Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 401 NE Northlake WAY NE / Parcel ID 4206900125 / Inv #

Historic Name: Common Name: Ivar's Salmon House, Ivar's Fish Bar Style: Modern, Other Neighborhood: Wallingford Built By: Year Built: 1970   Significance This is one of a group of Seattle area food service operations built by prominent Seattle restaurateur (as well as folk singer and iconic promoter) Ivar Haglund, whose establishments enjoyed a reputation for serving seafood well beyond the borders of Seattle itself. The Salmon House is significant as a local facility with a regional draw and as an attempt to incorporate Coast Salish architectural elements into what might otherwise be considered an industrial shed on the Lake Union waterfront (although the architectural elements “borrowed” from the Pacific Northwest Native American cultural legacy are not especially “authentic,” and some items -- such as totems and ceremonial masks -- used to establish the ambience of the restaurant are not associated with the native populations that actually lived in the Seattle area). The facility does include an area where photographs illustrating Native American life and culture are displayed. The property includes Lots 1 through 5, Block 33, Lake Union Shore Lands Addition in addition to Latona Addition, Block 4, Lots 5 through 9 as noted above.   Appearance Although essentially a wood frame structure, extensive used is made of peeled logs (used for both posts and beams) and wood decking in a timber frame system that mimics the long house construction technology employed by the Native Americans who populated the Puget Sound region prior to the arrival of European explorers and American settlers.

Detail for 401 NE Northlake WAY NE / Parcel ID 4206900125 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Hold Classication: Building District Status: Cladding(s): Vertical - Boards, Wood, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured, Post & Pier Roof Type(s): Flat, Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Plan: Irregular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Commerce Integrity Changes to Windows: Slight Changes to Original Cladding: Slight Changes to Plan: Moderate Major Bibliographic References

Photo collection for 401 NE Northlake WAY NE / Parcel ID 4206900125 / Inv #

Photo taken Oct 27, 2004