Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 3208 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700004070 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Swiss Chalet 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 $2500, this building was owned by David I. and Algie B. Burkhart. Alvin Johnson was the architect. Construction began in September of 1910. The Burkhart’s added a one-story garage addition to the building in 1912. The following year, the interior was remodeled. Mr. Burkhart was a dentist with an office at 431 Medical Dental Building. By 1943, Carl L. Hossman lived in the building. Mr. Hossman remained through 1958. William M. Rosen purchased the building in May of 1968 for $27,500. Architect Alvin Johnson worked in Seattle from 1910 through 1914. He designed houses in Mount Baker and West Seattle. 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 Swiss Chalet-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Cascadia Avenue South on a sloping site at street level. This 1323 square foot, single-story house with a full basement features a nearly square plan, measuring approximately 35’ by 37’, with a 3’ by 13’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the cross gable roof. Broad overhanging open eaves and gables with exposed purlins and rafters define the roofline. Wood sash windows provide day lighting. A brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 3208 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700004070 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Unknown Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Other Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: 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." Architects file cards, Seattle Department of Neighborhood, Historic Preservation Program. Dietz, Duane, “Architects and Landscape Architects of Seattle, 1876 to 1959 and Beyond,” unpublished paper. University of Washington Libraries, July 1993.

Photo collection for 3208 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700004070 / Inv #

Photo taken Photo taken Oct 31, 2003 Photo taken Oct 31, 2003 Photo taken Photo taken Mar 15, 2004 Photo taken Mar 15, 2004