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Summary for 3248 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004310 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Spanish - Mediterranean Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1920
 
Significance
Built in 1920, this building was constructed after Albert E. and Bertha H. Koepfli purchased the site in May of 1919. The building cost $12,500. Mr. Koepfli was president of Seattle Plumbing Supply Company. The Koepfli’s previously lived at 1818 Thirteenth Avenue. The Koepfli’s remained in the building through 1965. William F. Niemi Jr. purchased the building in January of 1966 for $39,000 and remained in the house through 1968. Wilbert C. Anderson purchased the residence in May of 1971 for $57,500. The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects. Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
 
Appearance
Built in 1920, this Mediterranean-influenced, Spanish Revival style, single-family dwelling stands on a rectangular lot overlooking Lake Washington. The building is oriented to Lakewood Avenue South on a sloping site at street level. This 1610 square foot, two-story house with a full daylight basement features a rectangular plan, measuring 35’ by 46’, with a recessed front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, stucco-clad superstructure. Clay tile covers the hip roof. Moderate eaves with exposed decoratively cut rafters define the roofline. Wood sash windows provide day lighting. A short flight of stairs leads to the front entrance. A bracketed false balcony over the front doorway highlights the entrance. An internal brick chimney services the building. The entrance and stylistic detailing set this building apart as important within the neighborhood.

Detail for 3248 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004310 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Stucco Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Hip Roof Material(s): Clay Tile
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows:
Changes to Plan: 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.
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 3248 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004310 / Inv #


Photo taken Oct 23, 2003

Photo taken
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