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Summary for 625 4TH AVE / Parcel ID 3876900125 / Inv # 0

Historic Name: Naomi Apartments Common Name:
Style: Art Deco Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Built By: Year Built: 1930
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local).

This 3-story brick-clad apartment building was constructed in 1930, according to the 1937 King County Assessor property card, in the Uptown neighborhood. The building is known as The Naomi. Architect B. Dudley Stuart designed the building for builder C. Sundland. Before the building’s construction was complete, it was sold to Charles A. Jacobs, by Lindjord & Peterson, Inc. Stuart and Sundland collaborated on at least five other apartment buildings in Uptown. When the building opened, it had 22 apartment suites of two-and-a-half rooms. The brick for the structure was provided by Abrahamson Brick Company, with its sash, doors, and millworks supplied by Millwork Supply Corporation.

Bertram Dudley Stuart (1885–1977) was born in London, England, and practiced architecture in Edmonton, Alberta, and then Vancouver, British Columbia, before moving to Seattle in 1915. He married Edith May Hatton of Seattle ca. 1910 (their engagement announcement ran in the Seattle Times in summer 1909). While in Vancouver, B.C., he practiced with Howard E. White (Stuart & White, 1912–13). He partnered with Arthur Wheatley as Stuart & Wheatley between 1923 and 1930. Together, they designed Biltmore Apartments (1923–24), Highland Apartments (1924), Bergonian Hotel (1926), Sterling Court Apartments (1926), Exeter House Apartments (1927), and Marianne Apartments (1929), all in Seattle. Stuart then partnered with Holmes and Lister Jones, as Stuart, Holmes & Jones (1940–42), then Paul Hayden Kirk and Robert Durham as Stuart, Kirk & Durham (1942–45). Kirk branched off on his own and the partners reformed as Stuart & Durham (1945–54), designing the Queen Anne Vista Apartments (1949). Stuart started his own practice after 1954 and designed the Washington Mutual Savings Bank in Federal Way (1968–69). Stuart retired at the age of 86 as a result of failing eyesight. He passed away in 1977, survived by his wife Edith, son, B. Dudley Stuart, Jr., and daughter, Gladwyn (Stuart) Morrison.

 
Appearance

Constructed in 1930, this apartment building is located midblock on the west side of Fourth Avenue W between W Roy and W Mercer streets. The building fronts Fourth Avenue W. The 3-story building with a raised basement has a rectangular plan and stands on a poured concrete foundation. The building has a flat roof with a parapet. Brick clads the building and cast stone pieces decorate it. The building’s main (east) elevation is divided into three bays. The north and south bays are projected one brick length out from the center bay. The main entrance is centered within the center bay and is accessed via brick stairs which lead to a brick stoop. A metal canopy shelters the entrance. Brick pilasters with cast stone capitals flank the main entrance. A cast stone beltcourse with Art Deco motifs in relief runs above the third floor windows in the center bay. The center windows above the entrance are offset from the other windows, indicating the possible location of the building’s stairwell.  The building’s original windows have been replaced with vinyl sash windows.

The buildings retains good integrity, with the exception of its windows and is a typical example of an apartment building from its period of construction.



Detail for 625 4TH AVE / Parcel ID 3876900125 / Inv # 0

Status: No - Altered
Classication: Building District Status: NR
Cladding(s): Brick, Other Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Unknown
Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Unknown No. of Stories: three & ½
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Moderate
Major Bibliographic References
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.

Photo collection for 625 4TH AVE / Parcel ID 3876900125 / Inv # 0


Photo taken Jan 27, 2004

Photo taken Feb 26, 2018

Photo taken Feb 26, 2018

Photo taken Jan 01, 1900
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