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Summary for 3320 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003960 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: American Foursquare- Colonial, American Foursquare - Spanish, Spanish - Mediterranean Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1927
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1927, this building was constructed after Arthur H. and Olive R. Challis purchased the property in May of 1925. The residence was valued at $15,000. A. J. Carr was the contractor. Mr. and Mrs. Challis resided previously at 3327 Hunter Boulevard South. Mr. Challis was an insurance agent for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. By 1954 through 1958, Dwight N. Mason, Junior lived in the building. 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 1927, this Colonial Revival-influenced, American Foursquare 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 1465 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 31’ by 46’, with a 3’ by 12’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, stucco-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Double hung wood sash windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front entrance. An elliptical pediment carried on paired Classically-influenced columns shelters the entrance. A sidewall exterior brick chimney services the building. A garage extends off the back facade. The entry detailing and cladding set this building apart from other stylistically similar buildings within the neighborhood.

Detail for 3320 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003960 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Hip 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 Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Plan: 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 3320 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003960 / Inv #


Photo taken

Photo taken Oct 30, 2003

Photo taken Oct 30, 2003
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