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Summary for 3111 37TH AVE / Parcel ID 5700002770 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Arts & Crafts - Rustic Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1909
 
Significance
Built in 1909 at a cost of $3000, this building was designed by Seattle architect, R. T. Knipe, and owned by D. James. In 1913, the building was owned by W. E. Williams, who added a back porch for $60. In 1916, Peter Benson owned the building and he hired G. P. Nielson to build a garage for $400. Ca 1927, August F. and Mary C. Stotler moved into the building. Mr. Stotler was the assistant chief engineer with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The Stotler’s remained in the building through 1958. G. Eric Pucher bought the residence in February of 1960 for $13,000. Fidelity and Guaranty Company purchased the property in March of 1961 for $13,268, then promptly sold the building to Clarence Lomax in May of 1961 for $14,500. Mr. Lomax resided in the building through 1968. Wilbur H. Mundy purchased the building in December of 1971 for $22,500. Architect Robert T. Knipe worked in Seattle between 1909 and 1915. (There was a Seattle architectural partnership called Knapp and West that included Jacob A. Knapp that operated from 1905-1909, and Knipe may have worked for this firm initially). 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 1909, this Rustic 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 approximately 3’ above street level. This 936 square foot, one-and-one-half story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 26’ by 36’, with a 5’ by 11’ porch. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, wood clapboard- and stucco-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the steeply pitched gable roof. Eaves and prominent fascia and brackets define the roofline. The dark stucco includes aggregate and the clapboards are rough sawn. The house includes storm windows protecting leaded upper sash windows. The upper story includes a squared bay window. The front porch is sheltered by a low pitched gable roof with visible purlins.

Detail for 3111 37TH AVE / Parcel ID 5700002770 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco, Wood - Clapboard 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: one & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
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."
Dietz, Duane, “Architects and Landscape Architects of Seattle, 1876 to 1959 and Beyond,” unpublished paper. University of Washington Libraries, July 1993.

Photo collection for 3111 37TH AVE / Parcel ID 5700002770 / Inv #


Photo taken Nov 04, 2003

Photo taken

Photo taken
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