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Summary for 2519 31st AVE / Parcel ID 5700000205 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: American Foursquare - Craftsman Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1912
 
Significance
Built in 1912, this building was constructed along with a garage after Gotfred T. and Hulda S. Lagerberg purchased the property in July of 1911. The residence cost an estimated $2500 to build. Mr. Lagerberg worked as an engineer. The Lagerberg’s resided in the building through 1931. In 1938, the building was vacant. F. J. May occupied the building by 1943, followed by Eugene E. Hogan in 1954 through 1958. By 1961 through 1968, John M. Hay lived in the building. In November of 1972, Charles Vaught purchased the building for $25,000. 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 1912, this substantial, Craftsman-influenced, American Foursquare style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-First Avenue South on a flat site 8’ above street level. This 1332 square foot, two-story house with a full basement features a square plan, measuring approximately 38’ by 38’, with a full width front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shiplap-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof and front facing dormer. Broad overhanging eaves with exposed rafters define the roofline. Wood sash double hung windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A bay window projects on the side facade. A direct flight of stairs leads to the front porch. The hipped porch roof rests on multiple piers. This building is a good example of an American Foursquare style building within the Mount Baker neighborhood.

Detail for 2519 31st AVE / Parcel ID 5700000205 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Wood - Shiplap Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan:
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: 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 2519 31st AVE / Parcel ID 5700000205 / Inv #


Photo taken
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