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Summary for 1525 31st AVE / Parcel ID 6909700280 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1901
 
Significance
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 1901, this Craftsman-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-First Avenue South on a sloped site above street level. This 1330 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 26’ by 33’, with a full width front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick- and shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the gable roof. Modest eave and gable overhangs with exposed rafters, purlins, braces and bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front porch. A broad, clear span stretches across the front porch. An external brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 1525 31st AVE / Parcel ID 6909700280 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick - Clinker, Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Brick
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Slight
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 1525 31st AVE / Parcel ID 6909700280 / Inv #


Photo taken Jan 09, 2004

Photo taken
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