| Historic Name: |
|
Common Name: |
|
| Style: |
Queen Anne, Vernacular |
Neighborhood: |
Beacon Hill |
| Built By: |
|
Year Built: |
1900 |
| |
| Significance |
|
|
|
Built in 1900, this building was owned by George Taylor. He added a bay window and undertook minor repairs in 1915. By 1922, Thomas Dexter owned the building and added two flats. By 1929, George R. and Ruth McCormick moved into the house. Peter J. O'Brien occupied the building by 1937, followed by Mildred A. Bickford from 1941 through ca 1944. Matt E. Campy purchased the residence in August of 1949. By 1958, Jennie Ursino lived in the house with Eleanor Ratliff in 2123A and George Fresonke lived in 2123B. In July of 1965, ownership of the residence changed hands again, before Horace del Valle purchased the building in March of 1972.
Beacon Hill is a long north-south tending ridge located southeast of downtown Seattle and stands 350 feet at its highest point. The hill’s steep topography deterred substantial Euro-American settlement through the early 1880s. Then, development of the area was stimulated by the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1890s, its proximity to Seattle’s main industrial area to the west, and the regrading of the hill’s north end in the early 1900s.
Originally acquired by the City in 1898, Jefferson Park was integrated into Seattle’s Olmsted system of parks, and the Olmsted Brothers prepared a plan for the park in 1912. The first public golf course west of the Mississippi opened at Jefferson Park in 1915. Jefferson Park has exerted a profound positive influence on the development of the Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Because of its proximity to the International District, Japanese and Chinese families moved to Beacon Hill starting in the 1920s. World War I and II stimulated a surge in housing development associated with wartime industry. The construction of Interstate 5 in the 1960s and Interstate 90 in the 1980s sliced through the neighborhoods and contributed to Beacon Hill’s relative isolation. Today, Beacon Hill is an ethnically diverse working class community, which has a mixed Asian, Chicano, African American, and Caucasian population.
|
|
| |
| Appearance |
| Built in 1900, this Queen Anne-influenced, vernacular style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular corner lot. The building is oriented to Thirteenth Avenue South on a sloping site at street level. This 904 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 24’ by 38’, with a 10’ by 6’ recessed front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, clapboard- and shiplap-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the hip and gable roof. Modest closed eave and gable overhangs with minimal trim define the roofline. Wood sash multiple-pane windows with painted wood casings provide day lighting. A direct flight of stairs leads to the front stoop. Altered supports carry the flat roof over the stoop. A contemporary rear addition extends off the building’s northwest corner. |
|
|
| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
|
| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard, Wood - Shiplap |
Foundation(s): |
Unknown |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable, Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Multiple Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
|
| Integrity |
|
Changes to Original Cladding: |
Moderate |
|
Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
|
Changes to Plan: |
Slight |
|
| 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.
|
|
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
|
|
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Beacon Hill Historic Context Statement."
|
|
|
