| Historic Name: |
Buckley Apartments |
Common Name: |
Buckley Apartments |
| Style: |
Tudor - Jacobethan |
Neighborhood: |
Capitol Hill |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1928 |
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| Significance |
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The Buckley, developed by Edward L. Merritt, is one of numerous apartment buildings constructed in this mid-Capitol Hill area in the late 1920s. Most were three-story walk-up buildings, typically clad with brick veneer and elaborate terra cotta ornament. These structures helped the city meet the severe housing shortage of the 1920s. The city's population has increased dramatically in previous decades, and prosperity encouraged developers to meet the pent-up demand for housing. Apartments, ranging from basic housing to luxury units, were a significant factor in meeting this need, and became a major element of the streetscape in many Seattle neighborhoods. This corner has several similar buildings, making a strong streetscape compatible with the generally single-family neighborhood
Edward L. Merritt was another single-family developer who turned to apartment development in the 1920s. Unlike other developers, he was an architect, having graduated from the University of Minnesota architectural school in 1900. He joined his father’s Seattle contracting business before forming the Merritt-Hall Investment Company. In 1917 he purchased the Craftsman Bungalow Company and built showcase houses throughout the city. In the mid-twenties he opened the Merritt Realty Company and developed several apartment buildings on Capitol Hill.
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| Appearance |
| The Buckley is a three-story masonry building clad with tan-colored brick veneer. It has an angled corner entry with extensive cream-colored terra cotta ornament inspired by the “Jacobethan” Tudor style. The entry bay and the last bay at the end of each wing are clad entirely with terra cotta, rising slightly above the roofline in a stepped parapet. Other terra cotta ornament includes the coping along the parapet and a string course and medallions above the third story windows. The entry bay has a group of three windows on both the second and third stories. Windows elsewhere are in pairs. All windows are one-over-one newer metal sash, generally compatible with the building. |
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