| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1926 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1926, this building was owned and occupied by 1931 through 1943 by Robert F. and Sophie M. Petersen. Mr. Petersen worked as manager of the Sunset Bottling Works. Mr. Petersen previously was secretary for the Cereal Beverage Workers Union Local No. 142 Labor Temple. In 1937, the Petersen’s altered the rear entrance and moved the existing back porch to the side of the house. By 1955 through 1968, Robert Berg lived in the house.
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 1926, this compact, Craftsman-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family bungalow stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Fifteenth Avenue South on a flat site 4’ above street level. This 952 square foot, single-story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 28’ by 34’, with a 12’ by 7’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the side gable roof. Overhanging open eaves and gables with exposed rafters and modest bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash windows with leaded upper panes and painted wood casings provide day lighting. Two flights of stairs lead to the front porch. Tapered posts on brick piers support the gable roof sheltering the porch. A gable end exterior brick chimney services the building. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
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: |
one |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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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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