| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
North Rainier Valley |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1910 |
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| Significance |
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Built in 1910, this building was owned by John W. and Elizabeth Willman. In 1923, the Willman’s added a garage. They remodeled the building interior in 1925 and lived in the residence through 1943. Mr. Willman was a blacksmith with Bacon & Matheson Forge Company. In August of 1948, Lizzie Willman purchased the residence. By 1951, R. J. Bowers lived in the building. By 1953 through 1968, James Holmes occupied the building.
The North Rainier Valley consists of a depression created by glaciation between the ridges of Beacon Hill and Mount Baker. The valley derives its name from Mount Rainier because of stunning views of the mountain. The area’s growth followed the early streetcar line, which was completed to Columbia City in 1890. The North Rainier Valley includes the area north of Columbia City and contained many early vegetable farms. Commercial development followed along the streetcar line, with housing built nearby.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the area between Massachusetts and Atlantic Streets was home to Seattle’s largest Italian enclave, “Garlic Gulch.” Dugdale Ball Park opened on the corner of Rainier Avenue and McClellan Street in 1913, and was succeeded by Sick’s Stadium in 1938. World War II precipitated a surge in housing development, including the public housing project, Rainier Vista, in 1943. Following the war, the area attracted a mix of African-Americans, Asians, and Filipinos. Today this diverse, low-to-middle income neighborhood is unique within Seattle with its long narrow form focused on the Rainier Avenue transportation corridor.
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| Appearance |
| Built in 1910, this modest, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot. The building is oriented to Thirteenth Avenue South on a sloping site 7’ above street level. This 864 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 24’ by 36’, with a 12’ by 6’ recessed front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the front gable roof. Broad overhanging open eaves and gables with exposed rafters, purlins and bracing and prominent bargeboards define the roofline. Wood sash 1:1 windows with leading in the upper panes of the first story windows provide day lighting. Diamond-shaped windows flank the gable ends. A broad flight of stairs leads to the front porch. The front facade composition features two bays. One contains the recessed front porch. Windows enclose the other. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Unknown |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
one & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
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| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
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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Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "North Rainier Valley Historic Context Statement."
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