Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 3934 Eastern AVE / Parcel ID 9178601520 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Queen Anne Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1909   Significance The King County Property Record Card, prepared in 1937, indicates that this house was completed in 1906, an assertion that is repeated in the King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report accessed in 2004. However, a house associated with this address was started in 1908, according to the permit #67999, and probably completed in 1909. The permit applicant was Mrs. Bertha Marchesi, who lived with several family members at 2509 N. 40th Street for several years prior to 1915 according to Polk’s Seattle Directory. This fact presents a problem for interpretation of the record. On the permit issued to Mrs. Marchesi, the address 3934 Eastern has been crossed out and the address 2509 N. 40th Street entered below. The house being discussed here is located at the western end of two lots that were subdivided to make building sites for two additional structures; the house presently at 2509 N. 40th Street is located at the eastern end of these same two lots. Although it is not certain that Mrs. Marchesi’s permit is for the house presently addressed as 3934 Eastern, the Assessor’s records indicate that the house two doors east, presently addressed as 2509 N. 40th Street, was built in 1916, too late for occupancy by the Marchesi family in 1910 and 1915. The house at 3934 Eastern appears to have been owned by J. H. Hill when the Assessor surveyed the house in 1937. Hill apparently acquired the house in 1925, although City records indicate that Hill built the terrace garage at the southwest corner of the site in 1924 (permit #232060) and may therefore have lived there for some time before gaining possession of the property. James S. Boggs purchased the house in 1956 and was still living there in 1960. G. M. Brosseau acquired the property in 1961. The number of residents between 1965 and 1985 suggests that the house was occupied by renters for most of this time. The current owner, Virginia De Leeuw received the property from the estate of Johan F. De Leeuw in 1985; it has not been determined when Johan De Leeuw acquired the house. Nyberg and Steinbrueck identified this structure as a building significant to the Wallingford community. The house was built in the early years of Seattle’s first north end building boom and combines unique stylistic elements with elements of late Queen Anne and early craftsman style housing.   Appearance This is a 1-1/2 story, clapboard clad, frame residence built over a full basement on a concrete foundation. The unique barrel vault roof over the dormer at the center of the west façade makes this structure difficult to classify in terms of style. The use of brick and the bracketing at the entry suggest an early, Queen Anne era version of the Tudor cottage style; however, the arched top and square shoulders of the dormer façade give the structure a baroque feel, although the dormer façade could also be described as a Dutch gable. By 1957, the finials that once adorned the dormer had been removed. Several window assemblies had also been replaced by that time with large fixed pane units, including the two groups of three tall, slender double-hung units that were once centered in the bays projecting from the front elevation either side of the entry porch. The arch top double-hung window with planter box that was originally centered in the barrel-vaulted dormer has also been replaced with a more common square double hung unit.

Detail for 3934 Eastern AVE / Parcel ID 9178601520 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Hold Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Brick, Shingle, Wood Foundation(s): Brick, Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Barrel Vault, Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Moderate Changes to Plan: Slight Changes to Windows: Extensive 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.

Photo collection for 3934 Eastern AVE / Parcel ID 9178601520 / Inv #

Photo taken Aug 03, 2004