| Historic Name: |
Mrs. N.C. Hoffeditz Residence |
Common Name: |
Maertens Residence |
| Style: |
Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Georgetown |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1891 |
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| Significance |
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Based on field work conducted in September 2014, this historic property retains its relationship to the streetscape, historic building form and a sufficient amount of exterior historic building fabric (design features, cladding and/or window sash/openings) to contribute to the distinct character of the Georgetown neighborhood.
This is a well-preserved historic property that appears to possess architectural and/or historic significance.
This property exhibits no substantive changes to the exterior appearance/design character since it was identified in the 1997 HRI project.
(1997) This property is associated with the residential and commercial building boom in Georgetown which occurred between 1890 and 1916. Fueled by the construction of the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company’s new brewing facility after the turn of the century and the arrival of foreign immigrants, especially German and Italian, Georgetown came to rely more on its commercial and industrial bases rather than agricultural. With the increase of industry and business, Georgetown had grown in population from 1,913 in 1900 to approximately 7,000 by 1910 as families located themselves near its factories and other places of employment. The original owner/builder of this residence has not been identified. The residence is known to have been owned by Mrs. N.C. Hoffeditz by c. 1916 and by Louis Maertens by c. 1924. Louis Maertens, possibly an owner/builder, was issued a building permit to "alter and repair existing residence" in 1925. Additional research may determine the plan configuration prior to the side wing addition associated with this permit. In the later 1930s, it is known that Louis' widow, Mary, a sausageworker, and Louis' son, Albert, both lived in the residence. The Maertens family has continued to own this property to the present day. This property may pre-date the construction date identified on assessor’s records and is worthy of additional research to determine a more accurate date of construction and original ownership.
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| Appearance |
| A well preserved variation of the gable-front and wing vernacular house type. This was a flexible domestic plan type that was popularly constructed throughout the American West during the later half of the 19th C and the early decades of the 20th C. This particular residence is a hybrid example constructed in two phases with the initial gable-front wing constructed c.1891 and the side wing c.1925. The gable-front wing exhibits distinctive design features and historic building fabric indicative of its earlier construction era: a tall narrow one & ½ story (side gable?) building form accentuated by a medium pitch roof and original tall, narrow double-hung windows (some with older style 2/2 wooden sash). The side wing exhibits design features and historic building fabric indicative of stylistic trends of the 1920s, including: wide roof overhangs, exposed rafter ends, kneebraces, prairie windows (in combination with older sash members) and Tudor Revival style entrance hood. The entire house is clad with a false bevel siding that appears to have been applied over the original cedar clapboards. It is assumed that the house originally consisted of only the gable front portion, however additional investigation is necessary to determine if a portion of the side wing may also have been part of the original dwelling. A small one story shed/chicken house, with cedar clapboard siding, is situated behind the residence at the alley side. The site also includes several older fruit trees. |
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