| Historic Name: |
Wiltsie-Muehe House |
Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
Queen Anne |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1928 |
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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 distinctive house was built in 1928 for a physician, Dr. Sherald F. Wiltsie and his wife Vera. The Wiltsie family remained in the house until 1944, when it was purchased by W. F. Muehe, Jr. The Muehe family stayed here until the late 1970s. The current owners purchased it in 1986.
Architect Alban Shay (1899-1991) received his architectural degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1922 and began his career with two prominent New York firms, Warren & Wetmore and George B. Post & Sons. While with the latter company he came to Seattle (where he had attended the University of Washington before transferring to Penn) to work on the Olympic Hotel. He worked for a time with Bebb & Gould, the project's local architect. He established his own practice from 1927 until 1935, a period during which he designed many eclectic style houses such as this one, as well as the Seward Park Inn, a Seattle landmark. In 1936 he formed a partnership with the noted Modernist architect Paul Thiry. From 1940 until 1975 he again practiced independently, designing residential, commercial and small industrial structures.
The front of the house is largely intact. Alterations in 1990 included adding a shed dormer and replacing a pair of windows with doors (both on the rear) and altering a secondary entry on the north elevation. According to permit records, some windows have been replaced, although this is not apparent.
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| Appearance |
| This imposing house has a formal setting, surrounded by a lawn, low foundation shrubs and a tall iron fence. The house is clad with red brick, with the main mass having a tall hip roof clad with asphalt shingles. A gabled wing projects toward the front on the north side. The main entry is at the center, through a simple round arch, and features an arched oak door with a trefoil design. Most windows have leaded glass. Above the entry is the home's most distinctive feature, an oriel bay with two diamond-paned leaded glass windows, a large bracket and a copper roof. The bay is set into a small gable, with two six-light windows to the south. A large three-part leaded window is on the first floor to the south of the entry. The front-facing gable has a large vertical multipaned window (probably on a staircase) and a smaller window on the first floor. Other windows are predominantly six-light casements. There are two tall chimneys, a brick Tudor one on the south and a stucco-clad one at the rear. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Hip |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition, Asphalt/Composition-Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Single Family |
Plan: |
Rectangular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
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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