| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Mount Baker |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1914 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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Built 1914, this building was purchased by Anna K. and Arthur R. Truax in September of 1920. Mr. Truax was vice president of First Seattle Dexter Horton National Bank. The Truax’s remodeled the building in 1921 and remained in the building through 1944. Charles A. McCabe bought the property in July of 1953 for $15,000. In November of 1958, J. C. Doherty purchased the building for $15,000. It sold again in March of 1960 to Kelmer W. Bernhard for $16,300, and in May of 1962 to Stanley W. Groves for $19,000.
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.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1914, this Craftsman-influenced, Arts and Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a square lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Seventh Avenue South on a flat site 3 to 4’ above street level. This 1134 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 32’ by 39’, with a 6’ by 16’ porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-, stucco-, and river rock-clad superstructure. The second story projects slightly beyond the first story. Decorative brackets accent this overhang. Asphalt composition roofing covers the cross gable roof. The windows are leaded glass with multiple-pane upper sash over one pane. A three sided bay window with unusual bracket supports projects from the second story. The front entrance is recessed behind a massive lintel supported by river rock piers. A multi-paned glass insert decorates the single wood door. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
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Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Square |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
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Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."
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