| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1914 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1914, this building was constructed after William C. and Mary Nelson bought the property in August of 1913. Seattle architect, Sherer Poros, designed the building. In September of 1918, the Nelson’s added a garage, and in 1921, a playhouse. Mr. Nelson worked in the real estate business. The Nelson’s remained in the building through 1968.
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 1914, this compact, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Seventeenth Avenue South on a flat site above street level. This 1567 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 30’ by 38’, with a 30’ by 10’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the side gable roof and gabled front-facing dormer. Upturned eaves with curved bargeboards, gable overhangs and exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-paned windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. Bay windows project on the side facade. A decorative header accents the dormer windows. Multiple flights of stairs lead to the front porch. Massive brick piers support the extended roofline over the porch. An external gable end brick chimney services the building. The massing of the piers and breadth of clear span over the front porch set this building apart as distinct within the Beacon Hill neighborhood. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
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| Roof Type(s): |
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Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
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| Structural System: |
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No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
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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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
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