| Historic Name: |
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Common Name: |
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| Style: |
American Foursquare, Italian - Italian Renaissance |
Neighborhood: |
Wallingford |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1908 |
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| Significance |
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This structure was built in 1908 according to the King County Property Record Card (1937) and the King County Assessor Property Characteristics Report (accessed in 2005); however, the building permit has not yet been located and so nothing is known about the original owner, builder, or designer. It is unclear if this structure was originally built as a duplex; however, it has been in that use for many years.
F. J. Miller appears to have owned the property when the Assessor surveyed it in 1937. He apparently acquired the property in 1922. It was already in use as a duplex at that time and was occupied by the owner as well as a tenant, according to the King County Property Record Card, although there is no evidence of owner occupancy in Polk’s Seattle Directory.
Andrew Polson purchased the building in 1955. Otto Kresser acquired it in 1959 and then, a little over two years later (in 1961), Charles F. Cosman came into possession of the property. A notation on the Property Record Card suggests that the structure was remodeled between 1964 and 1968; however, the extent of this work is not known (although it does appear that the front of the house may have been allowed to “extrude” onto the porch at some point since 1937).
There is evidence that a permit was issued for a deck addition in 1976.
The current owners acquired the property from Jerome L. and Reinette D. Hillis in 1988.
The structure is significant as a combination of older Italian Renaissance elements and prairie or craftsman forms. The single-family structure appears to have been adapted to duplex use very early in the life of the building (if not from the beginning).
The structure is significant as an example of eclectic architecture combining elements of pre 20th century styles with emerging prairie and craftsman elements; it is a transitional structure built in the early years of Seattle’s first north end building boom. It I also an example of the popularity of duplex conversions along partially commercialized streets and along streetcar lines in the Wallingford neighborhood.
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| Appearance |
| This is a two-story, clapboard clad duplex built over a full basement on a concrete foundation. The multiple hipped roofs, the broad enclosed overhangs, the decorative bracketing at the ornate built up wood posts that mark the outside edge of the porch stretching across the front of the structure all have the character of American “Italian Renaissance” styling applied to a foursquare residence, while the horizontal emphasis engendered by the roof planes, and the detailing of the doors and windows have a more prairie or craftsman flavor.
The main floor of the house appears to have been extended onto the large front porch. No other significant modifications are apparent. |
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