| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
American Foursquare- Colonial |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1921 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Built in 1921 at a cost of $12,000, this building was designed by Seattle architect, Victor W. Vorhees, for Dr. Charles L. and Francis M. Templeton. Also, in 1921, V. W. Vorhees designed a garage for the residence. Dr. Templeton worked as a physician at the Polyclinic. The Templeton’s remained in the building through 1943. Frank McDunn bought the property in October of 1948 for $22,000 and remained through 1968.
V. W. Voorhees worked as an architect in Seattle from 1904 until at least 1957. He established the firm of Fisher and Voorhees in 1904 in Ballard where the firm designed many commercial and apartment buildings. Voorhees is credited with more than 100 building projects between 1904 and 1929, ranging from cottages and large residences to apartment blocks, auto dealerships, industrial buildings, fraternal halls, office buildings and commercial structures such as the Vance Hotel and Washington Hall. He published a popular pattern book of house, cottage and bungalow plans in 1907, Western Home Builder.
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.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1921, this substantial, Colonial-influenced, American Foursquare style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Mount Saint Helens Place on a flat site 1’ above street level. This 1496 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a U-shaped plan, measuring 34’ by 44’, with a 9’ by 12’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick veneer-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and pedimented front wall projection. A dentil course above a prominent fascia and minimal eave overhangs define the roofline. Paired and single 8:1 wood sash double hung windows with stone sills, jack arches and keystones provide day lighting. A flight of stairs leads to the front stoop. Classically-inspired columns and engaged pilasters support a flat roof and a second story balcony. A low railing wraps the balcony. A remarkable second story balcony extends along the building’s back facade. An exterior brick chimney services the building. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
U-Shape |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
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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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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