| Historic Name: |
Hermosa Apartments |
Common Name: |
2700 Fourth Avenue |
| Style: |
Italian - Italian Renaissance |
Neighborhood: |
Belltown |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1913 |
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| Significance |
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The Hermosa (now 2700 Fourth Avenue) was built in 1910-13 and is one of the larger examples of the early apartment buildings in Belltown. It is six stories with 49 apartments (31 2-room units and 15 3-room units), with distinctive oversized brackets and a deep cornice. It is also somewhat unusual in the area because it is a mixed use building with commercial spaces on the first floor.
This building pre-dates the period of heavy apartment that occurred following World War I. It was built shortly after this section of the regrade was completed, to provide housing for the city’s booming population. In only twenty years, Seattle’s population had exploded from 80,671 (1900) to 315,312 (1920). After the regrading of Denny Hill between 1898 and 1911 opened this area up for development, developers soon constructed apartment buildings to meet the acute housing need. These buildings provided modest but comfortable accommodations that were affordable for the sales clerks, clerical staff and other workers in downtown businesses. They remain a very important part of the historic character of Belltown.
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| Appearance |
| This six-story reinforced concrete building is prominently located at the corner of 4th Avenue and Denny Way. Its most notable features are the oversized corbels, extending the entire depth of the top floor, which support the very deep cornice. A pair of terra cotta corbels mark each corner, with individual ones in between, flanking the windows. Second-story windows are arched, with arched terra cotta lintels with keystones; a wide belt course of the same material visually connects the windows. Below them is a projecting belt course. The south elevation on the first story has two modernized storefronts. The apartment entrance is quite small, located at the northwest corner, facing 4th avenue. Windows thorughout are new dark aluminum sash, replacing the original wood three-part windows. |
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