Historic Name: |
Lincoln Park Concession & Comfort Station |
Common Name: |
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Style: |
Modern |
Neighborhood: |
Morgan Junction |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1951 |
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Significance |
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This combination concession and comfort station building was constructed in 1951 to serve the Picnic Grove and the athletic field at the southern end of Lincoln Park. The new building replaced a 1925 comfort station located in the same area. West Seattle first gained fame as the landing point of the Denny Party in 1851, however residential and commercial development was slow to come to the area due to its topography and geographic isolation. This problem was partially solved with the establishment of ferry service from Seattle to the east shore of Duwamish Head in 1888. A trolley car line built on trestles replaced the ferry in 1902, and connected with several streetcar lines, which eventually extended service throughout West Seattle. One of the lines extended to the southwest corner of the peninsula following the route of today’s SW Fauntleroy Way and ended south of Point Williams at Endolyne. With improved access, West Seattle developed rapidly and was eventually annexed in 1907.
The 1908 Olmsted Supplemental Plan proposed a "Williams Point Park" as part of the Seattle park system, which would be connected to the rest of the city via an extensive boulevard system. In 1903, the city had hired the Olmsted Brothers to prepare plans for a comprehensive park and boulevard system, including suggestions for improvements to existing parks. This was supplemented by an additional report in 1908 to include the large areas annexed by the city the previous year, including West Seattle. According to the Olmsted Brothers, the proposed "Williams Point Park" should include some 130 acres of comparatively level land between the point and the new electric railway to provide space for athletic fields, lawns, drives, walks, and plantings. The triangular-shaped park would serve both the local neighborhood and the city as a whole. Implementation of the report began almost immediately, however not always as envisioned by the Olmsteds, especially in the outlying areas where there was less residential and commercial development. Land for the park at Point Williams was not acquired by the city until 1922. The new 130-acre park would be called Lincoln Park in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, which forced Lincoln Playfield on Capitol Hill to be renamed Broadway Playfield.
Within a few years of the acquisition, the Parks Department had cleared weeds and downed trees and had constructed a comfort station in 1925. This comfort station was located near the Picnic Grove on the sloping meadow at the southern end of the park. In 1930, the Parks Department developed two athletic fields in the northern end of the park after a yearlong search for an appropriate site. Two years later, a brick shelter house was constructed north of the athletic fields. However, the financial difficulties of the depression in the 1930s and the shortages of labor and materials during the Second World War halted the construction of most park buildings until the later 1940s with the exception of those built by state and federal relief agencies. By 1951, the Parks Department had the necessary funding to replace the 1925 comfort station near the Picnic Grove with a new building, which also featured a concession. In the meantime, the Parks Department had also installed an athletic field north of the Picnic Grove, which would benefit from the new facility. This building is significant for its association with the development of Lincoln Park.
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Appearance |
Completed in 1951, this large concession and comfort station occupies a site near the picnic area at the southern end of Lincoln Park. The one-story building has a rectangular plan covered by a front gable roof with a deep overhang on the principal south elevation and slighter overhangs on the other elevations. Pairs of exposed roof trusses with decorative cut ends rest on notched posts within the gable ends. Plywood panels clad the gable ends between the posts and line the upper walls below the roofline on the side elevations. Brick veneer covers the exterior walls on all elevations below the plywood paneling. The Modern building faces south towards the picnic area and now contains the women’s restroom in the southeast corner and the men’s restroom in the northeast corner. Originally, the women’s restroom occupied the entire eastern third of the building while the men’s restroom occupied the western third. A large concession area filled the center of the building. Subsequently, the men’s restroom was relocated to its present location. However, the reconfiguration of the interior of the building did not result in significant alterations to the building’s original appearance.
On the south elevation, the brick wall extends several feet beyond the side elevations and contains three large openings at the center with paneled overhead doors separated by boxed wood posts. The projecting end walls shelter entrances at the southern ends of the east and west elevations. The entrance on the west elevation originally provided access to the men’s restroom. On the east elevation, the entrance still provides access to the women’s restroom. A later entrance at the northern end of the building serves the relocated men’s restroom. As part of the alterations, the rear brick wall was extended so as to shelter this entrance in a similar fashion. Modern metal gates have replaced the original doors. On the rear north elevation, the brick wall contains three single door entrances evenly spaced at the center of the façade. Despite the alterations noted above, this building retains very good physical integrity. |
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Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Brick, Plywood |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Other |
Building Type: |
Other |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
Structural System: |
Unknown |
No. of Stories: |
one |
Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Community Planning/Development, Entertainment/Recreation |
Integrity |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Major Bibliographic References |
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Sherwood, Don. Seattle Parks Histories, c. 1970-1981, unpublished.
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