Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 1925 9th AVE / Parcel ID 7011201330 / Inv #

Historic Name: Ralston, H. House Common Name: Ralston House Style: Vernacular Neighborhood: Queen Anne Built By: Year Built: 1904   Significance In the opinion of the survey, this property appears to meet the criteria of the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. The Ralston House was constructed in 1904. Hector and Mary Ralston were both born in Canada, Hector (ca 1841-ca 1914) to Scottish parents and Mary (b. ca 1850) to Irish parents. In 1878 they married and immigrated to the United States. During the 1880s they lived in North Dakota. By 1904 they moved further west to Seattle and Hector established his carpentry business. That summer they purchased some Queen Anne hill property and on August 2, 1904 Ralston procured a building permit from the Seattle Building Department. The permit listed Hector as owner, architect, and builder. The Polk directories listed Hector Ralston’s occupation as a carpenter, so he likely acquired building plans from a house catalog or plan book although for one year (1907) the Polk directory listed his son Arthur Howard as an architect. Hector took no more than three months to construct a 24x30 foot house which became the family home. To get downtown the Ralstons would walk about half a mile to the streetcar line at Prospect and Olympic Place. In 1910 the house residents included Hector and Mary Ralston, adult children Arthur Howard (b. 1886), Elizabeth (b. ca 1884), and Ethel (b. ca 1888). After Hector died about 1913, family members lived in the house for 35 more years. Arthur Howard worked as a carpenter, a steamfitter, and briefly tried the architecture profession. During World War I, relative William Ralston, who also lived in the house, was one of the thousands of Seattle shipworkers who built ships for the war effort. Shipbuilding was Seattle’s main manufacturing industry during the war. Later occupants. Myrtle E Willis owned the house from 1922 to at least 1937. James S. and Ethyl R. Willis lived there from World War II through the early 1960s. James Willis first worked as a fireman for the Seattle Fire Department and then as a State Liquor store salesman. The 1975 Historic Seattle Survey of the Queen Anne neighborhood listed the building as Significant to the Community. The residence appears to meet City of Seattle Landmark criteria due to the age of the structure (over 100 years old) and minimal alterations.   Appearance On August 2, 1904 builder and owner Hector Ralston acquired a building permit for a two story 24 x 30 foot residence. The east elevation of the front gambrel residence has a full width porch with square columns supporting a hip roof and above the main entrance a gable roof. A portion of the porch roof is a balcony surrounded by a railing with two double doors providing access. Above the double doors is a decorative oval window. Bay windows are located on the east and south elevations. A gable dormer is on the north elevation and a shed dormer is on the south elevation.

Detail for 1925 9th AVE / Parcel ID 7011201330 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Shingle, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Gambrel Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Domestic - Single Family Plan: Irregular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Plan: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: 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. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1904-1905) 4 volumes. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1916-1919) volumes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Seattle, Washington. (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1949-1950 update) 11 volumes. Seattle Daily Bulletin Historic Seattle Preservation and Development Authority. “Queen Anne: An Inventory of Buildings and Urban Design Resources.” Seattle: Historic Seattle, 1975.

Photo collection for 1925 9th AVE / Parcel ID 7011201330 / Inv #

Photo taken Dec 23, 2004