| Historic Name: |
|
Common Name: |
|
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1909 |
| |
| Significance |
|
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
|
|
Built in 1909, this building was designed by Seattle architect, Robert T. Knipe, built by W. H. Bryan, and owned by J. E. and Mary M. Morrow. The building cost $2200. In 1917, the Morrow’s constructed a retaining wall for $140. By 1918, John H. and Catherine Fordon owned the building. Mr. Fordon was a clerk with G. M. Owens. Mr. Fordon constructed a garage on the property in 1918. Catherine Fordon purchased the residence in March of 1920. George and Delcia DuBois moved in to the residence ca 1937. Mr. DuBois worked as a carpet cleaner at Pantorium Dye Works. By 1943, Beth E. Heist lived in the house, followed Lewis Chinn by 1955 and Roy K. Ohashi from ca 1958 through 1968. David A. Beardsley purchased the building in October of 1971 for $7000.
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.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| Built in 1909, this substantial, Craftsman-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Sixteenth Avenue South on a flat site 3½’ above street level. This 1092 square foot, two-story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 26’ by 42’, with a full width front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. A pronounced belt course visually separates the first and second stories with a peaked frieze above the second story in the front facade gable end. Asphalt composition roofing covers the gable roof and dormers. 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 direct flight of stairs leads to the front porch. Substantial posts with decorative brackets carry the flat porch roof and upper story balcony. A low, solid railing wraps the front porch. A brick chimney services the building. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Unknown |
| 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 Windows: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
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.
|
|
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
|
|
|
