Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 6022 8th AVE / Parcel ID 2769601360 / Inv #

Historic Name: Iverson House Common Name: Iverson House Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Crown Hill/Ballard Built By: Year Built: 1896   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The Iverson House was constructed about 1896. In November 1893, Frank Talmadge, a realtor and an aspiring capitalist, sold two platted lots to Nels Iverson (ca 1867-ca 1917). Danish born Iverson arrived in Ballard earlier that year and worked for Stimson Shingle Mill, a job he held for about two years before traveling to Denmark. In 1895, while in Denmark, Iverson married Julia (ca 1868-1950) and the following year returned to Ballard. Soon after arriving, they purchased three lots adjacent to the original two and this was probably the time they had the present building constructed. It was built when Seattle was in the depths of the 1893 Panic, one of the nation's worst depressions. Very few residences were built during the period 1893 to early 1897. Nels had a variety of jobs in Seattle and Ballard: he installed phone lines and telephones for Sunset Telephone & Telegraph Company, repaired Seattle street cars for the Seattle Electric Company, and sold eggs and butter at the Westlake Public Market. In the spring of 1915 they decided to operate a grocery and Nels Iverson built the store next door to their house. They raised four children in the Iverson house; two daughters; Myrtle (b. ca 1899) and Clara (b. ca 1900), and two sons William (b. ca 1902) and Harry (b. ca 1903). Nels died about 1917 and his widowed wife Julie remained in the house until 1922. At that time, she moved just two doors away to 6016 8th Ave NW where she remained until her death in 1950. In 1896 when the residence was constructed, the Green Lake Electric Railway was the nearest trolley line located ¾ mile away on Green Lake Way N. By 1905 a street car line was established along 14th Ave NW reducing the walk to six blocks. Later occupants. In the late 1930s laborer Ernest L. and Naomi A. Lackey lived in the house. During World War II Jack and May Trimble and Mrs. Bertha Knutson occupied the house. Jack Trimble worked for Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding as a chipper. By the late 1940s, widow Bertha A. Dawley resided there. By 1954, cutter for Totem Sportswear, Hans T. and wife Hazel A. Borresen lived in the house. From 1955 into the 1960s Time Oil maintenance man George F. and Betty Morris lived in the house. Variant address: The 1905 Seattle Polk Directory listed the house at 6024 8th Ave NW. The Iverson House appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and minimal alterations Sources: "Mrs. Julie Iverson" Seattle Times August 10, 1950. Newspaper Index, Seattle Room, Seattle Public Library, Downtown Branch.   Appearance The Iverson House was constructed about 1896. The house was moved on the lot in 1911 (permit # 105175). The gable front and wing vernacular house has a three sided recessed bay window on west elevation. The porch extends along the entire gable wing of the west elevation. The heavy porch posts support a hip roof. The porch posts do not appear to be original and may have replaced the originals when the 1911 move was made. A portion of the porch is enclosed in glass.

Detail for 6022 8th AVE / Parcel ID 2769601360 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Plan: Slight Changes to Windows: Intact 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. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes.

Photo collection for 6022 8th AVE / Parcel ID 2769601360 / Inv #

Photo taken Nov 23, 2004