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Summary for 337 NE 51st ST NE / Parcel ID 9550205150 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Art Deco - PWA Moderne, Ranch - Minimal Traditional Neighborhood: Wallingford
Built By: Year Built: 1938
 
Significance
This house was built in 1938 by its owner, E. A. Warren (609 Thomas), and designed by Harry E. Nordquist (704 Textile Tower). The basement garage is an original feature of the design The building has an exceptional degree of integrity for a house from this period; the limited floor area of house built in the late 1930s and early 1940s often invited later renovation and expansion. The house is significant as an intact example of late Depression era minimal traditional architecture informed by elements of the Moderne. This discipline apparent in the organization of the windows, siding and trim is a remarkable feature of the design.
 
Appearance
This house is a one-story wood clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The footprint of the house is somewhat irregular, suggesting a modern approach to internal planning. Although there is little to suggest “streamlining” in the facades, the strong horizontal banding in the cedar drop siding (accentuated by horizontal trim elements at the frieze and belt level), the wrap around corner window at the northeast corner of the house with its emphatically horizontal muntins, and the austere projection of the flat roofed porch cover all are features often associated with the Moderne style. The low slope of the roof, the minimal detailing at the rake and cornice, the vertical board siding in the gables, and the scalloped ends of the gable siding all are indicative of a willingness to reconsider the use of traditional forms and materials. The main floor windows, including the corner window mentioned above, appear to be suspended between a horizontal trim band which wraps the house below the close cornice (and functions simultaneously as frieze, window head casing, and porch cover fascia) and another horizontal trim element at belt level. This latter band appears to function as a drip mould but is integrated with the sill at the majority of the windows. As a result, the sill of the single short window on the east façade seems to “dangle” about a foot above the drip mould. The garage doors are perhaps the most traditional components of the north façade. The half-glazed, stile and rail doors appear to be original, although the glass panes have apparently been painted out. It appears a metal railing may have been added to the entry stairs. No significant modifications are apparent.

Detail for 337 NE 51st ST NE / Parcel ID 9550205150 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Vertical - Boards, Wood, Wood - Drop siding Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured
Roof Type(s): Gable Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one
Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Major Bibliographic References
City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.

Photo collection for 337 NE 51st ST NE / Parcel ID 9550205150 / Inv #


Photo taken Sep 24, 2004
App v2.0.1.0