| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
Arts & Crafts - Craftsman |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1912 |
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| Significance |
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This house was erected in 1912. It was designed and built by John Larson, a carpenter, for his wife Pauline C. Larson, whose is described as the owner on the permit application and whose address is listed as 2026 Dexter.
The terrace garage was built 1917-18 by John Larson, who is described as an owner of the property on the permit application for this accessory structure. The garage is located at the southwest corner of the property. The concrete and brick retaining wall that runs along the property line and parallel to the sidewalk at the south and east of the site was built about the same time. Pauline Larson still owned the property when it was surveyed by the Assessor in 1937.
In 1993-94, a permit was issued for a new dormer, a new sundeck, the removal of a chimney, and for repairs to the foundation and to the front porch. A bath addition was undertaken about the same time. The builder is listed as Matthew Armour Construction in City records; Matthew Armour and Katherine M. Mezur were apparently the owners of the property at the time.
The house is significant as an excellent example of the popular side-gabled craftsman bungalow. Despite some modifications, the building retains its stylistic and typological integrity. The house was identified as a structure of significance to the Wallingford community by Folke Nyberg and Victor Steinbrueck in "Wallingford: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
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| Appearance |
| This is a 1-1/2 story shingle clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The moderately sloped, side-gabled roof, the wide bargeboards supported by triangular timber knee braces, the exposed undersides of the relatively broad overhangs, and the exposed rafter tails are the initial indications that this is a craftsman bungalow. Some of the bargeboards have a decorative notch cut into their lower end where it extends past the eave line; others appear to have been simplified due, perhaps, to water damage.
The front porch extends across the entire width of the east elevation and is sheltered by the main roof. The front edge of the roof is supported by battered, built-up wood piers at each of the two outside corners. These wood piers bear on concrete capped brick pedestals extending from well above porch rail height to grade. Lower brick pedestals stand at either side of the entry stair where it meets the porch in the middle of the elevation and two even lower concrete-capped brick walls frame the stairway. The walls at the three exposed edges of the front porch appear to be supported by brick walls and perhaps a brick foundation as well. Heavy craftsman type wood railings run between the piers at the open edges of the porch.
The entry door is centered in the east façade and a large double-hung window is centered in the wall to either side of the entry door. Each of these windows consists of a small, transom-like upper sash over a much larger undivided lower sash. All three openings feature a peaked head casing that appears to be supported by a slightly battered side casing standing on the sill. In the case of the door opening, the peaked head casing is accentuated by a crown mould.
Two double-hung windows are situated together in the middle of the east-facing, shingle-clad dormer centered on the roof over the door and stair at the east elevation. A small square window is located in the triangular north and south side walls of the dormer. This dormer is an original element of the structure. Unlike the windows elsewhere, the casings of the dormer windows are not peaked or battered.
At the prominent south elevation, a pair of small, square, leaded windows flank the massive battered chimney that rises at the easternmost quarter point of the façade. The chimney penetrates the overhang without interrupting the bargeboard. To the west of the chimney, a shed-roofed, “saddlebag” type bay, supported by decorative timber braces, extends toward N. 41st Street to the south. Four double-hung windows are ganged together at the center of the bay’s south wall. Each of these tall units is comprised of a small upper sash over a larger lower sash. Farther to the west is a less tall double-hung unit that lights a room at the back of the house. In the gable above, two separate double-hung windows, situated a foot or two apart, are symmetrically arranged either side of the gable’s centerline. As at the east elevation, window head casings are peaked and side casings are battered.
A water table wraps the house at entry porch level. The upper component of this trim assembly is a bull nosed element that corresponds with the edge of the porch decking. A wide, horizontal trim board visually supports the bull nosed element. Together, these two trim pieces form the dividing line between the shingle cladding of the house and the foundation below; they also form the base of the bay at the south elevation. The water table is interrupted only by the chimney and by the basement door at the north elevation.
At the north elevation, two double-hung windows are paired in the gable. However, the majority of the openings are asymmetrically placed to meet the pragmatic requirements of the interior spaces. In particular, the basement level doorway and a double-hung window placed at the half level between the main and upper floors suggest that a stairway rises along the interior of the north façade. A wide fixed unit, situated high in the main level wall, appears to light one of the front rooms; nearer the middle of the elevation, a double-hung unit is located west of center at the main level.
The back (west) elevation is divided into three parts by the deep notch that occupies the middle third of the façade. This notch is difficult to see from the street but may function as a back porch. A simple trellis stands just outside the notch, suggesting that a deck may extend westward from the notch itself. A tall double hung window is centered in the wall to the north of the notch; a smaller double-hung window is centered n the piece of wall to the south of the notch.
In the center of the roof above is a west-facing dormer. Although the windows and roof of the dormer are designed and trimmed to resemble comparable elements elsewhere on the structure, the configuration and organization of the windows and the details at the roof overhangs strongly suggest that this dormer is an added element..
The styling of the terrace garage, entered from N. 41st Street at the southwest corner of the property, appears to be based on a mission (or baroque) model. A curved concrete parapet rises between concrete piers that extend above roof level at the two ends of the garage’s south elevation. The two swinging leaves of the garage door are built-up style and rail units with a group of six glass panes in a 2 x 3 pattern in the top third of each leaf. The lower two thirds of each of the door leaves is divided into three vertical panels by the pattern of styles and rails. The leaves appear to be original but may have been reinforced at some point with additional trim pieces attached to the surfaces of the styles and rails.
Storm windows have been added to all window openings. The top of the existing chimney has been modified. The addition of the west-facing dormer is a significant change, but it is not visible from the front of the house or from the intersection of Ashworth and N. 41st Street. Although the back (west) end of the main level appears to have been remodeled to some degree, the adjustments made there are less obvious than the dormer and are not easily viewed from the street. No other significant modifications are apparent |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Shingle, Wood |
Foundation(s): |
Brick, 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 |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Slight |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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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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