Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 4334 Thackeray PL / Parcel ID 3131201025 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Style: Arts & Crafts - Craftsman Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1910   Significance This house was erected in 1910 by Charles A. Ward, a carpenter living at 6519 19th Avenue N., for owner John W. Gull of Nebraska Investment Company, located at 200 Epler Building. Although the permit application indicates that the house was designed by S. Peterson, there does not appear to have been an architect of that name in Seattle at the time the house was built. The entry on the permit application may refer to building contractor Severin Peterson, carpenter Swan Peterson, carpenter Swan A. Peterson, or to bricklayer Surcius Peterson, though it is not clear that any of these individuals actually worked on the house. The house itself is very similar in organization and form to the structure next door at 4332 Thackeray Place N. This is not surprising in view of the fact that the same principals were involved with the construction of both buildings. The house at 4334 is a few months younger. The attic has a floor but has apparently been left unfinished. A basement garage, designed by Seattle architect Donald E. Roberts according to the permit application, was built for owner Grace C. Norton between 1940 and 1944. Norton had acquired the house in 1918, according to the King County Property Record Card for the property, and it appears to have remained in her possession until the late 1940s. The house was acquired by Robert McKinnis in 1956, by Cloyd L. Robison and his wife Maude in 1961, and by William T. Berbard and his wife in 1968. This structure is significant as a fairly intact example of craftsman bungalow design from the middle years of Seattle’s first north end building boom. When considered together with the house built immediately to the south at 4332 Thackeray, this structure is indicative of the degree to which north end development relied on the activities of local builders and speculative investors.   Appearance This is a one story, clapboard and shingle clad frame residence on a concrete foundation over a full basement. The moderate slope of the front gabled roof and the wide barge boards supported by light triangular knee braces suggest craftsman bungalow styling;, and the gabled roof over the chamfered front bay The body of the house below eave level is clad with clapboard siding. A trim piece wraps the house at the base of the bay )a little below porch deck level), separating the clapboards above from what was originally shingle skirting below. Two pivoting windows are paired and centered in a field of shingles in the main gable. The porch extends toward the street from the north end of the west (street) elevation. The outside corners of the gable porch roof are supported by built up wood posts bearing on wood capped, clapboard clad solid porch railings. A large, gable-roofed bay with chamfered corners is situated in the west wall south of the entry porch. Five double-hung windows across the front of the dormer, combined with a double hung-unit at each chamfer and at each side of the bay, form a continuous band of windows across the middle of the bay structure. A garage door provides access to the basement garage under the front-facing bay. The overhead door may be a replacement unit; however, its appearance to close to what an early an observer would have expected to see. The overhead unit looks as though it had been assembled from two original swinging doors. A chimney is situated near the front of the house at the south elevation. East of the chimney is a window assembly consisting of three units including a wide double-hung window and two narrower flanking units. Another single double-hung unit appears to be located further to the east. Although not clearly visible from the street, the Property Record Card prepared by the Assessor in 1937 indicates that a small back porch is situated in a notch at the southeast corner of the structure. The north elevation is largely hidden by landscaping but is probably quite similar to the north elevation of the house at 4332 Thackeray. At that structure, a small double hung unit is situated near the west end of the house; two smaller windows are located to the east. The back of the house cannot be observed from the street. The original wood steps, and their associated clapboard-clad sidewalls, appear to have been removed. The steps have been replaced but the sidewalls have not, and unattractive wood handrails appear to have been added. The decorative crossbars connecting the lower knee braces at the porch and at the front facing bay have been removed, as have portions of the knee braces themselves at both locations. The siding at the base of the structure has been changed from shingles to clapboards. Wood lath trellis work once framed the opening onto the porch; this material has been removed. Diagonal braces have been added to the piers supporting the porch roof. No other significant modifications are apparent.

Detail for 4334 Thackeray PL / Parcel ID 3131201025 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): 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 Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Community Planning/Development Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Slight Changes to Plan: Slight Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996.

Photo collection for 4334 Thackeray PL / Parcel ID 3131201025 / Inv #

Photo taken Aug 01, 2004