Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1555 Lakeview BLVD / Parcel ID 2025049128 / Inv #

Historic Name: C& K Apartments Common Name: Lake View Apartments Style: Modern - Contemporary Neighborhood: Eastlake Built By: Year Built: 1949   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. This Modernistic apartment building was designed and owned by Paul Hayden Kirk and his partner James Chiarelli in 1949. It was one of their larger projects, and has many of the characteristics that were commonly seen in later apartment buildings, including a flat roof with deep eaves, bands of picture windows, and the horizontal emphasis of wood spandrels interrupted by wide vertical elements and end walls of Roman brick. Kirk, one of the Pacific Northwest's most renowned Modernist architects, was born in Salt Lake City in 1914, and came to Seattle as a child in 1922. He received his degree in architecture from the University of Washington in 1939, and began his career working as a draftsman for several local practitioners, including Floyd Naramore, Arrigo Young and B. Dudley Stuart. He later worked for Henry Bittman as a designer. His early work was residential, including war-era housing projects in which his interest in unadorned Modernism was apparent. This apartment house was designed during his five year partnership (1945-50) with James A. Chiarelli. He worked as a sole practitioner from 1950-57,producing a number of medical clinics and residences. His work looked to the International Style, but used rough-cut stone, wood and expanses of glass to give a more natural and "Northwest" feeling. He came particularly known for medical clinics and churches (University Unitarian Church, 1959, and the Japanese Presbyterian Church, 1963). As the practice became larger, he took on partners and institutional work became a large element of their work, including Meany Hall at the University of Washington. Perhaps his most noted building is a small one, the Seattle Public Library's Magnolia branch (1964), a designated Seattle historical landmark. Kirk retired in 1979.   Appearance This wood frame building is a long narrow rectangle whose deep eaves and long bands of picture windows and stucco spandrels emphasis its horizontality. The form (east) façade has narrower bands of windows, while larger picture windows are on the west side facing Lake Union. The main façade is divided horizontally into thirds by two entries with Roman brick extending to the roof and glass stairwells. Because of the sloping site, there are four stories on the rear, with individual garages on the lower level below the apartments.

Detail for 1555 Lakeview BLVD / Parcel ID 2025049128 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Eaves Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Multiple Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: three Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Major Bibliographic References Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. Jeffrey Karl Ochsner, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972. City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.

Photo collection for 1555 Lakeview BLVD / Parcel ID 2025049128 / Inv #

Photo taken Jun 27, 2006