| Historic Name: |
Sea View Apartments |
Common Name: |
Sea View Apartments |
| Style: |
Art Deco - Zig Zag |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1932 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places. |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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The Sea View is the largest and most ornate of a group of apartment buildings constructed at the end of West Roy Street in 1929-30. This was the last to be completed, in 1932. The building was originally designed and permitted by the Lewis Realty Investment Company in February 1930, with construction beginning the following month. However, the difficult hillside site and the need for a new retaining wall (probably in combination with the financial stresses of the early days of the Depression) evidently prevented its completion. It was finally completed in 1932, by the Cooper Mortgage Company. The designer and builder was Michael Leder. The building was renovated and converted to condominiums in 1980.
The Sea View is notable for its Art Deco ornament, and was included in the 1970s city-wide survey. This and the neighboring buildings from this era are significant as an intact group of 1920s buildings, giving a distinctive character to the neighborhood. This area is a notable example of the tremendous apartment development in Seattle during the 1920s. The city's population had increased dramatically in previous decades, and prosperity encouraged developers to meet the pent-up demand for housing. Apartments, ranging from basic housing to luxury units, were a significant factor in meeting this need, and became a significant element of the streetscape in many Seattle neighborhoods, especially Queen Anne.
The building opened for occupancy In September 1930 with a splashy advertisement in The Seattle Times. The building featured sweeping views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains and was constructed for an approximate cost of $400,000. The building had 59 apartment suites when it opened, including two- and three-room units as well as bachelor (studio) apartments. The building had a basement-level garage able to park 85 cars. M. Leder and James Taylor planned and constructed the building for Lewis Realty & Investment Corporation. When it opened, the apartment building boasted electric ranges, electric fans, automatic refrigeration, house telephones, and hardwood floors.
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| Appearance |
The building is located at the west end of West Roy Street, where it dead-ends at Lower Kinnear Park. It has a U-shaped plan with a pond, fountain and landscaping in the intimate courtyard. The building is three stories, clad with light-colored combed brick.The building has a flat roof with a parapet, and its parapet is highlighted by a flush cast stone cornice with Art Deco motifs in relief. It sits on a hill, with a garage in the basement on the south elevation. The entry has a wide and very ornamental cast stone surround in the Art Deco style, with stylized fern and floral motifs. Similar ornament is seen in the wide frieze along the top of the building. The center bay, where the main entrance is located, projects out one brick length from the rest of the elevation. An ornate cast stone surround frames the wood French doors, sidelights, and transoms. The north elevations of the legs of the “U” also feature entrances framed with a cast stone surround, although far less decorative than the main entrance. These ends also have center bays projecting forward one brick length. Art Deco style light fixtures hang above these entrances. The windows are quality replacements which do not detract from the character of the building. Cast stone lug sills are present at the windows. Windows are six-over one double-hung sash, with cast stone lintels; they are primarily in groups of three.
Other than its replacement windows, the building retains integrity and is an excellent example of a large-scale apartment building.
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