Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 3307B 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Historic Name: Administration Building Common Name: Peterson Hall Style: Queen Anne - Richardsonian Romanesque Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1905   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). Seattle Pacific University was first established on April 4, 1891, as the Seattle Seminary, organized by the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church in order to train missionaries. It began with 34 elementary school students, adding high school courses the following year. In 1910 it expanded to include college-level courses. Soon afterwards, in 1913, it was renamed The Seattle Seminary and College and, in 1915, Seattle Pacific College. It gained its current name in 1977. By 2001 the school had grown to serve 3,500 students on a 45-acre campus. The older buildings, and important newer structures, form an ensemble that illustrates the school's history; they are arranged around a grass-covered central square with numerous large trees. Peterson Hall was the school’s second building, constructed when the school outgrew the original Red Brick Building. Known as the Administration Building, it was the center of campus life for more than sixty years, until Demeray Hall was built in 1967. It housed the business office, the library and the chapel, as well as classrooms and offices. The building was designed by local architect William H. Jewett, while he was a partner of C. Alfred Breitung (1901-05). Jewett died shortly before the building was dedicated December 12, 1905. [Breitung is best known for his later works for the Catholic Church, including the House of the Good Shepherd (1906-07) and Holy Names Academy (1906-08).] In the 1940s the building was re-named in honor of Nils Peterson, a homesteader who had donated five acres for the original campus. Peterson also served on the school’s board of trustees.   Appearance Peterson Hall has red pressed brick cladding and a hipped roof with a broad hipped dormer in the center of the main (north) façade. The building has two full stories plus a nearly complete third story. The center dormer is flanked by two large polygonal dormers set into the corners; each of these is in turn topped by a small gabled dormer. All the dormers are clad with shingles. These dormers give the appearance of short hexagonal towers, referencing the nearby Alexander Building. Another large hipped dormer is on the south elevation; it has three pairs of one-over-one windows. The recessed entry porch has leaded double doors and three wide flat arches; a secondary entry is below the stairs. Trim is buff brick, found at the window sills, at the top of the porch columns, around the arches, in belt courses above the porch and above the second-floor windows, and the water table. The foundation is of concrete blocks. First-floor windows on the south are topped with Gothic arches outlined in buff brick. Most of the windows throughout have been replaced with dark aluminum sash, and there is a one-story addition on the rear.

Detail for 3307B 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick Foundation(s): Concrete - Block Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Education - College Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Education, Religion Integrity Changes to Windows: Moderate Changes to Plan: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Major Bibliographic References King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Reinartz, Kay F. Queen Anne: Community on the Hill. Seattle: Queen Anne Historical Society, 1993. McNichols, Donald. Seattle Pacific University: A Growing Vision, 1891-1991. Seattle Pacific University, 1991.

Photo collection for 3307B 3rd AVE / Parcel ID 890000-0555 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 04, 2004