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Summary for 3254 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004315 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name:
Style: Colonial - Colonial Revival Neighborhood: Mount Baker
Built By: Year Built: 1919
 
Significance
In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance.
Built in 1919 at a cost of $10,000, this building was owned by Claude Nicoulin. The firm of Mowat and Cannon (Andrew F. Mowat and Francis Cannon) was the contractor. Mr. Nicoulin was involved in real estate. Edith E. Ross moved into the building ca 1937. Oswald Brown bought the house in July of 1939 and remained in the building through 1954, at which time Alf J. Westberg bought the building for $25,000 and lived in it through 1958. The Mount Baker neighborhood comprises two north-south tending ridges located southeast of downtown Seattle along Lake Washington. Initial development of the area occurred relatively late, post-1900, following the construction of the Rainier Avenue Electric Street Railway in the 1890s. York Station on Rainier Avenue and the Dose Addition were developed earlier than the Mount Baker Park Addition, platted in 1907 by the Hunter Tract Improvement Company. The Mount Baker Park Addition represents the core of the neighborhood and is its primary character-defining feature. Mount Baker Park is one of Seattle’s earliest planned residential communities that successfully integrated the natural environment and a relatively exclusive residential neighborhood in its layout of lots, streets, boulevards, and parks. The houses, primarily built between 1905 and 1929, reflect a variety of eclectic and Northwest-based architectural styles, and include designs by many prominent local architects. Other important influences were the streetcar connection with downtown Seattle, the integration of local parks and boulevards into the Olmsted system, the construction of Franklin High School in 1912, and the building of the Mount Baker tunnel and Lacey V. Murrow Floating Bridge to Mercer Island in 1940. Today this middle-to-upper income neighborhood remains predominantly residential, is home to an ethnically diverse population, and retains much of its planned character.
 
Appearance
Built in 1919, this Colonial Revival style, single-family cottage stands on a rectangular lot overlooking Lake Washington. The building is oriented to Lakewood Avenue South on a sloping site at street level. This 1928 square foot, one-and-a-half story house with a full basement features a rectangular plan, measuring approximately 31’ by 46’, with a front stoop. A poured concrete foundation supports the wood frame, shingle-clad superstructure. Asphalt composition roofing covers the clipped gable roof. Wood sash multiple-lite windows provide day lighting. A substantial internal brick chimney and attached front facing garage service the building. This elaborate, well-detailed cottage stands out as unique within the neighborhood.

Detail for 3254 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004315 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory
Classication: Building District Status:
Cladding(s): Shingle Foundation(s): Unknown
Roof Type(s): Gable - Clipped Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition
Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Rectangular
Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: one & ½
Unit Theme(s):
Integrity
Changes to Original Cladding: Intact
Changes to Windows: Intact
Changes to Plan: Intact
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.
City of Seattle. Survey of City-Owned Historic Resources. Prepared by Cathy Wickwire, Seattle, 2001. Forms for Ravenna Park structures.
Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. "Mount Baker: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources."
Mount Baker Community Club. Flowers We All Love Best in Mount Baker Park, (reprint of 1915 ed.)
Tobin, Caroline. (2004) "Mount Baker Historic Context Statement."

Photo collection for 3254 LAKEWOOD AVE / Parcel ID 5700004315 / Inv #


Photo taken

Photo taken Oct 23, 2003
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