| 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: |
1916 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. |
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This house was erected in 1916. It was designed and built by the owner of the property at the time, Gardner. J. Gwinn. Although Gwinn’s occupation is listed as “painter” in Polk’s Seattle Directory (1916), the fact that Gwinn filled the roles of owner, designer and builder is an indication that he was, in fact, a merchant builder developing the property for resale. Gwinn listed his address as 818 E. 71st Street on the permit application.
The Assessor’s record suggests that Anthony J. Bell acquired the property in 1919, although he and his wife had been living at the house prior to that date. Bell added a garage to the property in 1918; however, it appears this structure is no longer extant and the Assessor’s record indicates that the structure was torn down at some point between 1937 and 1972. A concrete retaining wall was built in 1948 by William A. Bell, a clerk with the Post Office, for Mrs. A. J. Bell, listed as the owner of the property on the permit application.
This structure is significant as a fine, intact, and well-maintained craftsman bungalow built at the end of Seattle’s first north end building boom by a well-known merchant builder operating in the Wallingford neighborhood. The corner porch is an especially interesting feature.
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| Appearance |
| This is a one-story, shingle-clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a 3/4 basement. The low slope of the gable roof, the wide bargeboards supported by triangular timber knee braces, the exposed undersides of the roof overhangs, the exposed rafter tails, the detailing of the windows, and especially the design of the porch, are all typical features of the craftsman bungalow.
The house is entered through a notch at the northeast corner of the structure. A group of three windows is centered in the portion of the structure’s east elevation south of the entry notch. The central unit of this group is a single sash window configured to look like a craftsman style double-hung unit. Its upper portion is divided into a group of two identical central lights bordered by a single rectangular light above and below and a pair of rectangular panes at each side. The lower portion is larger and undivided. The flanking units are similar in configuration but much narrower. In the gable above, two windows are ganged together to illuminating the attic. Each single sash unit is divided in a pattern nearly identical to that employed in the upper portion of the two flanking units in the group of three windows at the main level below.
The porch is of particular interest because it appears almost to be detached from the simple rectangular house that it serves. Although the north-facing slope of the porch roof is continuous in part with that of the main roof, the porch structure projects towards the street and into the north side yard. The porch roof is supported by battered, built-up wood piers that stand on a capped, shingle clad battered pedestals stretching from grade to porch rail height at the three exposed corners of the porch.
The north elevation of the house features a number of simple double-hung windows of various sizes, occurring singly and in pairs. It also features a side door with a remodeled porch at the main level of the house, and another door at the half level between the main floor and the basement.
A gabled bay projects southward from the middle of he south elevation. It features a three-part window assembly similar to that at the front of the house. To the east of the bay, single windows, similar in size and configuration to the flanking windows at the front elevation, stand either side of the chimney.
The portion of the south wall west of the bay and the back of the house cannot be observed from the street.
A driveway is still visible in the north side yard, but the garage it once served has been removed. No other significant modifications are apparent. |
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