Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 4855 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900805 / Inv #

Historic Name: Calvert Bakery Common Name: La Medusa - Little City Hall Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Columbia City Built By: Year Built: 1927   Significance This one story building was built in 1927 by Frank Goetz. It replaced a two story frame mixed commercial residential structure that was built on the site in 1899 until it was torn down by Goetz to make way for the subject building. Goetz had been a proprietor on the site since 1914, running the Columbia Bakery. The new building cost $5000. Tenants who occupied the subject building included the Calvert Bakery, Fulmer’s Columbia Florists, Fuel Oil Sales (owned by Al Lawrence), Mrs. Webster’s dress shop, Crosley Refrigerators, and Cleo’s. The building was designed by architect and engineer John L. McCauley, who lived in the neighborhood, at 3254 S. Edmunds Street, and designed eight other buildings in the Columbia City business district. McCauley was a City Inspector and Engineer in 1908 and later active as an architect. During the teens and 1920s he was responsible for the design of many commercial buildings, including stores, factories and hotels in Seattle’s International District, industrial area south of downtown and in the Denny regrade area near Lake Union. The building was remodeled in 1997 for use as a restaurant, under the supervision of the Columbia City Landmarks Board. The building is significant as a well-designed and well-preserved commercial structure, as well as for being designed by an architect who lived in Columbia City.   Appearance This one story commercial vernacular building is of frame construction and is supported by a concrete foundation. The building has a rectangular plan and a flat roof with diminutive parapet and cornice. The building is clad in brick, with terra cotta and glazed tile cladding surrounding and beneath the storefront windows. Transom windows run the width of the building above a metal canopy. The building has two storefront bays with expansive glass windows. The larger of the two storefronts has an inset entrance flanked by a narrow glass window on one side, and two large glass windows on the other side. The smaller storefront entrance, flanked by large windows, has been altered; the original entry has been replaced with a metal-framed door flush with the façade. The building remains largely intact, despite the minimal storefront alterations.

Detail for 4855 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900805 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: NR, LR Cladding(s): Brick, Ceramic tile, Terra cotta Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Commercial/Trade - Business Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce Integrity Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Windows: Intact Storefront: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Intact 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. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Centennial History, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, 1853-1991, Pioneers of Columbia City. Seattle, Washington, 1992. Architects file cards, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Historic Preservation Program, 700 3rd Avenue, Suite 400, Seattle, WA, 98104.

Photo collection for 4855 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900805 / Inv #

Photo taken Mar 22, 2004