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Summary for 2803 33rd AVE / Parcel ID 5700001235 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Prairie Style Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1915
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1915, this building was owned by 1923 by Allen H. Armstrong, who added a garage that same year. Trustam B. and Georgia A. Vincent moved into the building ca 1937. In April of 1939, Odin L. Woods purchased the building. By 1954, William H. Scates resided in the building, purchasing the property in March of 1958 for $14,000. Mufford Caston bought the residence in 1967 for $21,000. 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 1915, this low, Prairie-influenced, Arts & Crafts style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular corner lot. The building is oriented to Thirty-Third Avenue South on a flat site 2’ above street level. This 1920 square foot, single-story house with a three-quarter basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 32’ by 51’, with a 20’ by 10’ front porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, brick- and stucco-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip roof. Broad overhanging closed eaves define the roofline. Wood sash vertically-emphasized windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front entrance. The Prairie influence and window configuration set this building apart as distinctive within the Mount Baker neighborhood.

Detail for 2803 33rd AVE / Parcel ID 5700001235 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Brick, Stucco Foundation(s): Concrete - Block, 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: one
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Slight
Changes to Original Cladding: Slight
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 2803 33rd AVE / Parcel ID 5700001235 / Inv #


Photo taken Nov 05, 2003

Photo taken Nov 05, 2003

Photo taken Nov 05, 2003
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