| Historic Name: |
Caselton House |
Common Name: |
Caselton House |
| Style: |
Queen Anne |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1891 |
| |
| Significance |
|
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
|
|
The Caselton House was constructed about 1891. In 1888, 25 year old Victoria, British Columbia native Arthur Caselton (1863-1929) moved to Seattle and got a job as a molder for the Washington Iron Works, a job that he would hold for a quarter of a century. A year later the iron works burned down in the 1889 Seattle Fire. Washington Iron Works quickly rebuilt and by 1900 the foundry was one of the city’s largest, employing 140 men and occupying 2 ½ square city blocks. About 1891, after they completed the house, Arthur and wife Anna Caselton (1874-1957) took up residence in the house where they would remain for the rest of their lives. The house was constructed near the end of Seattle's first major residential building boom. To commute to work, Caselton walked five blocks to catch the Third Street and Suburban Railway that ran from Ravenna through the future University district, along the north shore of Lake Union, and then across a Lake Union bridge (located below the current I-5 ship canal bridge), to the iron works downtown.
From 1899 to 1924, Arthur Caselton was secretary treasurer of the Seattle Iron Molders Union Local 158. Anna Caselton, originally from Minnesota, had a long 45-year career in the insurance industry. After the 1929 death of her husband, Anna continued to live in the house until her 1957 death, which adds up to the Caseltons occupying the house for 66 years.
Later occupants. By 1961 draftsman Philip C. and Esther J. Norton lived in the house.
The 1901 Polk Seattle Directory lists the house at 4021 2nd Ave NE.
The 1975 Historic Seattle Survey of Wallingford listed the "Castelton House" as Significant to the City. In 1979 the Seattle Historic Resources Surveys inventoried the house and described it as "Architecturally distinctive early residence."
Few intact buildings exist that were built during Seattle's first significant building boom which lasted from 1887 to about the end of 1891. The Queen Anne style residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and minimal alterations.
Sources:
"Funeral Held for Arthur Caselton" Seattle Times October 9, 1929. Clipping file, Special Collections, University of Washington Library.
"Mrs. Arthur R. Caselton" Seattle Times November 2, 1957. Clipping File, B4, Seattle Public Library, Downtown Branch.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| The vernacular Queen Anne style Caselton House was constructed about 1891. In 1913 the south elevation porch was enclosed (permit # 121507). Since 1972 a gable dormer and second floor balcony compatible with the original style was added to the south elevation. The building has hip and gable roof. As the 1979 Historic Resources Survey stated "Gable facing street decorated with a small arched attic window, sunbursts, decorative panels, and scalloped bargeboards. Window lintels decorated with dentils." |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Drop siding |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable, Gable - Clipped |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Windows: |
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. Seattle Inventory Field Form. 1979.
|
|
Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes.
|
|
Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.
|
|
Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes.
|
|
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. “Wallingford: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources.” Seattle: Historic Seattle, 1975.
|
|
|
