Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 128 NE 56th ST NE / Parcel ID 3856904310 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1914   Significance This house was erected in 1914 according to the building permit. It was designed and built by its owner, Bert Jensen. The plan of the house immediately to the west (124 N. E. 56th Street) appears to mirror that of the subject structure (128 N. E. 56th Street), although there is some variation in the detailing between the two buildings. A garage was added to the property by Elmer C. and Lucile Fritschie in 1917 but, according to the City’s permit history, was wrecked by owner Eddy Floodeen in 1921. Currently (2005) a detached garage structure spans the property line between the houses at 128 N. E. 56th St. and 124 N. E. 56th Street. This building stands in the rear yards of the two properties and is served by a driveway that passes between the houses. The Assessor’s record suggests that this garage was already in existence by 1937, and it is likely the garage built in 1917 was demolished specifically to make room for the existing structure; however it has not been possible to establish its date of construction. This bungalow is significant as an intact example of craftsman typology and styling enriched by some interesting variations on typical craftsman detailing. It is made more interesting by the fact that its appears to be one half of a pair of structures built from the same floor plan.   Appearance This is a one story, stucco and clapboard clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The moderately sloped, front-gabled roof, the wide, two-part bargeboards supported by triangular timber knee braces, and the exposed framing at the overhangs are all elements commonly associated with craftsman design. The orientation of the house on the site, and the floor plan are typical of houses built in this style. The detailing of the porch incorporates several variations on craftsman styling. This shed-roofed structure stretches across the entire width of the south (street side) elevation. The structural member supporting the front edge of the porch cover (probably a wood beam) is encased in a built-up enclosure with a textured, stucco-like surface that gives the assembly the appearance of two very flat cast masonry arches. This assembly is supported by three battered built-up wood piers, each featuring a flared capital and a decorative surface texture applied in patches that gives it the appearance of a sculpted masonry element. Each pier bears on a two-part pedestal. The upper shaft of the pedestal, extending up from porch deck level to rail height, has a stucco-like finish; the lower part of the pedestal is made of concrete finished to match the foundation. (The face of the foundation is scored and textured to resemble partially rusticated stone.) Each pedestal is capped with a stone or concrete coping piece. The porch railing is solid and has a stucco-like finish similar to that of the upper portion of the pedestal. The entry door, located at the easternmost quarter point of the south elevation, appears to be a hold over from the period when Queen Anne style work was popular, although set in a bungalow era opening. The entry stair approaches the porch from the south on axis with the doorway. In the center of the bay implied by the middle porch piers and that at the southwest corner of the structure, a large double-hung window opens to the porch from the front room. The transom-like upper sash is divided by lead muntins into small, square lights stacked four tall and fourteen wide and bordered by rectangular lights. The much larger lower sash is undivided. A triangular box encloses the area under the overhang and above the paired sash of the attic window in the front-facing gable. The box appears to reach down to a platform either side of the attic window supported in turn by paired timber bargeboard braces. The box and the face of the gable itself are finished with stucco. The wide bargeboards appear to be built up from two components that overlap in the upper third of the gable, above the timber braces, but are separated by a gap cut into the lower board below that point. At the southern end of the west elevation, a brick chimney is flanked by two small fixed windows. Toward the center of the facade, a rectangular bay projects into the side yard. A window assembly consisting of three tall double-hung units, each with a small upper sash over a much larger lower sash, is centered in the west wall of the bay. It appears that the original upper and lower sash may have been replaced in kind at each of these units. At the back end of the elevation, a pair of tall window sash, each divided into six panes (3 x 2), are framed into an enclosing wall that appears to have been added at the back porch. Between this window opening and the west-facing bay, two relatively small double-hung units are ganged together to light the kitchen. At the east elevation, a small double hung unit lights the entry hall at the front of the house, and a larger unit illuminates the front bedroom. Two small units light the bathroom at the middle of the elevation. The smaller of these appears to have been added relatively recently. Another large unit opens into the back bedroom. The north (rear) elevation cannot be observed from the street. A water table wraps the entire structure at porch level, the bullnosed cap of this trim band becoming he bullnosed edge of the porch decking at the front of the house. This trim element separates the clapboard siding at the main level of the house from the concrete foundation below. The concrete foundation wall is penetrated by two basement windows on the east side of the building, and by two additional basement windows on the west. The rafter tails, almost certainly left exposed when the house was built, are now hidden by gutters. Although one of the windows in the east elevation appears to have been added recently, and window sash appear to have been replaced in-kind at the bay on the west side of the house, it appears there have been very few significant alteration to the structure.

Detail for 128 NE 56th ST NE / Parcel ID 3856904310 / Inv #

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

Photo collection for 128 NE 56th ST NE / Parcel ID 3856904310 / Inv #

Photo taken Sep 23, 2004