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Summary for 2523 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001690 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: American Foursquare Neighborhood: Mount Baker
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.
Built in 1910 at a cost of $2700, this building was owned by Dr. O. Edwards. By 1919, A. Kellogg owned the building and added a garage that same year. Reverend A. Lorin Ridings occupied the building ca 1937. Prudential Insurance Company of America purchased the building in May of 1935. By 1954 through 1958, Alan F. Wilson Jr. lived in the building. 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.
 
Appearance
Built in 1910, this substantial, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Fourth Avenue South on a flat site 12’ above street level. This 984 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 39’ by 28’, with a full width single story front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard- (first story) and stucco- (upper story) clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Broad open overhanging eaves with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 double hung windows provide day lighting. Two direct flights of stairs lead from the sidewalk up to the front porch. Paneled pillars support the hipped porch roof. The main doorway is flanked by sidelights. A brick chimney services the building. The date of construction places this building as one of the earliest constructed during the residential development of this area. The clapboard first story with stucco above is evident on other buildings of similar style built within a few years of this building.

Detail for 2523 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001690 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco, Wood - Clapboard 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):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: 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.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 2523 34th AVE / Parcel ID 5700001690 / Inv #


Photo taken Mar 10, 2004

Photo taken Mar 10, 2004
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