| Historic Name: |
Donworth, George, House |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Colonial - Georgian Revival |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1913 |
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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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This large Georgian Revival house was designed in 1913 by Sherwood D. Ford (1872-1948) and built by R. B. Wark. Ford is better known for his apartment and hotel projects than for single family residences. He was born in England and came to Seattle in 1907 after working as an architect in Montreal and Boston. He worked with fellow Englishman, John Graham, Sr., from 1907-1914; it was during this period that he designed this house. From 1914 to 1016 he took over Graham’s projects while Graham was working in Detroit. Ford practiced independently after 1917, designing the Washington Athletic Club (1930), the Cambridge Apartments (1928) and the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla (1927). The house was noted in the 1970s city-wide survey of historic resources.
The house was built for George Donworth, a partner in the prominent law firm of Donworth and Todd. Later owners included R. Kline Hillman, a salesman, and his wife Marguerite (1937-52); Leonard Downie, and real estate agent, and his wife Helen (1952-60); Henry V. Benson, a partner in the accounting firm Benson and McLauglin, and his wife Olive (1960-67), and Drury Pifer, a university professor, and his wife Virginia.
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| Appearance |
| This is a classic five-bay Georgian Revival design, with a hip roof, a symmetrical façade, two gable dormers in the front and shingle cladding. It is sited at the rear of its lot, next to hillside and behind the Parsons Garden park and its own large garden. The enclosed entry is through an elliptical bay with dentils, pilasters and multipaned windows. Flanking the entry are two groups of three 15-light sash, with shutters. Windows on the second floor and elsewhere are six-over-six double hung sash with shutters. Those in the dormers have arched transoms. There is a tall chimney near the center rear of the house. The east elevation has a small one-story hipped roof wing. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Wood - Clapboard |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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Changes to Plan: |
Intact |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.
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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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