| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Modern - Contemporary |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1953 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1953, the building is listed in Polk directories as vacant in 1953. Nora Harrison resided in the building from 1955 through 1966. Tumihisa Utsunomiya lived in the house from 1968 through 1970.
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 1953, this compact, Modern style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Twenty-first Avenue South on a sloped site elevated above the street level. This 990 square foot, single-story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring 28’ by 39’, with a 6’ by 6’ front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, horizontal wood siding-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Modest eave overhangs define the roofline. Contemporary aluminum sash windows provide day lighting. A metal railing flanks the two direct flights of stairs leading up from the sidewalk to the open stoop. A metal support carries the extended roofline over the open stoop. An exterior brick chimney and integrated, below-grade garage service 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: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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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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