Seattle.gov Home Page
Link to Seattle Department of Neighborhoods home page

Seattle Historical Sites

New Search

Summary for 3437 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003865 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Rustic, Queen Anne - Cottage Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1923
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1923, this building was occupied by Cora J. and Perley E. Sands that same year. Mr. Sands was president of Sands Motor Company, a Studebaker and used car dealership. E. L. Skeel purchased the building in June of 1936. The building sold again in 1943 for $17,000. By 1958, Howard C. Gilbert lived in the building. Merton Y. Glanf bought the property in April of 1964 for $23,000. 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 1923, this compact, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Cascadia Avenue South on a flat site 10’ above street level. This 1362 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 27’ by 44’, with a small front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, stucco-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the clipped cross gable roof and eyebrow dormer. Modest open eave and gable overhangs with exposed rafters and purlins define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-lite double hung windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A prominent circular bay with multiple windows projects on the front facade. A rounded hipped roof shelters the front entrance. Its unique architectural character sets this building apart within the neighborhood.

Detail for 3437 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003865 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Gable - Clipped 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):
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: 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 3437 CASCADIA AVE / Parcel ID 5700003865 / Inv #


Photo taken

Photo taken Mar 12, 2004

Photo taken Oct 30, 2003
App v2.0.1.0