Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 67 W Etruria ST W / Parcel ID 1972205300 / Inv #

Historic Name: Hazzard/Griggs House Common Name: Hazzard/Griggs House Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1894   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The Hazzard/Griggs House was built about 1894. In the spring 1894, recent arrivals Ira & Ella Hazzard purchased two lots just north of Queen Anne Hill from land developers Denny and Hoyt. The Hazzards likely constructed their house before years end. Few houses were constructed in Seattle during a depression, called the 1893 Panic, that lasted from 1893 to 1896. During the bad economic times, Ira Hazzard established the Hazzard Fire Lighter Company. Ira had to walk about seven blocks from his house to catch the Fremont streetcar line to his downtown Seattle business on Pike Street. In early 1897, the struggling company was forced to close and Hazzard sold the house to John Griggs and left town. Months later, news of the Klondike gold strike reached Seattle, ending the depression with a roar. The Griggs moved to Washington in 1887 and four years later settled in Seattle. John Griggs purchased the house in 1897 at about the time Overton shingle mill hired him as the mill’s engineer. He later worked as foreman for Magnesia Asbestos Supply. About 1905 the city of Seattle moved the house when they widened 3rd Ave W. Ida Griggs (ca 1858-1922) was a life long member of the Free Methodist Church and was active in the Prohibition movement. The Griggs lived in the house until the end of World War I and sold it in the early 1920s to Helen Becker. Later occupants. From the late 1930s through the 1940s Willis V. and Belle Elizabeth Steger occupied the house; by the mid 1950s relative Vernon W. Steger moved into the house. The Hazzard/Griggs House has gone through a number of address changes. From about 1902 until 1905 the address was 169 Etruria or 169 W Etruria; from 1906 until at least 1909 the address was 163 W Etruria and by 1917 the address was 67-69 W Etruria St. The 1979 Seattle Historic Resources Survey inventoried the house and gave the following description "A fine surviving example of an early Victorian frame house with almost all of its original details…. A prominently sited, beautifully detailed, early surviving Victorian house unequaled in its immediate neighborhood." Few intact houses exist that were built prior to 1899. This residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and mininal alterations. Sources: "Rites to Be Held For Churchwoman Pioneer of State" Seattle Post-Intelligencer November 30, 1922. Clipping file, Special Collections, University of Washington Library.   Appearance The one and a half story Hazzard/Griggs House was built about 1894. The side gable vernacular house has a central gable wall dormer on the north elevation. The full width porch has turned posts supporting a hip roof. The south (rear) addition is a side gable. The west elevation of the addition has a three sided bay window. After 1972 a second floor was added to the addition. Double hung windows throughout. Sited on a corner lot.

Detail for 67 W Etruria ST W / Parcel ID 1972205300 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Block, Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Moderate Major Bibliographic References King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. City of Seattle. Seattle Inventory Field Form. 1979. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes.

Photo collection for 67 W Etruria ST W / Parcel ID 1972205300 / Inv #

Photo taken Dec 23, 2004