Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1805 N 42nd ST N / Parcel ID 4083301730 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Colonial - Dutch Colonial Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1924   Significance This house was erected in 1924. The structure was designed and constructed by owner Stephen Berg (3402 Woodland Park Ave. N), a merchant builder whose firm was responsible for quite a few of the houses built in Wallingford in the boom years that followed World War I. The house is significant as an interesting modification to a building style typical of work in the mid 1920s and conveys a sense of builder Berg’s impact on the character of the neighborhood. Its unique qualities are made more noticeable by its prominent corner location on Wallingford Avenue N., a minor but broad local north-south arterial.   Appearance This is a two story wood clapboard and shingle clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The gambrel roof immediately identifies the house as a Dutch colonial revival structure, although the design incorporates several unusual features for a building of this type. Most important of these is the entry porch, which although framed by two Tuscan columns and surmounted by a simple pedimented porch cover with a curved underside, is located at the east end of the front (north) elevation rather than in the center, as is more typically the case with colonial style houses. In addition, the main floor features a number of bungalow type window assemblies (each consisting of a long narrow transom-like element over a central square flanked by two tall rectangular units), and the west end chimney is off center. Finally, the layout of the east end elevation seems atypically utilitarian for the usually more formal arrangement of the colonial plan. The shed roof dormer is symmetrically fenestrated, and a pent at each end of the house allows the gutter to extend a continuous horizontal line around the entire structure, interrupted only by the entry porch. The gutters at one time turned the corner at each side of the pediment at the entry porch, completing a false gable return that has now been lost. A trellis has been added to the porch between the western-most column and the body of the house. Storm windows appear to have been added, although a window may have been replaced rather than protected at one upper floor opening. The garage extension at the basement level on the west elevation appears to be original.

Detail for 1805 N 42nd ST N / Parcel ID 4083301730 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Shingle, Wood, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gambrel Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Slight Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.

Photo collection for 1805 N 42nd ST N / Parcel ID 4083301730 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 29, 2004