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Summary for 1700 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250203755 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1920
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1920, the residence was occupied by Mary B. Morgan by 1940 through 1943. Sara K. and Bertha Roberts lived in the building by 1955 through 1961. By 1965 through 1968, William G. Didrichsen lived in the house. 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 1920, this eclectic style single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Lake Washington Boulevard South on a sloping site at street level. This 1078 square foot, two-story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 35’ by 32’, with a full width side porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the gable roof. Broad eave and gable overhangs with exposed rafters, purlins, braces and prominent bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A clinker brick chimney services the building.

Detail for 1700 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250203755 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
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: two
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: 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 1700 LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD / Parcel ID 1250203755 / Inv #


Photo taken
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