Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 4020 1st AVE / Parcel ID 4206901595 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman, Queen Anne Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1913   Significance This house was built in 1913 by Coast Construction Company for owner M. R. Clausen. The building permit indicates that it was designed by the builder. (A current resident of the structure believes the house was designed by the firm responsible for the Smith Tower; however, the architects of that building, Gaggin & Gaggin of Syracuse, New York, are not associated with this house in any documentation located to date. The permit application was filed by H. D. Smith, acting as agent for the original owner, and it is perhaps the name of the agent that led to the purported association with the designers of the Smith Tower.) A detached garage was added to the property in 1923. The house appears to have been well maintained and retaines a high degree of integrity. It is significant as a fine example of the early craftsman bungalow style and of the emerging predominance of this style in the Wallingford neighborhood. (The house was identified by Nyberg and Steinbrueck as a building of significance to the neighborhood in "Wallingford: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources.")   Appearance This 1-1/2 story, wood clad frame structure sits on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The roof slope is somewhat steeper than is typical with bungalows and this, together with the cross gable and the pattern of fenestration in the front gable, adds a Queen Anne flavor to the structure. The cross gable extends a main floor bay, located in the middle of the north elevation, through the eave of the main roof. At the front of the house, a projecting corner bay at the northwest corner balances the porch gable at the southwest corner. The roofs of the projecting corner bay and the porch slope less than the main roof. The windows are generally double hung; the upper sash typically have six lites while the lower sash are undivided. Despite very minor porch adjustments and a slight modification to the back end, the house is very close to its original appearance. The clapboard and shingle siding system follows the original pattern; the siding is in very good condition and may have been replaced in kind at some point in the building's life.

Detail for 4020 1st AVE / Parcel ID 4206901595 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition-Shingle Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Original Cladding: Slight Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Plan: Moderate Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.

Photo collection for 4020 1st AVE / Parcel ID 4206901595 / Inv #

Photo taken Aug 10, 2004