Summary for 1708 18th AVE / Parcel ID 7234601200 / Inv # |
Historic Name: |
Fisken, A. F., House |
Common Name: |
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Style: |
Colonial - Dutch Colonial |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1901 |
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Significance |
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This is an early house, especially for such a highly-developed area, surrounded by apartments, institutions and commercial buildings. It was built in 1901by P. C. Shannon, for A. F. Fisken, although the Tax Assessor gives 1896 as the date. The address is apparently not listed in the current tax assessor database, which seems to indicate that this parcel is vacant. The house is a good example of a Dutch Colonial and is quite intact. In 1958 it was reclad with asbestos shingles, but those have been removed. It was a duplex in 1937; it is unclear if it was originally a duple or single-family house. at an unknown date, so there are now two doors.
This area, called Second Hill or Renton Hill, was platted by Captain William Renton in the 1880s. He cleared the land, graded the streets and set out wooden sidewalks. Development flourished with the opening of the Madison Street cable car line about 1890. The spectacular views both east and west attracted many mansions and luxury apartments as well as more modest houses.
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Appearance |
This Dutch Colonial house has a side gable gambrel woof with very deep boxed eaves and carved brackets. Cladding is wood shingles. The full width porch is narrow, recessed beneath the eaves with no balustrade. A gabled portico projects at the entries; new handrails have been added on the stairs. A 16-light window and a nine-over-one window flank the doorways; similar windows are on the other elevations. Two pedimented dormers are placed together above the entry; each has a nine-light window. The side elevations have a shallow curved bay with three one-over-one windows; above are two six-over-one windows. |
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Detail for 1708 18th AVE / Parcel ID 7234601200 / Inv # |
Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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Cladding(s): |
Shingle |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
Roof Type(s): |
Gambrel |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
L-Shape |
Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
Integrity |
Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Major Bibliographic References |
Williams, Jacqueline B. The Hill with a Future: Seattle's Capitol Hill 1900-1946. Seattle: CPK Ink, 2001.
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Plaques on the exterior wall of the “retaining wall/comfort station” structure and on the little bridge at the edge of the Wading Pool (WPA, 1936-37 and 1938-39).
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King County Tax Assessor Records, ca. 1932-1972.
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City of Seattle, Department of Planning and Development, Microfilm Records.
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Photo collection for 1708 18th AVE / Parcel ID 7234601200 / Inv # |
![](http://dpddata1.seattle.gov/dpd/Apps/HistoricPhotos/011-0075.jpg)
Photo taken Sep 26, 2006
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