| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1910 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1910, the residence was moved from 947 12th Avenue South in August of 1920. The foundation and first floor of a three story apartment building was also constructed. The two upper floors were the frame residence moved to the site. G. B. Palmer owned the property. In December of 1927, A. W. Porter built a frame garage. The apartments were known as the View Point Apartments. By 1929, Elizabeth Fakey owned the building and constructed a garage in November of the same year. The gross income from the rentals in 1937 was $1260. The building featured five units in 1938. By 1941, the Marine National Company owned the property before selling to M. A. Kelly. In 1941, the building was also re-sided and the number of units increased to nine. In 1944, building owner, Mary Kelly, installed a garbage chute to service the existing apartments. Ward Construction was the contractor. The number of units dropped back to four by 1953. Woodrow Hansen purchased the building in December of 1958 for approximately $32,000. Roy W. Gustafson purchased the building in May of 1968 for $34,950.
Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s.
Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1910, this substantial, American Foursquare style, multiple-family dwelling stands on a nearly rectangular corner lot. The building is oriented to Fourteenth Avenue South and the sloped site descends along South Atlantic Street. This 1716 square foot, two-and-a-half story apartment building with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 38’ by 56’, with a 6’ by 26’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, concrete/asbestos shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Broad eave overhangs with contemporary soffit alterations define the roofline. A bay window with a pedimented roof projects from the south side. Vinyl 1:1 windows provide day lighting to the interior. Oriel windows project off the northwest and southeast corners of the building. A short, direct flight of stairs leads to the main porch. Columns support the porch roof with a closed railing between them. Plain secondary entrances lead to basement units on South Atlantic Street. Broad original decks with altered railings and some altered supports extend off the building’s west side. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Shingle - Concrete/Asbestos |
Foundation(s): |
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| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
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Changes to Windows: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Moderate |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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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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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
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