foursquare style, single-family dwelling stands on an irregular-shaped lot. The building is oriented to views over Lake Washington on a sloped site 20’ above street level. This 1477 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a nearly square plan, measuring approximately 40’ by 34’, with a 9’ by 39’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Broad overhanging eaves with a slight fascia define the roofline. Multiple-lite windows provide day lighting. A concrete pathway leads up to the residence. An exterior brick chimney services the building. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Shingle |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Unknown |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
Unit Theme(s): |
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Integrity |
Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Major Bibliographic References |
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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