| Historic Name: |
Sigma Chi Fraternity |
Common Name: |
Sigma Chi Fraternity |
| Style: |
Arts & Crafts, Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
University |
| Built By: |
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Year Built: |
1926 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This prominent Arts & Crafts style fraternity house was designed by J. Lister Holmes for the Sigma Chi Fraternity. In 1958, J. Lister Holmes also did additions and alterations to the east, west and north elevations, the most substantial of which was an extension of the building to the north. Additions to the second, third and fourth floors of the fraternity house and to the north were by Bittman Vammen Taylor and constructed in 1988. This basically consisted of adding floors onto the 1958 addition. Although the Sigma Chi fraternity house has a substantial new addition, the addition was partially designed by the original architect, and is much more compatible with the original building than most of the other Greek Row additions.
J. Lister Holmes (1891-1986) executed a variety of houses in a range of architectural idioms, including English Tudor, Spanish Colonial, Norman Provincial and 18th Century French. Among Holmes designs are the Harry Lawton house in Seattle, the W.W. Fisher, Jr. house in Broadmoor, and Collinswood, now the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. He also designed the Revelle House on 1803 NE 52nd Street, and he collaborated with Philadelphia architects Mellor & Meigs on the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
The house underwent at $1,000,000 renovation in the 1980s-1990s, including the new entry on the east elevation.
Based on field work conducted in October 2014, this historic property retains its relationship to the streetscape, historic building form and a sufficient amount of exterior historic building fabric (design features, cladding and/or window sash/openings) to contribute to the distinct character of the University Park neighborhood.
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| Appearance |
| This Arts & Crafts style fraternity house shows a Tudor Revival influence. The cladding is rusticated stone, stucco, and half-timbering. It features multi-paned wood casement windows with diamond panes and stained glass insets. Some of the windows are new, particularly on the east elevation and some on the south elevation. The north elevation described above is entirely new, and does not include the rusticated stone facing found on other elevations. The prominent entrance is new but blends well with the original building and seems to relate well to both the original and the north addition.
The building has both gabled and hipped roofs, interrupted by wall dormers. It also has an interesting brick chimney on the east elevation. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Stone, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Wood - Shingle |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Institutional Housing |
Plan: |
Irregular |
| Structural System: |
Balloon Frame/Platform Frame |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Social Movements & Organizations |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Windows: |
Slight |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
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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Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
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Divoky, Andrea. Notes on University of Washington Fraternities and Sororities, compiled in 1997 and updated in 2002.
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